November 2, 2000

Who the heck is Hec?

Clarence "Hec" Edmundson was the winningest coach in UW men's basketball history, with a 488-195 record over his 27-year basketball coaching career. He also coached the UW track and field team for 36 years and tapped his track background on the basketball court, originating the fast-break style of play.

Clarence "Hec" Edmundson

That was just one of many innovations Edmundson is credited with. According to UW records, his teams were the first to use the one-handed jump shot, and they also began forming a circle with their hands together in the center to symbolize unity, a handshake which quickly spread throughout the country and is still used by teams today.

Hec Edmundson was born in Moscow, Idaho, in 1887, and was a runner at the University of Idaho. He placed sixth in the 800 meters at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. Edmundson came to the UW in 1919 as track coach and football trainer.

In 1927, architect Carl Gould designed a new Tudor Gothic field house that cost $600,000 to build. The dirt-floored arena was a hit, housing athletic events as well as horse shows, craft fairs, graduation ceremonies and, in the early days, scout troop sleepovers, complete with campfires. Gould said at its completion that only New York City's Madison Square Garden could rival the structure for flexibility.

Though it was originally known as the University of Washington Pavilion, the building was renamed in Hec Edmundson's honor in 1948, the year after he stepped down as basketball coach.

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