Hec Edmundson

Clarence Sinclair "Hec" Edmundson (August 3, 1886 – August 6, 1964) was a college basketball and track head coach.

A native of Moscow, Idaho, and a 1910 graduate of the University of Idaho, Edmundson coached at his alma mater (1916–18) and the University of Washington (1920–47), compiling a 508–204 (.713) overall record in 29 seasons.

Edmundson also coached the track teams and served on the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee from 1941-46. The University of Washington hosted the national basketball finals in 1949 and 1952 in the arena that bears his name.

Nickname

Edmundson gained his nickname from his mother: as a child he often muttered, "Oh, heck."

Collegiate and Olympic career

One of the first great athletes at the fledgling University of Idaho in Moscow, Edmundson competed in track for his hometown university, and launched the team onto the national stage when he and two other athletes traveled to the Lewis and Clark Exposition Games against the top schools in the Northwest. While still in high school at the UI prep school, he lowered the Northwest record for the half-mile in June 1905.