Joshua Wooden (1882 - 1950) was the father of John Wooden, considered the greatest basketball coach of all time. Father of four sons, Joshua was born and raised in Indiana, where he became a farmer. He lost his farm during the Depression and did not have the money to send his sons to college, but all four of them managed to earn degrees on their own. A deacon in his church, a Mason, and a member of the Knights of Pythias, Joshua practiced generosity, kindness, and tolerance throughout his life and taught his sons to value those traits. He gave this creed to John when he graduated from the eighth grade in his small country school, with a card that said, "Son, try to live up to this."