The Titans will honor the late Bob Calihan tonight during the Gotprint.Com Legends Classic Subregional, presented by Old Trapper, championship against Bowling Green. Each year during the Legends Classic, all participating institutions honors one of its all-time greats and with the former Titan All-American and the all-time winningest coach in school history turning 100 years old in 2018, the time was right to remember the man whose name now shines on the home of the Titans.
 

When asked the question, "How many people are All-Americans", the answer will be thousands. When asked, "How many All-Americans coach their alma mater", the number probably shrinks to hundreds. How about how many All-Americans become Athletic Directors and finally, how many All-Americans come back to coach their alma mater, serve as Athletic Director and end up having the arena named after them?
 
Research will answer, very few, but one of those happens to reside in the Motor City in the late Bob Calihan.
 
The first Titan All-American basketball player and the all-time winningest coach in school history would have turned 100 years old in August. Just 82 years ago, he was a young freshman enrolling at U-D in 1936 and then 12 years later, he would retire from his professional playing career and come back to serve as head coach for the Titans, a position he held for 21 years until retiring to take over as Athletic Director. 
 
"He just loved the University so much," said his daughter Colleen Calihan. "He came here and just had so many stories of all the good times he had. This place was just part of our family and he would do anything for the University."
 
"He was always a person who put the university first," said former Detroit Mercy Athletic Director and co-worker Brad Kinsman to the Detroit Free Press on Calihan's death in 1989. "In athletics you have lots of people who put themselves ahead of the institution. He was a cut above most people.  A testimony to him was the number of friends he had all through the years."
 
Making an impact was something Calihan did all his life. He starred in high schooll at St. George High School in Evanston, Illinois, before earning a scholarship to the University of Detroit. After becoming the best player on the U-D freshman team, Calihan moved up to the varsity ranks as a sophomore in 1937-38 and led the team in scoring at 9.9 points per game, the highest amount by a Titan in 22 years. Even better, he helped U-D to a school-record 16-4 mark.

 
The 6-3 post player would continue to dominate, tallying a team-high 13.3 points as a junior and 13.8 points as a senior and another 29 wins as a team. For his efforts, he was named an All-American on the court in both seasons, the first Titan to receive the prestigious accolade.
 
"He might have been from Chicago, but his heart stayed here in Detroit. The game of basketball was a true passion for him. The game and his family is what he loved the most," said Colleen Calihan. 
 
It was on to the professional ranks for Calihan as he signed to play with the Detroit Eagles of the National Basketball League and was third on the squad in scoring at 7.9 points per game to earn Second Team All-League honors, while helping the team win the 1941 Chicago Pro Tournament.  
 
Just like many athletes during the 40's, his career was put on hold as he entered the Navy during World War II and spent the better part of the next four years in the military. He even played with the Great Lakes Naval Station during that time. 
 
Once the war was over, he returned to his pro basketball career and played on a couple of independent teams before signing with the NBL's Chicago Gears, a squad that also featured the great George Mikan. He was second on the team in scoring in 1945-46 at 8.7 points and increased that to 11.1 points per game in 1946-47 to help the Gears win a championship, scoring 22 points in the title-clinching contest. 
 

"Calihan was a capable defender and strong rebounder, but offense was his forte. He usually played with his back to the basket on the right side of the court from where he launched graceful left-handed hook shots with deadly efficiency," referenced Pro Basketball Encyclopedia. 
 
He enjoyed his finest individual season as a pro in 1947-48 posting 14.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game for Flint in the NBL, but at the end of the season, he got a call from his alma mater.
 
He took over a team that had two-straight losing seasons and led the Titans to a 12-10 record in 1948-49, winning in his head-coaching debut at home over Assumption, 61-58. A year later and U-D registered its first-ever 20-win campaign at 20-6 and tied for third in its inaugural season in the Missouri Valley Conference at 7-5. 
 
"He was very devoted to his players," said Walter Poff, a captain and the leading scorer on the 1952-53 team. "He wanted to build a big program to compete with all the big schools and that led to the Memorial Building."
 
In his 21 years, he tallied 306 wins and had 16 winning seasons, three 20-win campaigns and three postseason appearances. He also led the efforts for the construction of the Memorial Building, an on-campus basketball arena. 
 

"He was a great guy and I enjoyed playing for him," said Bill Ebben, a 1957 graduate who led the team in scoring as a junior and senior. "He was a player's coach and easy going, but he was our coach who wanted us to success on and off the court. That was important to him, that we were students. He was a believer in all the fundamentals and that is what he taught us everyday."
 
In 1960, the Titans won 20 games and earned a bid to the NIT with All-American and future NBA Hall-Of-Famer Dave DeBusschere leading the way. In 1961, the Titans were back in the NIT, while in 1962, U-D played in its first-ever NCAA Tournament, making it three-straight years in the postseason with DeBusschere on the court. 

 
In 1965, Detroit won 20 games again and with Lou Hyatt guiding the squad, the Titans were back in the NIT, this time collecting their first-ever postseason win by beating LaSalle in the opening round, 93-86, and advancing to face NYU at Madison Square Garden.
 
In his final campaign, he was able to recruit another future NBA Hall-Of-Famer in Spencer Haywood and the team was again nationally ranked.
 
"I remember him as a great leader and a great coach," said Haywood. "I came here and he taught the game of basketball. He was a teacher and he cared the most about his players."
 
Calihan had dominated as a player, dominated as a coach and it was time to take on the full role of an administrator. He might not have been the head coach, but he had a major hand in building the great Titan teams of the late 70's with the hiring of a young, energetic, yet non well-known coach in Dick Vitale. 
 
"I don't think he ever wanted to give up coaching, but when the opportunity came to become athletic director and still be involved in leading this program, he decided to pursue it," said Colleen Calihan.
 
"Bob Calihan was Mr. Titan Territory," said former Titan head coach Dick Vitale. "He had such a love for the University and a passion for the school. He was all about the University and doing what was right for Detroit. He was such a role model for everyone and he obviously gave me my start as a head coach. I loved my time with him and had such respect and admiration for what he achieved and he handled himself with class in everyway."
 
In 1977, he decided to retire from good from collegiate athletics and that was the same year he was inducted into the Titan Hall Of Fame. Over 30 years at the University, he left the position the same way he came in, smiling and thinking of others, thinking of the way he helped build teenagers into men, boys into fathers and basketball players into role models. 
 
"In retrospect, I think I got more satisfaction with the success of my players after they were finished playing basketball," said Calihan at his retirement announcement. "I've had players who became judges, lawyers, doctors and coaches, and I'd like to think I had a little to do with their success."