Indiana Coach Mike Woodson Proud To Sit In ‘The’ Bob Knight Chair

Because he has a bad back, Mike Woodson usually has a large pad that he places on top of the bench seats during games at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

On Sunday, on the 40th anniversary of the Bob Knight chair throwing incident, Woodson decided to pay homage to his former coach.

The red plastic chair that Knight infamously threw across the Assembly Hall hardwood in that famous 1985 game against Purdue was back on the sideline on Sunday.

Woodson had his padding affixed to that chair and watched as Indiana rallied in the second half to earn a 73-58 victory over No. 13 Purdue.

“You guys don’t realize that is ‘the chair.’ I've had it a while,” Woodson said.

While it might seem difficult to very which plastic chair from 40 years ago might be the one that Knight threw, Woodson explained his case as to why he has the genuine article.

“A lot of people say they have the chair, but a guy by the name of Scott Greer, tennis coach here, many years ago,” Woodson explained. “He was the only one thinking out of the box that night when Knight threw that chair. That morning he got up and he came to Assembly Hall and he got the chair and he got Sam Bell and (one-time soccer coach Jerry) Yeagley, (swimming coach) Doc Counsilman and Coach Knight to all sign off on it and took pictures with it.”

“A good friend of mine. His wife was Scott Greer's daughter and he passed away about a year ago. And there sat the little red chair with all the documentation, I happened to get my hands on it -- that's why it was special to have it here tonight,” Woodson said.

After Indiana trailed 37-25 halftime, one might wonder whether that chair might make another trip skittering along the Assembly Hall court if the Hoosiers continued to play poorly. Indiana did the opposite and surged in the second half, using a 48-21 advantage to earn a big victory.

Woodson said there was no danger the chair would be launched again by him.

“I wasn't going to throw the chair but I did want to sit in it,” Woodson said.