LOS ANGELES � John Wooden celebrated his 99th birthday Wednesday.

The former UCLA coach and Hall of Famer is confined to a wheelchair after a series of minor health setbacks in recent years.
One of Wooden�s last public appearances came in July when he gathered with current Bruins coach Ben Howland and several of his former players at a luncheon celebrating Wooden�s recognition by a national magazine as the greatest coach in American sports history.
Wooden, whose wife Nell died in 1985, is looked after by his daughter, son, several grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
�The most important thing in the world is family and love,� he said in July.
Wooden won a record 10 national championships at UCLA, including seven in a row. The Indiana native was inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1960 and as a coach in 1973. He has kept busy as a speaker and author since his retirement from UCLA in 1975.
A web site set up to mark Wooden�s birthday attracted well wishes from 4,926 people by Wednesday afternoon. It coincided with the release of his latest book, �A Game Plan for Life: The Power of Mentoring.�