THE OTTAWA HERALD

JOHN P. HARRIS--SIDNEY F. HARRIS
PUBLISHERS

OTTAWA, KANSAS
SIDNEY F. HARRIS

EDITOR AND MANAGER 7 February 3, 1939.

tr. F. G. Allen,
Dear Sir:

Upon reading the basketball story in the Colliers magazine
of lest Friday, I cannot help but get aroused over the way eastern
sports writers Kanone eserts in the middle west, especially basket-—
ball. Having been born in Kansas and raised in Lawrence I am of the
firm belief that the middle-west has the best basketball in the country,
both from the standpoints of the game itself and from the fans' view-
point.

Having fumed about this artidd, and others of previous years
which do the same thing, I feel that 1 want to do something about it.
What I have in mind is an interview with you about the game as played
here, as I feel euere could be no better authority. I would like to
use Kansas univeristy and your own coaching career as the basis for
a story. What I had in mind would include work of other coaches, such
as those wno learned the game from you, and a little about Henry Iba;
the record of “anses in conference and non conference competition;
the record of the Big Six agaisnt outside foes; outstanding Kansas and
Big Six players; how most members of AAU teams are players from middle-
western schools. These and a few other points 1 feel would put up a
strong argument for the game es vlayed in this part of the country.

This may be an idle pipve-dream on my part, but I would st least
like a try at it, and if I can write it well enough, I feel confident

that the story will be used in Colliers or some other magazine.