8 University of Kansas

pressed the Tigers to a tie, each having lost only to the other
in the 16-game schedule.

The remaining six seasons of the old Missouri Valley Con-
ference yielded Kansas five championships, the one in 1923

Doctor
Forrest C
Allen

 

being a clean sweep of the 16-game schedule. This season
was remarkable, also, as being in the midst of a winning run
of 34 consecutive conference games, ended, finally, by Okla-
homa, which in 1928 moved into championship position. Be-
fore the formation of the present Big Six, there were some
years as many as nine opponents, in double roundrobin series,
which necessitated a schedule of 18 conference games.

Se

Pe

ee ge are

Basketball Records 9

Oklahoma carried over its winning way into the Big Six
conference, and held the leadership in 1929; Missouri won the
next year; then Kansas, under Dr. Allen cleaned the next
four. The 1935 season with a schedule of 12 games for some
and 16 for others of the Big Six, went to Iowa State, coached
by Louis Menze, a pupil of Dr. Allen’s at Warrensburg. lowa
State had won 10 of 12 games, and Kansas only 12 of 16. In
1936, Kansas won all 10 conference and eight non-conference
games.

Other pupils of Dr. Allen who have achieved fame as
basketball coaches are Arthur (Dutch) Lonborg at North-
western; Adolph Rupp, University of Kentucky; John Bunn,
Stanford University; and Forrest (Frosty) Cox, at the Uni-
versity of Colorado.

Dr. Allen originated the zone elastic band, five-man de-
fense system, which found much favor with basketball
coaches. By playing the ball instead of the man, the original
theory of basketball is followed, and the players are not worn
down as in the man-to-man defense

Dr. Allen has been a great student of the principles of
basketball, and frequently, by agreement with opponents,
tries out under playing conditions suggested modifications
of the rules. He has written extensively for sports periodicals,
and in 1924 published his “Basketball Bible,” which had a
circulation of 14,000.

Dr. Allen was one of the organizers, and for two years
president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches,
and for ten years has been a member of the National Basket-
ball Rules Body. He is chairman of the Olympic Committee
in both of these organizations, and was largely instrumental
in obtaining for basketball recognition as a contest sport for
the 1936 Olympics at Berlin.

The largest crowd ever to witness Kansas basketball
team was at St. Louis in 1925 when 8000 persons watched
the Jayhawkers nose out Washington University 22 to 19 in
the Missouri Valley championship game.