¥ A August 20, 1943. ir. C. E. McBride, Sport Editor, The Kansas City Star, Kansas City, Missouri. Bear Mac: It just seems as if we don't get very. far when we are around Lawrence, and I imagine the same obtains with you. These old men can really put out the work, can't they, Mac? I am speak- ing about you because that colum of yours never fails in express- ing your many contacts covering many peeas in the United States. I remember Beels Becker so well. ‘In fact, all of your writings of course are very familiar to me because when you were writing regularly for the Star on baseball dope I was conversant with all of the men. : eee when you started on the Kansas City Star back in 1904 I was playing on the K.C.A\@. team and then managed the team the next / year, so all of our active years have been spent with practically the same acquaintances. I cannot realize that all those years have gone before. But as long as we are active we never stop to think how old we are. : : We have a great set up here training all of these Army and Navy men, and we are experiencing a lot of pleasure in doing it. I have nothing on my mind especially only that I have been having in my possession a clipping from the Journal-orld regarding a game of golf that I played back somewhere in July. I notice in the coluwm below that Patty Berg won a golf match on July Srd, and it must have been about that time when I played this game with Dr. Jones, Irving Hill, Guy Smith, and so forth. Dr. Jones is the old University medic who played football in the early days. Of course. you renember because he was a great friend of Bill Hamilton. He is a physician here in town and the father of Dr. Hiram Penfield Jones who operated on General McNair and Gallagher, the AP writer in North Africa. How- ever, Dr. Jones is in very bad shape now at the University hospital with diabetes, Bright's disease and coronary heart, and we are afraid that he won't get out. | ’ Irving Hill was quarterback on the early 1895 - '95 tean at _ the University. ie is. president of the Lawrence National Bank and one of the outstanding citizens in town. Guy Smith is on the Athletic ‘Board and professor of mathematics at the University. Mrs. Revndal is Irving Hill's daughter. =Zeo We were out playing and I was dubbing along in my usual style, but this time I just started shooting them and they rolled in. Par is 34 here, so shooting 33 is something I had never done before and perhaps will nover do it again. So I am sending you this mute testimony to let you know that I did play one good game of golf. However, I believe this one game spoiled me because I haven't been shooting anything like that since. Yesterday Taft Talbot came down and we played 18 holes. Taft gave me a couple of strokes and we finished a tie without the - two strokes he gave me, but Taft’s game was off so I am not bragging about my golf game. However, I do enjoy playing as much as ever and wish that you played golf because I would try to find some exouse to get you and Helen here for a day's outing some Sunday. I kmow it is useless to ask you because you are about as busy as I am, but I may get to see you September 4th as I understand the Big Six directors are to meet about that time and they are asking the basketball coaches to come in for a schedule-making bee. Gone are the times when we could sit back and relax and talk about old times or the things of the present. Anyhow, Iwant / you to know that I often think of you and wish that we might have | an opportunity to visit and spin yarns as we did of old, but we will do that when this fuss is over. We will win the war first. ia ee and — for you and yours. _ | . fA J Sincerely yours, | ON: Direotor of Physical Education, _ POAsAH Varsity Basketball Coach. April 12, 1943. Mr. C. E. MoBride, Sports Editor, The Kansas City Star, Kansas City, Missourie Dear Mac: Congratulations ou your story in your Sporting Colum regarding the Biz Six Indoor Track Meet in Municipal Auditorium, supervised by. Reaves Petors. I think you have something there, very definitely. Since Horace Mason left Kansas the meet from the Big Six angle has hed very little stimulus, and certainly it has never had good super- vision. But with Reaves Peters handling it I am sure that he would do a great job of supervising it and I am sure that the gate receipts would . @ouble becsuse he would see that the interesting engles concerning it ) were presented to the publid, and that it would be reflected in the gate receipts. This is my opinicn of Reaves Peters' ability, but I would not want you to make mention of it in any way in the sports colum because - that would be one wey to discourage it in the minds of the fathers of the Big Six, meaning the faculty representatives. Now, IT heve someting else in mind that I think is even bigger than the Big Six Track Meet, and that is a Christmas tournanent of the | Big Six basketball teams for next winter. I spoke to Jarry Welsh about this matter when he and I conferred regarding Missouri playing in the hall. -E asked him to see Dorman O'Leary and see if we couldn't got the faculty members of the Big Six conference to agree to such a ruling that the Big Six teams could play in Kensas City, either meeting other teams going throuch from coast to coast, or to play a tournament like this. : The Big Six conference is the only conferences in the United States now that has a rule such as this. They only permit conference _ teams to sohedule games with schools loonted in the sane city. You will remember that Nebraska withdrew fram the Missouri Valley Conference in 1919 because the conference would not permit Nebraska to schedule games ‘a Gia.’ , : : pi If*Kansas and Wissouri could schedule games with California, Stanford or some East or Wost teams, they could pack the building in double-header programs. | | How, better than that, » if we could arrange with Lou Lower and Jimmy Nixon to bring the Sig Six teams there for a week's play-off we would make enough in omw week te pay all the expenses of each Big Six team for the en year end still have money in the bank. Why can't you give ear to such a thing or even give print to such a thing, but do not comnect me | could be worked out that wo would have double-headers each night. We might start during the samen i on Mondey and Tuesday, or maybe later, end then drop off for a day of rest, and play Friday and Saturday, using either the percentage system in tho reckoning of a paper champion. Sur washes Waseeek aiae nak cue taeel weees ek Check of dium. This wuld do away with long, tiresome trips, and instead of taking the edge off the championship season it would stimulate it, and I will bet wi eee regular conference championship. i Wh, Nal a dling sda Sit tek sta galing, > view tal et year. We way not play at all, and as far as I am concerned, I am fully prepared for no competition. But the wise ones think that there will be a dittie football, but it will not be possible to carry on a basket- ball schedule. You will remember the statement that I made threes -- 4nc I am still very much of that opinion regarding the abolition £ bigetiue sport. But I do believe that we will recover our equilibrium sufficiently to garry on a heavy intramrsal progrem and perhaps we will have e few competitive teams that will exerge from this long and fatiguing struggle. ‘le aré just getting into this fuss now right pp t our ears. a < And by the way, of cow'se we would have Reaves Peters direct it and it would be under conference leadership in that way. If you think any of these suggestions are good, use then, presentimg them from any ; angle you wish, but do not mention my nane in any ones for I say . agein, the brothers might not like it so well. & Sincerely yours, _ Director of Physical Rducation, PCA:AH ae Varsity Basketball Coach. Mareoh 12, 1945. Mr. C. EZ, MeBride, Sports Editor, The Kansas City Star, Kansas City, Hoe A Dear Mac: Scie Wai inh Seid D neteed shes Wane selene ee Greighton game at Omaha. ee ee ee Eddie Hickey as of February 27. I am enclosing this le‘ter for your inspeation. Of sourse, this + sould not mow of this letter because I chose to offer to e Hickey his choice of alternative. : : pe re aaa ae was informed by my boys of their desire nct to play at Omaha. I could bd do T eam not particularly desirous of learning the correspondent since I try to do the very best that I can aa I lang ago 1 have had > Gepene on ny resouress pu Uwy eum to me. And af they are terribly faulty then I will just have to out the intermittent sdniration end support of wy off~again-on-again friends. Hi Sahn game wets sar ask oe om of speech? With all good wishes, I am i Sincerely yours, |" Direotor of Physical Education, FCA:AH Varsity Basketball Coach. ENG. \ \\ ip P March 1, 1943. 2 8 i gis: i Mi Ma mn Len fd Ae i He Le iiss ; Hinjt bs a gs pe HE" mais Ge pe lan a vi i ana fl Hin fe ed i He iH —s ag= Sh ne ai i Fis i; ut ap : rie 28h gy Hae a tn 1 HE r ip Hae iF ait ida foal i: it i eran? £ SERRA TELE Hiatt Pei | ly af. H al + aie t £7 2 f F i ia; yilnedy 3 ghesasda Hee a3 i and it hasn't abated any in st prolific offenders. I an writing you very frankly because I do not believe it belongs ny in intercollegiate basketball. 3 & pigll Bs su3u3 If one of start that kind of stuff I yank him out of the line-up. i om sorry for this altercation and we endeavored to take our at Lewrenece. With all good wishes, I am yours, Director of Physical Ed cation, | Varsity Basketball Coach. — PCA: AH aoe gC et ES ASPET: SINT eo5 Pe ea » + ; - = < The City of Oklahona City 3 Mareh &, 1943. Dre Forrest C, Allen, Physica! Edueation, of Kansas, Kangaes : eee kya Universi dl 54349 a : Hi nil it nit Ste taps 4: rath aajh at Ba iF bil i ae ii sul wali x, i] i pla eli en i il rH il: it i He ue 33 pk ail | i a3 i did not imow the Roberts being in that pileture, invelveds However, boys ine ident. an outetandins athlete I did Allie Paine with an addrése as e being of Ug the this Sth Street. E i e | an bed 32 i ij aar434 eis? 4 g p : 2 2 isk s- . 3 : es S Wt aul : a i i aeo . ie Hal : ii di A 5" 3 bi i ge 83 i A ii Ts He died ie iu | i j in ua even EE Laie Wi i 1 boys back te thelr respective home up investi¢ntions were made vy offic the low t of these investigetiongne high jacking ¢ there oar end wae the trusting that thie information will be held confidential, I remin Page #2 + Dre Forrest Ce Allen « 3/6/43 LTE MEN EN LE IE ON aE Te ee Bee AU LL ES A aE ies . = os Granville Seaniand, Very truly yours, Ass"t Munieipal Counselors BASKETBALL IS TRE OLYMrics dust before the Olympied et Amsterdam, Folland, in 1928, the writer was naned chairman of the Olumpic Basketball Comittee of the lational Basketball Gosehes Association, and alec Chairman of the Olympic Basketball Qules Con- mittee of the United States and Canada, and immediately began negotiations te gain recognition for basketball in the Olympics. This appointment came in April, 1928, and the Amsterdam Olympisd opened in late June of the same year. Immediate ecfroulerization of the 66 various organiz~ ations holding memberships in the Amorican Olympic Association for some deron- stration of basketball at Amsterdam left ao doubt in our minds that the hour was late for the tnatusion of basketball fn the sperte ot Ancterdan ent tint car requests for © place in this Clympiad would curtainly be rejected. 3 BF we guined any gremé $n thie ceunter, tt wee tn tnewing that the werd *pasketball" hed re-echeed among the controlling powers. So we at once faced our artillery toward the hone of the Xxth Olympied, Les Angeles, Calif., te be held in August, 1952, with the ultiuate ain of having basketball included in the regular Olympic sports celendars of future yoars. We veesived nach enscnragenent fren isterantionn! figures tn foreign lente, tut after a four-year siege, owing to lack of support from the local Los Angeles Olympic Orgeni,ing Committee, wo failed toe get a demonstration of the sport at Leos Angeles. The leeal Los Angeles Olympic Committee chose to include s demonstration game of football between their own North and South.Coast teams as the representative American sport for their Olympiad. ‘his was perhaps a wise shoice on the part of the Californians. Football, in the vast Olympic etedium with its 105,000 sesting capseity end with California’s own public definitely footballeminded, fecilitated the ticking of the turnstiles. ~2= It may well be explained here that the losal Olympic committee of any country chosen to be hese to an Olympied has the right to choose one national sport for demonstration at the games, end, after sounding out the majority minds of competing foreign countries, my edd one foreign sport for demonstration sport et | Olympic program. Lacrosse, which had been ineluded as & denonetration sport at the Iy Olympiad et Amsterdam, was again included et Los Angeles se the international ‘It may well be explained heres too, that Olympic programs ere always full, and it is next to impossible te carry out their scheduled programs within a fort- nighte Basketball was only one of many ee yet unrecognized sperte in Olympic genes thet was clamoring for its plece in the sun. In California, lawn tennis tall end badminton and a1) kinds of shooting and billiards and many other American sports were pleading along with basketball to be recognized. Seores of American basketball teams were anxious te participate. Mexico, could have been erranged at Los Angeles. “However, again we eould not eount our four years of effort lost. Ground hed been gained. For four years the word "basketbell’ had been appearing incess- antly on the pages of sorrespondence and had been reverberating in the ears of the powers behind the Olympiad theene. These echoes were being heard round the world. Se we went to the X Olympied at Los Angeles with our eyes on the XI Olympiad to be held in Berlin, in 1936. At @ @inner at that time with the Japenese Olyspic Delegetion in Los Angeles, ir. Sohalu P41 of Waseda University, Tokyo, told us that annually in Jepan they hold what they eal the Far Bastorn Olympics, which include basketball tournanents -S- While the writer was repeatedly enraptured with Mr. Sobaiu Ri's recital of . this basketball recreational romance of the Land of the Pusing Sun, he wes eso being constantly reminded of the experiences Of Mre Ee Ce Quigley, public relate fons representative end umpire of the Uational Baseball League and outstanding allesporte official, who on « provious tour of depen had officiated at a tourna~- ment for the Japanese. lire Quigley had related his experiences to the writer — some years before. He bed said that after starting the Japanese games in early evening and working until four o'eleck in the morning, the only way that he could finish the tournament at ell was to diswalify en entire tean the first time eny player on the team made @ personal foul. ire Quigley had ebserved that basketball interest in Japan was definitely more intense than in the United States end thet erowde numbering 10,000 attended these groat tournaments. He felt that Japan had gene basketball as well as baseball med. ? Count Soyejiua, president of the Japanese Basketball Asseofation, Dr. Kishi, Mr» Shumpel, Mre Susuki, end other foreign representatives met with us at Ure Sohal Pits dinner in Los Angeles with the definite intention of lending beskst- ball in the Olywpies at Tokyo in 1940, eight years hence, where we were certain thet the XII Olympied would bo held, regardless of whether or not we eould get it ineluded on the Berlin oslendar, four years hense,-195G.- Upon returning from Los Angeles inspired by international interest in our truly American sport of basketball, we teek up serious correspomience on the subject with Herr Merl Diem of Berlin, the general secretary of the XI Olympiad, ‘Jn the following sumer, 1953, in Springfield, Yess., YelleGels College, where the writer was instructor in besketball, he made personal contacts with Herr Prite Siewske, of Berlin, and exchange student, who later wont hone to Berlin in the employment of the Hitler Youth Movement. Undoubtedly, Herr Sieweke aided in the promotion of basketball for the Berlin Olympic ealendar. 40 In October of the folle:ing year, 1954, Herr Karl Dien wrote: “with further referenes te cur former correspondence, I heave the Pleasure of informing you that the Berlin Organising Committee at its meeting on October 19th, adopted the resolution that basketball be included in the program of the 1956 Olympte Games at Serlin.g” , Thus briefly dia the six-year struggle for the inelusion of basketball in Olympics celenders cone to a happy ending. the Germans chose clider flying es | their national denonstration sport for thei Olympiad. Field handball, a game siniler te basketball and played with a basketball tut with different (sesoer) goals, was chosen as the other (international) demonstration sport. Thus besket= ball was placed on the reguler Olympic calendar. This achievonent cane to basketball sooner than we hed dared to dream. Some weeks later Herr Dien advised us an interview with lire Tonalto Jones, - the secretary general of the International Basketbell Federation fras Pons, Italy, in which lire Jones spoke of the enthusiastic reception of this besket~ bell nows from various other parts of the world. At the time of this interview between Horr Diem of Berlin and lirs Jones of Rone, in Deconbor, 1954, Mr. Jones enumerated the 22 nations that would send competing basketball teams to the Berlin Olympies. Out of these entries, Msted two years before actual compotit= fon, @21 tut one sent toamse Spain alone, owing to ite serious interne. strife, was foreed te eance!l plans for cowpetition. , Argentina, dustrie, Belgium, Brasil, Bulgeria, Chine, Cubs, Czechoslovakia, _ ‘Estonia, France, Greeee, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Latvie, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Pumania, fwitserlend, and the United States, #11 sent basketball teams to the initial contests in the XI Clympied at Berlin in 1986. The United | Stetes team won the championship; the Canadian team was second; and Mexico won third plese. ; However, the exhibitions, both in the loos national preliminary elimination =e eontests and in the international competitions, proved thet there is still mach work to be done in orining out 4iffieulties and mistakes of administrat- fen before the next Olympic gareg at Tokyo, im 1940, | The Olympfe courts at Berlin wese a sombination of salt end sawdust which wade « wory firm sufface in dry woather, but in wet weather they were « quage mite. It rained during the finsle end made skillful pley in the mud with a wet tall impossible. The gares were played under the rules of 7.1.3.3. (faternatione! Federation of Basketball), which were, in reality, our national rules of 1934, witheut the 10-sesond rule or the S-seoond rule. The FeIeB.B. rules permitted no player ones renoved to return to the gene. These first Olympic basketball games emphasized the differences in the physical make-up of the competitors from the various nations. The tallest man on the Philippine team was 5 ft». 11 ine, and the tellest man on the American team was 6 ft. 9 in. This wide range of height among contestants brought out the feet thet tall men were monepolfzing the game and that the shorter races were greatly handieapped, not only in the center jump tut in every department of the gine. So apperent was thie difficulty that tt wee suggested by notions of shorter stature, Japen originating the euggestion, that there be two classes of eonpetition in future Olympic besketbell, the Mmited and the unlimited claasese dhe erigtsn! tatention off depan tn anting this enggestion wes te have the linited Director of Physical Education, PCA:AH Varsity Basketball Coach. 3 Courses in "Theory and Practice of Athletic Training” and a refresher course will be offered by Dr. Forrest C. Allen and Henry Shenk at the University of Kansas eight weeks summer segsion which opens on June 14 and closes on August 8. Shenk-is the new football and track coach at the University. Allen's course is ope to graduate students and seniors. Some of Coach Allen's men out in the training field are Milton Kelley, of the University of Texas, Jimuy Com, head trainer et Harvard, Lt. (jg) Roland Logan of the Chapel Hill, M. Cs, pre-flight school, Lt. (je) Elwyn Dees of the Towa City pro-flight school, end Dean Nesmith of the Olathe Air Base. With so many of the coaches now in military service, these re- fresher courses are offered with a view of helping the mon who are taking over new positions in the high schools. ## Mags t don't know exactly what to write ~ just tried to £111 in some space. Tf you can think of anything to make this look like something - not too much propaganda - please do so. Both Shenk and I are handling physical - conditioning courses for the Naval engineors, the Navy fliers, and the | students who are enrolled in some branch of the service here at the Univ- ersity. With this new semester, I will be starting my 27th year at the University of Kansas. F.C.