The Jayhawk Coach
Dr. Forrest C+ Allen

One of the outstanding figures in the history of basketball,
Dr. Forrest C. (Phog) Allen of the University of Kansas, begins his
fourth decade as a coach this winter. The dean of American basketball
coaches! record shows 23 conference championships in 30 years of coach-
ing. Brilliant coach, author, organizer and researchist, Dr. Allen
has done much for the game of basketball.

Forrest Clare Allen was born at Jamesport, Mo., Nov. 18, 1885.
He played basketball when the game was in its infancy, competing on the
Independence, Mo. high school team. It was there that he first met Dr.
Hames Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball, who was coach at
K.U. at that time.

In 1904 Forrest Allen entered the University of Kansas. During
his college career, he lettered in basketball in 1905, 1906 and 1907,
and in baseball in 1906 and 1907.

The following year, 1908, saw Allen off on the start of his
coaching career, with a championship basketball team at K.U. The next
year he turned out another title winner on Mount Oread. That same season
Dr. Allen also was coaching the Haskell Indian team which won 19 of 24
games and the cage team of Baker University, twenty miles away.

This concluded Allen's coaching efforts for three years,
while he pursued the study of medicine. In 1912 he became coach of all
sports at Missouri State Teachers College at Warrensburg and his ser-
vice as a coach has been continuous from that date.

At Warrensburg Allen coached a winner every year for seven
years in basketball. The Mules won seven cage titles under his tutelage
and the football team also enjoyed considerable success.

In the fall of 1919 he became director of athletics at the
University of Kansas, and before the basketball season was over was
coaching that sport. In a short time he had put the Jayhawks back up
in the championship bracket, a spot which they have been at or near
ever since. In one stretch, from 1922 through 1927, Kansas basketball
teams won six straight championships.

Last winter a Jayhawk quintet added another bright page to
K.U. basketball history by fighting its way to the finals of the Nation-
al Collegiate tournament. There, a "hot" Indiana team trounced Kansas.

Dr. Allen has been prominent in the progress made by the game.
He was one of the founders of the National Basketball Coaches Associat-
ion and is a past president of that organization. For many years he has
been a member of the National Basketball Rules Body.

As a member of this latter organization the Kansas coach has
done extensive research in trying out proposed changes in the rules. He
was one of the backers of the new streamlined backboards and gave a
thorough trial to the Bask-0O-Lite goals. For many years he has sponsored
the proposal of 12 foot goals to offset the height of young giants.

- Primarily through Allen's efforts basketball found a place on
the program of the Olympic games in 1936. Previously he had endeavored
to get basketball in the 1932 Olympics, but failing there had kept
working until the game was included for the first time at Berlin.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tourne
ament also was an Allen project. He spent a great deal of time working
on the organization of this "world series" of basketball.

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