The Jayhawk Coach

Dr. Forrest C. Allen

Twenty-two conference championships in 28 years of coaching
is the record of Dr. Forrest C. Allen, basketball coach at the Univer-
sity of Kansas. He is the dean of basketball coaches in the United
States, having been in the coaching game since 1908.

Dr. Allen played his high school basketball at Independence,
Moe and it was there that he first met Dr. James Naismith, inventor of
the game of basketball, and coach at Kansas then.

In 1904 Dr. 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 Dr. Allen off to a successful
start as a coach, with a championship basketball team at K.U. His sec-
ond Jayhawk team made even a better record in winning another champion-
ship the next year,marking up ten conference victories to two defeats.

The same season, Dr. Allen was coaching the Haskell Indian
"National Aboriginal" team which won 19 of 24 games and the cage team
of Baker University, 20 miles away.

This concluded Dr. 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.

In his frst year at Warrensburg, Dr. Allen's football, bas-
xetball and baseball teams were undefeated and the basketball team
started a series of championships which was unbroken during his seven
years there.

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. Missouri was dominant in basketball at that time,
but by 1922 the youthful Jayhawk mentor had brought Kansas up to a tie
with the Tigers, each team losing a single game of the 16-game confer-
ence schedule.

The remaining six seasons of the old Missouri Valley conf-
erence yielded Kansas five championships, the one on 1923 without a
defeat. This season was notable, aiso, as being in the midst of a
Winning streak of 34 consecutive conference games, ended, finally by
Oklahoma, which in 1928 moved in championship position.

Oklahoma carried over its winning ways into the Big Six con-
ference and held the leadership in 1929; Missouri won the next year;
then Kansas, under Dr. Allen, swept the next four years. The 1935
championship went to Iowa State, coached by Louis Menze, a pupil of Dr.
Allen's at Warrensburg.

In 1936 the Jayhawks blazed through their regular schedule
without defeat, winning eighteen consecutive games. In the regional
Olympic tryouts Kansas defeated Washburn and Oklahoma A. & M. to qual-
ify for the semi-final eliminations.

In that series of games the Jayhawks played Utah State and
won the first game, but at a great cost. Francis Kespelman, all-con-
ference guard, suffered a deep cut across his knee, when he ran into a
wire supporting one of the goals and was lost to the team. Without him
Kansas could not keep pace with the sensationally shooting Utah State.

In 1957 Kansas and Nebraska tied for the championship and
last year the Jayhawks were undisputed champions.