The Jayhawk Coach
Dr. Forrest C. Allen

The "Knute Rockne of Basketball", Dr. Forrest C. "Phog" Allen,
goes into his 25th year as head coach at the University and his 32nd
year in the coaching game this winter. The record of the dean of Amer-
ican basketball coaches now shows 24 conference championships in 31
years of coaching. Brilliant coach, author, organizer and researchist,
Doctor Alien has made many contributions to the advancement of the game.

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. James 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. Dur-
ing 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 sea-
son Doctor 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 time.

At Warrensburg, Allen coached a winner in basketball every
year for seven years. In addition to the Mules winning seven cage tit-
les under his tutelage, 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 conference championships.

Two years ago 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.

Doctor Allen has been prominent in the progress made by the
game. He was one of the founders of the National Basketball Coaches
Association 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-0-Lite goals. In addition he has sponsored
the idea 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 endeav-
ored 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
tournament 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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