PAGE TWO
SECTION D
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN, LAWRENCE, KANSAS
SUNDAY, MAY 28, 1939
Two Doctors Are Famous In Kansas Sports
Naismith Invented Basketball; Allen Is A Mighty Factor In Building the Sport
After Inventing Game, Naismith Brings It Here
The year 1898 will remain to present sons and to the future children as a banner year because that was the year that Dr. James A. Naismith joined physically physical education staff.
Perhaps not one out of a hundred can tell you when Naismith joined the Jayhawker staff but I'll bet a smile will creep upon the face of any University graduate anytime anyone mentions the game of basketball.
Because Dr. Naimith is the inventor of basketball the game that has taken the American fancy so
fast in the last 25 years that it rates with baseball as one of our most common athletic contests.
The high point of the friendly inventor's life was in 1936 when court enthusiasts throughout the United States raised funds to send the Doctor and his wife to Berlin, Germany, where they watched basketball played as a part of the XIX Olympic games. So for the first time basketball was recognized as a world-wide sport.
A Native Canadian
Leonor Ausillis, a native of Almontone, Canada, was left an orphan at the age of eight, and was reared in the home of an uncle. He was born Nov. 6, 1861. He was graduated from McGill University, Montreal, in 1887, and prepared for the ministry. He decided, however, that as great service could be performed in the training of young men to be strong physically, and he never enlisted. He did, however, spend several months with Kansas troops as a chaplain on the Mexican border, and during the World War worked with the Y.M.C.A. in France. He became an American citizen immediately after the World War.
And it was while working with young men that Naismith invented basketball.
In 1891 while an instructor at the Springfield (Mass). Y.M.C.A. College he decided that a new game should be invented to burn the energy of young men from football to baseball season.
The head of the school called Naismith in one day and asked him if he couldn't solve this problem. Here is the way Doctor Naismith described the birth of basketball. From Duck-on-the-Rock
From Duck-on-the-Rock
"I recalled from my boyhood days in Canada the game of duck-on-the-rock, and that while the stone hurled sharply would drive the "duck" farther, the stone lobbed over was surer to hit. I decided for my new game that I would have a goal with a horizontal goal. But, if it were on the floor, the scramble to get to it might cause difficulty, so I decided to put the goal higher than the players' heads.
"Then I considered the possibility of injury to a player running with the ball, and decided that the player would have to pass the ball to a teammate; let others do the running. Thus the forward pass was invented.
"A baseball would be too small to toss about, so I called on our friend soccer. Lacrosse suggested the place for the players as forward and guards.
'The ianitor offered me a couple
of pouch baskets when I asked for boxes, and as the balcony of that old V.M. gym was 10 feet from the floor, I needed a standard height. 0 First Team
"And that was the way basketball was invented."
Since there were 18 men in the class, Doctor Naismith divided them into two teams, and later selected a team of nine to represent the Y.M. college in inter-school competition. In 1933, seven of these nine were cut off, and under the team was cut to seven, and still later to the present five.
Y. M.C.A. secretaries, graduating from the Y.M.C.A. College, carried the game to the far parts of the world. Bob Gailey, who had been center on the Princeton team, introduced basketball in Tien Tsin, China, in 1894. Some men from the Twentieth Kansas infantry introduced it into the Philippines in 1898.
Popular Over Country
Of course Doctor Naismith brought the game to the University of Kansas when he joined the physical education staff here in 1888. He then moved to University 1908 and is now to be found on the front row of every home game.
Organized athletics started among Missouri Valley schools in 1907, with the first basketball contests in 1908 Under the impetus given by Doctor Naismith, carried on by Dr. F. C. Allen, Kansas has won conference championships 18 times and tied twice.
The game as devised by Doctor Naismith is played in about 30 countries and Doctor Naismith has
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Oldtimers Still Grab Headlines
★ Well Known Kansas Athletes Remain Prominent in Sport World
By Jim Bell. c'40
It's not only the undergraduate athletes who grab the headlines on the nations sport pages for Kansas. Many of K.U.'s greatest athletes are still very much in amateur competition.
Best known of the ex-Jayhawkers is Glenn Cunningham. Since his graduation in 1934, he has continued to hold the center of the track and spot light in the United States. Yards upon yards of newspaper are devoted to the Kansas flyer each year.
The Kansas basketball courts have produced many national figures who break into the news sheets with regularity. John Bunn of Stanford, "Dutch" Lonborg of Northwestern University and a few of the better known pupils of Dr. Forrest C. "Phog" Allen, famed Kansas mentor.
George Staplen, a member of the 1937 varsity football team which tipped Nebraska, played professional ball last fall. Jim Bauchus, considered by many to be Kansas' greatest athlete, also played professional football. In addition to this he gained wide recognition for Kansas by winning the 1932 Olympic Games decathlon.
Coffman In Comeback?
Many Court Satellites
More recent in graduation are the University's contributions to Midwestern A.U. basketball competition. Playing for the World's champion Denver team is Dick Wells who was a great Kansas star only a few years ago. The Phillips "66"队 which took second honors in the A.U. tourney this year claim two extras. Fred Phelps and B. Helling. Both of these men were all Americans while playing on Mt.Oread. Other Kansans in A. U. basketball are Ray Noble and Al Welhausen.
Clyde Coffman, another decathlon man has recently been in the line-light with his announcement of an A.I.A. event in the A.A.U. event this summer.
Farrel Anderson, football player and catcher for the 1958 Jawhayear diamond team, is at present playing professional baseball for Joplin, Mo. "Ole Andy" left school early this spring to report for spring training. Francis Kappelman, former Jawhayear basketball star is also in professional baseball with the Salina Western Association club.
Dr. Forrest Clare Allen's life (career) and character is a study in finesse, determination, and success.
'Phog' Rates As Topnotcher Among Court Coaches
Although his honors and accomplishments are many and his fields of endeavor numerous, Doctor Alen has concentrated on basketball more than any other sport, with a record of 12 wins in 29 years of basketball coaching.
In addition he is a man who built a stadium, started a RELAYs, had basketball placed on the Olympic program, founded the National association and sent basketball disciples to many large Universities to coach.
Forrest C. Allen was born in 1885 in Independence, Mo., to Mr. and Mrs. W. T. Allen. In the Family many there were six sona and each an athlete. Out of the six boys all are living now but one, the youngest. After his death in 1933 in an airplane crash at West Point. At the time young Allen was an inspector for the National Department of Aeronautics.
The Allen boys were athletic conscious and most of their energy was spent on baseball until 1885 when they saw their first football game, after which they were dyeed-in-the-wool grid fans.
'Phog' Called a 'Flash' at 17
As the boys got older they began to fret; they didn't have enough in the family for a football team or a basketball number to make a baseball team.
Then "Pete" (one of the brothers) solved the problem. He joined the Kansas City Modern Woodman of America basketball team in 1900, and then introduced the sport into the Allen family.
In 1902 "Pete" enrolled at K.U. In his position on the Woodman team was taken by Forrest. Al-Hezekiah had a sport critic said he was a "flash."
In the following year Forrest joined the Kansas City Athletic Club basketball team and was immediately appointed manager. In 1903 and 1904 the Blue Diamonds were undefated.
One year later we find his first spark of promotional ability. At that time a Buffalo, N. Y. team was recognized as world champions. Allen challenged the Eastern team to a three game series for the title. They accepted. When Allen told the club officials what he had done they threw up their hands and moaned. "I'll break us. We can't afford it."
DR,F,C,ALLEN
But in his tenacious fashion Allen went outside the Club to get the necessary financial backing for the event, and he succeeded. Incidental is the fact that the Kansas City team won two of the three games and that Allen was the outstanding player.
Forrest Allen enrolled at the University in the fall of 1905 and went to school here two years. His second year he lettered in basketball and baseball. In a game against Emporia State Normal, coached by "Bill" Hargiss, Allen scored 26 points that stood as the record for most points scored by an UNC until this spring when Howard Engleman scored 27 points against Oklahoma. At this time Allen was studying to be a lawyer.
Allen Sets Scoring Record
In the fall of 1907 he was hired
as basketball coach at Baker. And he proceeded to schedule a game with the Allen team, with the agreement that he could play with his brothers against the team that he coached. The final score was 40-30 and when the scorekeeper couldn't find his book at the end, many believed the Allen's had won, but Forrest wanted to keep his job, so Baker was accredited the victor without a squabble.
Returns to Kansas
After one year of coaching Forrest decided to study medicine as a help a career as a coach. He enrolled at Warrensburg College, Warrenburg, Mo. Following graduation there he was appointed head coach, and head coach it was beaten by Chicago Bulls basketball, track and baseball. He held this position from 1912 to the spring of 1919.
piphions. During his stay there in addition to his basketball titles he won four football and baseball crowns.
His first year of coaching, his teams were all undefended and his basketball team started a series of seven Conference basketball chan-
In the summer of 1919 he received an offer to return to his alma mater as manager of athletics. He ac- tended and took over the position that fail
The agreement was for Allen only to manage athletics, but when spring came W. O. Hamilton asked Allen if he wouldn't coach the basketball team and he accepted. This actually wasn't a new position because he had coached the Jayhawker basketball teams in 1908 and 1909. At that time he was the first court tutor, and was replaced by Hamilton, whom he in turn replaced in 1920.
Becomes Football Coach
Allen's team was fairly successful that season winning eleven and losing seven. The main thorn in the Jayhawkers' side was the Missouri
Tigers, who defeated them four times that year.
The following fall found the athletic department with a limited budget so the position of football coach was assigned to Allen. The team had a good season, winning four, losing two and scoring two ties. And one of those tie games has remained as one of the immortal athletic games in the history of the University.
The Cornbusters from Nebraska had brought down one of their typical teams that year, big, rough and plenty tough. The Jayhawkers were outweighed 27 pounds to the man. The main spring of the Knu-tee team was played who played the backfill position and weighed only 133 pounds.
The half ended and Nebraska was leading 20-0. Allen went into the dressing room at the half and quieted his squad down, praised them instead of criticizing them, and then told them that "10,000 people
out there think you can win. Now let's go out and do it."
Game Results in Stadium
It would be nice to write that they went out and won an uphill battle but they didn't. The place kick for the extra point following the third touchdown was blocked at Nebraska and stood Kansas 20 and Nebraska 20.
On the following Monday afternoon students gathered in Fraser auditorium and pledged $160,000 toward a new stadium, so enthused were they over the football game the preceding Saturday.
Thus the drive for the Memorial Stadium started. Alien was immediately appointed chairman of the drive and was instrumental in securing the necessary money to build it.
In 1923 Doctor Allen was appointed Director of Athletics, a position he held until 197. It was from this new position that he and
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Mr. and Miss K.U.Jayhawk The World Over
To you, for the many years that we have enjoyed the singular honor of acting as your hosts, the Dickinson and Varsity theatres offer sincere thanks.
To the University, for the 75 years of service to educational endeavor-for building adequate young manhood and womanhood the Dickinson andVarsity offer hearty congratulations.
The first 75 years are the hardest! May our relations in educational and entertaining pursuits be enjoyed for at least 75 more fruitful years.
W. C.McKinney, Manager,Dickinson
Paul Kelly,
Manager. Varsity