KU BASKTEBALL TIMELINE a 13-1 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference and a share of the league crown. Dr. Forrest “Phog” Allen Era:
Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball and KU’s first coach, is buried in Lawrence.
Dr. James Naismith Era: 1898: Dr. James Naismith, the game’s inventor, took the helm as the first basketball coach in Kansas history. Recommended by Alonzo Stagg, Naismith accepted the job for $1,300 per year. 1906: When one of Naismith’s players, Forrest “Phog” Allen, asked him about the coaching profession, Naismith said: “You can’t coach basketball Forrest, you play it.” Allen went on to coach at KU for 39 seasons. W.O. Hamilton Era: 1910: W.O. Hamilton took over as Kansas’ head coach, bridging the gap between Phog Allen’s two tenures at KU. Hamilton coached 10 successful seasons, including a near-perfect 18-1 season in 1909-10. 1914: Behind the high-scoring antics of Ralph “Lefty” Sproull, Kansas bolted to a 17-1 record, including
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three teams. In keeping up with the Olympic tradition, all of the competitors were amateurs, and FIBA introduced the indoor game in the 1948 Summer Olympics.
1908: Phog Allen replaced Naismith as KU’s head coach at the age of 22. He immediately led Kansas to the Missouri Valley Conference title — the first of 55 conference crowns KU has won to date.
1938: Fred Pralle became KU’s first consensus All-American, leading the Big Six in scoring and the Jayhawks to an 18-2 record.
1920: For one game — the season opener — Karl Schlademan was KU’s head coach. But Schlademan resigned after the game to concentrate on his duties as track coach, allowing Phog Allen to return as coach.
1940: Phog Allen convinced the NCAA to hold its second national championship in Kansas City. Allen’s team battled all the way to the title game, where it lost to Indiana, 60-52. The Jayhawks finished with a 19-6 record.
1922-1923: Seventeen years before the first NCAA Tournament, Kansas was awarded its first national crown by the Helms Foundation. Phog Allen’s team finished with a 16-2 mark. In 1923, the Helms Foundation again awarded its national title to KU, which went 16-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference and 17-1 overall. The team included greats Charlie T. Black, Tus Ackerman and Paul Endacott.
1941: Howard Engleman averaged 16.5 points per game and became the second KU player to earn consensus All-America first-team honors. KU finished 12-6 and shared the Big Six title. In 1947, Engleman filled in as KU’s interim head coach.
1934: Phog Allen’s team capped another remarkable run, winning the Big Six Conference title for the fourth-consecutive season and posting a 16-1 record. Sophomore Ray Ebling (12.8 ppg.) led KU in scoring. 1936: Thanks in part to the work of Phog Allen, the FIBA organized the first Olympic basketball tournament in the 1936 Summer Olympics at Berlin as an outdoor tournament. Dr. Naismith presented the medals to the top
1943: The Jayhawks’ 22-6 team in 1942-43 was led by consensus first team All-American Charlie B. Black and Ray Evans, one of KU’s greatest two-sport athletes. The Jayhawks won the Big Six Conference crown for the fourth-straight year.
Dick Harp played at KU from 1938-40 and later replaced Phog Allen as Kansas’ head coach.
Kansas’ first basketball team (1898-99).
1946: All-American Charlie B. Black and all-conference performer Otto Schnellbacher formed a great one-two punch in leading the Jayhawks to a 19-2 mark and a spot in the NCAA Tournament. 1947: Coach Phog Allen was ordered to take a rest for health reasons after a January 7 game against Missouri. Howard Engleman finished out the season as KU's head coach as Kansas finished with a 16-11 mark. 1952: Led by senior All-American Clyde Lovellette, Kansas cruised to its first-ever NCAA national championship, defeating St. John’s, 80-63, in the championship game. Coach Phog Allen built his team around Lovellette, the only player up to that point to lead the nation in scoring and win a NCAA crown in the same season. Lovellette was surrounded by talented role players such as Charlie Hoag, Bill Hougland, Bob Kenney, Bill Lienhard, Dean Kelley, John Keller and others. The NCAA Tournament title was the crowning jewel in Allen’s illustrious coaching career.
1953: B.H. Born and Kansas came within a point of winning backto-back NCAA championships, losing to Indiana, 69-68, in the championship game. Born was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player despite the loss. KU finished undefeated at home, 19-6 overall. Dick Harp Era: 1957: In a memorable NCAA Tournament final, Kansas fell to undefeated North Carolina in triple overtime, 54-53. The Jayhawks, coached by Dick Harp and led by All-American Wilt Chamberlain, finished 24-3, including a 12-0 record to begin the season. 1958: Wilt Chamberlain, hampered by injuries, still had many individual highlights including a schoolrecord 36 rebounds against Iowa State. KU finished 18-5 and ranked in the top 10. The next year Chamberlain took his game to the pros with the Harlem Globetrotters.