Thursday, 21 November 2024

Phog Allen

Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Coaches 2024
Embed from Getty Images
Sport(s): Basketball
Statistics: 2 Helms Athletic Championships (1922 & 1923)
1 NCAA Tournament Championship (1952)
3 NCAA Final Fours (1940, 1952 & 1953)
2 MIAA Championships (1913 & 1914)
24 MVIAA/Big 6/Big 7/Big 8 Championships (1908, 1909, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1950, 1952, 1953 & 1954)
1 Olympic Gold Medal (1952 as an assistant)
718-259 Record (Basketball)
34-19-2 Record (Football)
6-17-1 Record (Baseball)
Member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
Member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame
As a young man, Forrest Clare “Phog” Allen played every sport imaginable, but his coaching acumen is where he shone his brightest.

A baseball and basketball player at Kansas, Allen became one of the most successful and important basketball coaches of all-time, so much so that he is considered to be the "Father of Basketball Coaching."

Allen's coaching career began at Baker for three years and then went to his alma mater, Kansas, for two years. After a year at Haskell, he became the head coach and athletic director in 1912 at Warrensburg Teachers College (now Central Missouri) before returning to Kansas with the same dual-role in 1919. Allen stayed as Kansas' athletic director until 1937 and head coach until 1956.

While he was with the Jayhawks, Allen also founded the National Association of Basketball Coaches, which would later create the NCAA Tournament. Allen won that tournament in 1952, and while he coached Kansas, they only had one losing season in 35 years.

He was also a charter member of both the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and College Basketball Hall of Fame.

We are proud to nominate Phog Allen for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.

Back to List