Maybe you have heard of the Allen Fieldhouse at KU.
Coach Allen was born in 1885 in Jamesport, Missouri. He graduated from Independence HS and yes, he was an outstanding basketball player.
He went to KU and won honors and coached the team his senior year. At KU, “Phog” was coached by Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball.
Allen coached at several smaller colleges, including Warrensburg where his record was 84-31. He came back to KU in 1920 and three years later they won the National Championship.
Allen coached KU for 39 years to a record of 590-219.
He spearheaded the effort to make basketball an Olympic sport.
He founded and became the first president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
He got the nickname “Phog” from his booming ‘foghorn’ voice while umpiring.
He died in 1974 but his legacy lives on.
Naismith invented the game but Allen and others rolled or pushed it forward and he certainly defined what basketball coaching should look like. I wonder if KU fans know that one of their most famous coaches is from Missouri.
