A hero for both sides
By Dolph Herbster Submitted to Corner Post
Rivalries between residents of neighboring states can be fun, but in some cases, they can get contentious. When it comes to college sports, this is especially true. But there are instances in which opposing minds can share a sense of pride together. I’d like to share one with you here.
Forrest was born on November 15, 1885, near Jamesport, Missouri. He and his brothers were very athletic and loved sports, including baseball, football, track and even boxing. But it was the newly invented game of basketball that captured his attention most deeply. In the early years of the game, rules allowed for only one player on each team to shoot free throws. Forrest was almost always the one chosen to do that for teams on which he played.
In 1904 he became a student at the University of Kansas (KU), where James Naismith (inventor of basketball) coached the school’s basketball team. Forrest played under Coach Naismith during the 1905 and 1906 seasons, while also coaching the basketball team at nearby Baker University. And when Naismith retired, Forrest spent his junior and senior years as both player and coach at KU! In 1908, he even coached the basketball team at Haskell Indian Institute, too. During his tenure as student-player-coach, the Jayhawks won 43 of 50 games and were Missouri Valley Conference champions. His 1908 teams had amazing years, as well. Baker won 22 of 24 and Haskell won 27 of 32.
After graduating from KU, he moved back to Missouri and earned a degree as a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine.
Soon, he gained a reputation for skillful treatment of athletic injuries. People came from near and far to be healed by Forrest. There the story could end. Amazing athlete turned famous doctor lives a long, productive life drawing multitudes of injured persons and sends them home restored to health. But that’s not the ending to this story.
Here, let me add more details that will tie together a name you’ve surely heard before to aspects you probably did not know about the life of that person. First, I’ll tell you that he gained a nickname while umpiring baseball games. His booming calls reminded someone of a foghorn, hence the moniker “Phog.” Yes, Forrest Clare Allen is the Phog.
Basketball and coaching were such a passion for Allen that even a strong medical practice couldn’t hold him. While continuing to run a private osteopathic practice, he coached all sports at Warrensburg Teachers College (now Central Missouri State University). His basketball teams had a 102-7 record and won the championship in all seven of Allen’s years as coach there.
In 1920, Allen returned to KU as Athletic Director and football coach. Very early in the season, he became coach of the basketball team, too. For 37 years more, Phog developed and led the Jayhawks basketball program, earning 771 wins, 24 conference championships and three national championships.
An interesting exchange with Naismith occurred when Phog mentioned an interest in becoming a coach himself. The inventor of the game told his protégé, “Basketball is something you play, not something you coach.” But the consummate student of the game knew from experience that techniques, strategies and teamwork were vital to success, and he was eager to teach those points to others. He later incorporated insight from his medical training. His work in that regard developed the role of coaching for all sports and for athletes of all ages.
Additional Phog Tidbits:
He was instrumental in basketball being added as an Olympic sport in 1936.
He coached the U.S. team that won the Olympic gold medal in 1952.
He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959.
“Phog” Allen is buried in Oakhill Cemetery in Lawrence, Kansas, near the grave of James Naismith.
Now you know why KU’s hallowed indoor sports arena is named the Phog Allen Fieldhouse.
