Harry G. Shaffer (1919–2009) was Professor Emeritus of the Economics Department at the University of Kansas. He was born on August 28, 1919, in Vienna, Austria. Fluent in German, Shaffer served in World War II, in which he acted as a translator. He was active in the Civil Rights Movement and the movement against the War in Vietnam. He wrote one popular book called "American Capitalism and the Changing role of Government" (still in print and available in hardcopy and Kindle editions) and about ten scholarly books, including "The Soviet System in Theory and Practice: Western and Soviet Views," "The Soviet Economy: Western and Soviet Views," "From Underdevelopment to Affluence: Western, Soviet, and Chinese Views," "The Soviet Treatment of Jews," "Women in the Two Germanies: A Comparative Study of a Socialist and Non-Socialist Society," "Periodicals on the Socialist Countries and Marxism: A New Annotated Index of English Language Publications," "Soviet Agriculture: An Assessment of Its Contributions to Economic Development," and others. Although out of print, all the books named here can be located on Amazon. Harry Shaffer prided himself on being one of the few American scholars presenting a balanced view of capitalism and socialism by presenting voices from both sides of the table. He also wrote countless scholarly articles, and a popular piece on U.S. History titled "The U.S. Conquers the West." He used to say, semi-humorously, that his specialty, Soviet Economics, no longer existed. He taught at the University of Kansas for 53 years after leaving the University of Alabama. He was one of the most popular professors at KU. In the later part of his career, he taught ECON 104, which is the introduction to economics course. The course attracted about 500 students every semester.
The KU men's basketball team has fielded a team every year since 1898. The Jayhawks are a perennial national contender currently coached by Bill Self. The team has won five national titles, including three NCAA tournament championships in 1952, 1988, and 2008. The basketball program is currently the second winningest program in college basketball history with an overall record of 2,070–806 through the 2011–12 season. The team plays at Allen Fieldhouse. Perhaps its best recognized player was Wilt Chamberlain, who played in the 1950s. Kansas has counted among its coaches Dr. James Naismith (the inventor of basketball and only coach in Kansas history to have a losing record), Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Phog Allen ("the Father of basketball coaching"), Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Roy Williams of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and former NBA Champion Detroit Pistons coach Larry Brown. In addition, legendary University of Kentucky coach and Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Adolph Rupp played for KU's 1922 and 1923 Helms National Championship teams, and NCAA Hall of Fame inductee and University of North Carolina Coach Dean Smith played for KU's 1952 NCAA Championship team. Both Rupp and Smith played under Phog Allen. Allen also coached Hall of Fame coaches Dutch Lonborg and Ralph Miller. Allen founded the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), which started what is now the NCAA Tournament. The Tournament began in 1939 under the NABC and the next year was handed off to the newly formed NCAA.

Question: What was the first year there was a men's basketball team at the university that employed Harry G. Shaffer?
Answer: 1898