Phog Allen: The Father of Basketball Coaching
There can be no disputing the designation in the subtitle of this interesting biography, because Forrest C. ("Phog") Allen overcame the argument of James Naismith, inventor of the game, that basketball didn't need a coach. Allen served (for a while under Naismith) at the University of Kansas as coach from 1907 to 1909 and from 1919 to 1956, and as athletic director from 1919 to 1937, also heading the physical education department for a time. Kansas City Star sportswriter Kerkhoff has written an evenhanded yet generally laudatory story of a highly controversial figure who spoke his mind even when his words spelled trouble for him. He attacked some of his faculty colleagues in the KU medical school, who objected to having a department head with a degree in osteopathy, carried on a running battle with the National Collegiate Athletic Association and stubbornly clung to his opinion-never heeded-that the basket should be raised from 10 to 12 feet above the court. Besides photos of Allen at various stages of his career, other illustrations are cartoons and ads from the period. 20,000 first printing; author tour.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.