ELMER SCHAAKE
Assistant Coach, 1941 and 1945
Played on KU's 1932-33 teams
Schaake was born at Abilene, Kansas, February 7, 1911. At Liberty Memorial High School in Lawrence, he lettered three years each in football, basketball, and track. He was an all-state guard in basketball and captained both the football and basketball teams his senior year (1928).
Playing football for Kansas University under Al Lindsey and Bill Hargis he made all-Big Six quarterback, and was captain of the 1932 team. The next year he played profootball with the Portsmouth, Ohio (Spartans), coached by George "Potsy" Clark, former Jayhawk mentor. He also played basketball four years under Dr. Allen, lettering two of them, so he is already familiar with Allen's style of play. After 3 1/2 years at Kansas, he received an assistant instructorship at Warrensburg Teachers and graduated from that school in 1933 with a B. S. degree in physical education.
Director of Physical Education and coach of all sports at Bethany college from 1934 to 1937, his football teams of '36 and '37 were second in the Kansas Conference.
Back at Lawrence High school as coach, he placed two basketball teams in the state tournament during the next five seasons, and won the Northeast Kansas league in football with an undefeated team in 1942. The fall of 1943 found him assisting Henry Schenk with the University of Kansas football team, and now, one year later, the basketball assistantship has also been given to him.
Source: Basketball at the University of Kansas, 1944-45, by Jim Mordy and Harry E. Morrow.