AL DONAGHUE

DONAGHUE, ALLEN

Hometown:  Kansas City, KS (Wyandotte HS)

Al Donaghue

CATEGORY   TOTAL   1958 1959 1960
YEAR     So. Jr. Sr.
POSITION     F F F
HEIGHT     6'4 6'4 6'5
WEIGHT     204 227 208
JERSEY          
Games Played/Started 65/   23/ 25/ 17/
Points 566   115 266 185
   Per Game 8.7   5.0 10.6 10.9
Rebounds 300   91 125 84
   Per Game 4.6   4.0 5.0 4.9
FG: Attempts 560   110 242 208
       Made 229   46 102 81
       Percent 40.9   42.7 42.1 38.9
FT: Attempts 175   40 100 35
       Made 108   23 62 23
       Percent 61.7   57.5 62.0 69.7
Production Points/Game          
Production Points/Minute          

1958:

1959:

1960:  Academically ineligible 2nd semester.

Donaghue a Jayhawk to the end

By Bill Mayer, KUSports.com, Friday, July 20, 2007

The recent death of Al Donaghue, a Kansas University basketball player of note in 1958-60, left a sense of loss and grief in many a life, particularly those in his family. He had a tough battle with lymphoma, and I can only hope he’s comfortable and enjoying himself again.

Al, nicknamed “Sam” while playing under Dick Harp, brought a lot to the table in many venues. One of his best contributions was the loyalty and love he displayed as a KU product, especially as a basketball alum. I’m sad that his passing will take away a little more of the warmth that the KU sports program seems to be losing in today’s dash for dollars.

Al and his wife, the former Mary Susan Eggleston, were constant attendees at Jayhawk basketball games, and they and a number of friends helped create one of those pods of camaraderie and delight that were so typical of KU fandom over the years. People who had adjoining seats for the game got to know each other, relished those associations and focused their pride on Jayhawk achievements.

Deaths and illnesses have led to the dissolution of too many such “families,” and when you throw in questionable policies of money-changers who have rearranged and eliminated so many good people in recent times, you’re inclined to feel sad.

Al, a one-time Wilt Chamberlain teammate, and his clan stuck with KU and each other through thick and thin for years, and his loss creates just one more gap in the Crimson and Blue fabric of devotion and affection.

As for that name Sam, even Al was never quite sure why coach Harp came up with it. Truth is, Dick was a big band fan who happened to like some recordings turned out by a group headed by “Sam” Donahue. In tutoring Al (with a ‘g’), Dick fell into the habit of “Sam.” Whatever the moniker, the many contributions from Al Donaghue for KU and many of us are jubilantly celebrated.