1907-08
OVERALL HOME AWAY NEUTRAL CONFERENCE PLACE
18-6 8-3 10-3 0-0 6-0 1st

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ROSTER:

NO. POS. NAME CLASS HGT. WGT. Hometown (Previous School)
    RETURNEES:        
  C/G Ralph Bergen ** Jr.      
  F George McCune * Cpt. Jr.     Leavenworth, KS
  C/F Billy Miller *** Sr.      
  G Milton Miller *** Sr.      
    Paul Wohler * Jr.      
  G Woodie Woodward * So.     Glasco, KS
    NEW FACES:        
  C John Hackett        
  G Louis Larson        
  G Donald Martindell So.      
  F Roger Peard        

          * Varsity letter     Cpt. = Captain    # = Walk-on     % = Nonletterman

COACHES:

Head Coach: Forrest C. 'Phog' Allen

  

LOSSES FROM LAST YEAR (' stats):

PLAYER LOSSES Class Hgt. POS. G/GS PTS PPG RBS RPG PPts STATUS
Phog Allen                    
Charles Siler                    
TOTALS                    

 

PRESEASON OUTLOOK:
Robinson Hall was built to look like the Springfield, Mass., YMCA where Naismith had invented basketball.  The $100,000 structure was a palace by turn-of-the-century standards.  There were 1,500 lockers for men and women in the basement, a swimming pool, a training area for the football team, and most importantly, a regulation-sized basketball floor and 3,000 seats for spectators.  No finer facility existed west of the Mississippi River.
Source:  Phog. p. 25

 

 

SEASON SUMMARY:
Allen's Initial Season: New Arena, League Title
At 22-years old, Phog Allen took over the coaching reins from Dr. James Naismith, just in time for the start of the 1907-08 season. That season was one of many firsts -- the first season in brand new Robinson Gymnasium (erected finally after several years of campaigning by Naismith and designed to look like the Springfield, Mass. YMCA, where he invented the game), KU's first conference title and its first year under Allen, who proceeded to win 24 league crowns.
Prior to entering the coaching profession, Allen had one standout year as a player under Naismith, before deciding to leave school to coach Baker University. Oddly enough, when he returned to Kansas to coach the Jayhawks, Allen remained the coach at Baker, and began coaching Haskell as well. Therefore Allen was responsible for three teams -- he worked with one in the afternoon, one in the evening and the third at night. His schools compiled a 74-10 record that season. Although Allen was coaching three teams, his main focus was on the Jayhawks, and his debut would set the tone for an outstanding Kansas season. Just two days after agreeing to lead the Jayhawks, Allen and his squad christened $100,000 Robinson Gymnasium with a 44-point rout of Ottawa on Dec. 13, 1907. After jumping out to an unheard of 31-0 lead, KU went on to win 66-22 -- the most points by a KU team in the first 15 years of the program. Kansas State had already developed into a big rival for Kansas. In Allen's first game against the Wildcats, KU prevailed 50-12. Three Jayhawks scored in double-figures -- George McCune (16), Earl Woodward (14) and Billy Miller (12) -- proving that the team concept was instilled at Kansas very early in the century. Four days later, KU faced another major rival, the Missouri Tigers. In a closely fought battle, the Jayhawks triumphed, 21-20, to capture their first-ever conference victory on Feb. 4, 1908. After clinching the Missouri Valley South division, the Jayhawks faced Missouri Valley North champion Nebraska for the conference title. According to the KU archive files, "It was a thriller all the way -- and there was no individual star -- every player turned in excellent games," as KU pulled out a 28-25 victory to win its first conference championship.
Allen's first team finished 18-6, laying the foundation for a remarkable career at Kansas.
Source: www.college-basketball-tickets.com

The First Conference Championship.

Phog Allen returned to KU as head coach for the 1907-08 and 1908-09 seasons before leaving the university for 10 seasons.  The Jayhawks went 6-0 in Missouri Valley Conference play in 1907-08, claiming their first league championship.  KU was playing in its new home, Robinson Gymnasium, and the 1908 Jayhawker yearbook reported that the championship season saw student enthusiasm for basketball reach new levels.  “The crowds ranged everywhere from two hundred up to a thousand, while for enthusiasm even the most exciting Foot-ball contests could hardly have equaled the rooting and yelling at the spectacular Basket-ball contests this winter.”

The first championship team was led by George McCune, who was from Leavenworth, Kan.  The yearbook reported that he “played a steady, consistent game at forward all season, netting many and many a point for his squad with his accurate goal shooting.”

Earl “Woodie” Woodward also played an important role from his guard position and was voted captain for the following season.  The Yearbook listed the other key players as “Billy” Miller, Milton Miller and Ralph Bergen.

Source:  The Crimson & Blue, pages 12-13

1908  FINAL TEAM STATISTICS (Team highs in bold):

CATEGORY

KU

OPP

DIFF

            

Games Played/Started

 24 24              

Points

 730 572 158            

    Per Game

 30.4 23.8 6.7            

FG -Attempts

                  

       Made

                  

       Percent

                  

FT-Attempts

                  

     Made

                  

     Percent

                  

GAME-BY-GAME

*Ottawa W 66-22   Dec. 13 at Lawrence
Ottawa L 33-39   Dec. 19 at Ottawa, Kan.
Newton YMCA W 37-32   Dec. 20 at Newton, Kan.
Newton YMCA W 39-32   Dec. 21 at Newton, Kan.
William Jewell L 16-27   Jan. 10 at Liberty, Mo.
Nebraska L 17-20   Jan. 17 at Lawrence
Nebraska L 21-23   Jan. 18 at Lawrence
Nome, Alaska L 28-34   Jan. 20 at Lawrence
Newton YMCA W 26-25   Jan. 24 at Lawrence
Kansas City AC W 25-16   Jan. 25 at Lawrence
Kansas State Athletic Club W 50-12   Jan. 31 at Lawrence
Washburn W 19-17   Feb. 1 at Topeka, Kan.
Missouri W 21-20   Feb. 4 at Lawrence
Missouri W 24-18   Feb. 5 at Lawrence
Washburn W 39-15   Feb. 8 at Lawrence
William Jewell W 19-11   Feb. 10 at Lawrence
Kansas City AC W 34-32   Feb. 14 at Kansas City, Mo.
Warrensburg W 34-16   Feb. 15 at Warrensburg, Mo.
Missouri W 30-19   Feb. 17 at Columbia, Mo.
Missouri W 26-22   Feb. 18 at Columbia, Mo.
Des Moines YMCA L 17-34   Feb. 19 at Des Moines, Iowa
Iowa State W 53-35   Feb. 20 at Ames, Iowa
Nebraska W 28-26   Feb. 21 at Lincoln, Neb.
Nebraska W 28-25   Feb. 22 at Lincoln, Neb.

* Dedication game of Robinson Gymnasium

 

Link to National Statistics for

Link to Big  Conference for