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Forrest "Phog" Allen (November 8, 1885 - September 16, 1974) was an American collegiate basketball coach known as the "Father of Basketball Coaching". His basketball career got off to an auspicious start as a University of Kansas letterman under Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball.
Born in Jamesport, Missouri, Allen coached 48 seasons at four different colleges, compiling a 746-264 won-loss record. He coached at the University of Kansas, Baker University, Haskell Institute, and Warrensburg Teachers College.
His legacy is forever etched into Kansas basketball history. In 39 seasons at KU, Allen won an amazing 590 games, leading Kansas to the 1952 NCAA national championship. Allen was instrumental in founding the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) (http://nabc.collegesports.com/) and served as the organization's first president.
His forceful, yet reasonable, disposition helped him become the driving force behind basketball becoming accepted as an official sport in the Olympics in 1936. Allen would later coach in the 1952 Summer Olympics, leading the United States to the gold medal in Helsinki, Finland.
He coached college basketball for 49 seasons and compiled a 771-233 record, retiring as the all-time winningest coach in collegiate basketball history. During his tenure at Kansas, Allen coached both Dean Smith and Adolph Rupp, two of the winningest coaches in men's college basketball history.
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