The Kansas Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in Wichita, dedicated to preserving the history of sports in the state of
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
. The museum provides exhibits, archives, facilities, services, and activities to honor those individuals and teams whose achievements in sports brought distinction to themselves, to their communities and to the entire state of Kansas.
History
The Hall of Fame was founded in 1961 as part of the Kansas Centennial Celebration. The museum has had a number of homes over the years, and is now located in Wichita, at 238 N. Mead. Funding for operating expenses is provided in part by donations, admissions, gift shop sales, and special events. The museum is not only a family attraction, it is also a facility for entertaining. The Hall can be used for special events, receptions, and conferences in a variety of settings.
In June 2009 the museum announced the creation of the Kansas Sports Museum, located at The Chisholm Trail Center in Newton, Kansas. The Hall of Fame also announced that it would be moving from its current location at 238 N. Mead to the Wichita Boathouse as part of a cost-saving measure through an agreement with Bill Koch, whose 1992
America's Cup
The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...
winning yacht
America³
''America'' (pronounced "America Cubed") is the name of both a syndicate that vied for the America's Cup in 1992 and 1995 and its boats.
1992 Cup victory
The program was operated by Bill Koch and Harry "Buddy" Melges in the 1992 America's Cup ...
is on display there. The new museum in Newton will occupy in the Chisholm Trail Center, 601 SE 36th St. (I-135 Exit 28). It will house exhibits and memorabilia the hall of fame won’t have room for after it moves to its new location at the Wichita Boathouse.
The Museum in Old Town Wichita is currently closed while the moving and renovation processes are taking place.
What to see
Basketball
Kansas is called the "Cradle of Basketball." Basketball’s inventor,
James Naismith
James Naismith (; November 6, 1861November 28, 1939) was a Canadian-American physical educator, physician, Christian chaplain, and sports coach, best known as the inventor of the game of basketball. After moving to the United States, he wrote ...
, the namesake of the
Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...
is featured prominently in this area of the museum. Legendary coaches such as
Phog Allen
Forrest Clare "Phog" Allen (November 18, 1885 – September 16, 1974) was an American basketball coach. Known as the "Father of Basketball Coaching,"Adolph Rupp
Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was an American college basketball coach. He is ranked seventh in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching at the Univ ...
,
Dean Smith
Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hi ...
,
Ralph Miller
Ralph H. Miller (March 9, 1919 – May 15, 2001) was an American college basketball coach, a head coach for 38 years at three universities: Wichita (now known as Wichita State), Iowa, and Oregon State. With an overall record of , his teams had ...
Eddie Sutton
Edward Eugene Sutton (March 12, 1936 – May 23, 2020) was an American college basketball coach. A native of Bucklin, Kansas, Sutton played college basketball at Oklahoma A&M (later Oklahoma State) and was a head coach at the high school, junio ...
,
Jack Hartman
Jack Hartman (October 7, 1925 – November 6, 1998) was an American gridiron football player and basketball coach.
Hartman played basketball and football collegiately at Oklahoma State University with his basketball tutelage under famed coach ...
,
Tex Winter
Morice Fredrick "Tex" Winter (February 25, 1922 – October 10, 2018) was an American basketball coach and innovator of the triangle offense. He was a head coach in college basketball for 30 years before becoming an assistant coach in the National ...
,
Gene Keady
Lloyd Eugene Keady (born May 21, 1936) is an American basketball coach. He is best known for his 25 years serving as the head men's basketball coach at Purdue University in Indiana. In his tenure leading the Boilermakers from 1980 to 2005, he went ...
Dutch Lonborg
Arthur C. "Dutch" Lonborg (March 16, 1898 – January 31, 1985) was a basketball, American football and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator.
Basketball
The Gardner, Illinois native coached for 23 years at McPherson Colleg ...
,
John McLendon
John B. McLendon Jr. (April 5, 1915 – October 8, 1999) was an American basketball coach who is recognized as the first African American basketball coach at a predominantly white university and the first African American head coach in any professi ...
, Ralph Nolan, Bill Morse, Ron Slaymaker, Bob Chipman, and Walt Shublom are also showcased.
On display
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
and
NCAA Basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athle ...
jerseys, balls, trophies, plaques and highlights of Kansas high school basketball. It also features displays of the prep dynasties of Dwight, McPherson, Newton, Wichita South, and Wyandotte are prominent as well as recognition of Bishop Miege and Little River Girls basketball dominance.
The museum also has photos and memorabilia from women basketball stars like
Lynette Woodard
Lynette Woodard (born August 12, 1959) is a retired American basketball Hall of Fame player and former head women's basketball coach at Winthrop University. Woodard made history by becoming the first female member of the Harlem Globetrotters and ...
,
Jackie Stiles
Jackie Marie Stiles (born December 21, 1978) is an American college basketball coach who was formerly an assistant coach for the University of Oklahoma women's basketball team and at Missouri State University. Stiles set several scoring records ...
,
Kendra Wecker
Kendra Renee Wecker (born December 16, 1982 in Marysville, Kansas) is a former American professional basketball player in the WNBA. She formerly played forward for the San Antonio Silver Stars and Washington Mystics. In the off season, she playe ...
,
Nicole Ohlde
Nicole Katherine Ohlde (born March 13, 1982) is a former American professional basketball player. She most recently played for the Phoenix Mercury and the Tulsa Shock of the Women's National Basketball Association.
College years
Born in Clay Ce ...
Marian Washington
Marian Elizabeth Washington (born August 26, 1946) is a former women's basketball coach, mostly known for her career at the University of Kansas, a post she held for over 30 years. Throughout her career, Washington achieved multiple awards and ac ...
.
Football
Jerseys, helmets, balls, All-American awards and certificates won by Kansans
John Hadl
John Willard Hadl (February 15, 1940 – November 30, 2022) was an American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 16 years. He won an AFL championship with the San Diego Cha ...
,
Lynn Dickey
Clifford Lynn Dickey (born October 19, 1949) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. He played college football at Kansas State and was sele ...
,
Nolan Cromwell
Nolan Neil Cromwell (born January 30, 1955) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kansas Jayhawks, where he earn ...
also by
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
rs
Gale Sayers
Gale Eugene Sayers (May 30, 1943September 23, 2020) was an American professional football player who was both a halfback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). In a relatively brief but highly productive NFL career, Sa ...
,
John Riggins
Robert John Riggins (born August 4, 1949), nicknamed "Riggo" and "Diesel", is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets and Washington Redskins. He played col ...
,
Barry Sanders
Barry Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL), from 1989 to 1998 for the Detroit Lions. Sanders led the league in rushing yards four times and ...
Kansas State University
Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...
vs.
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...
game is on display. A tribute to K-State's national prominence under Coach
Bill Snyder
William D. Snyder (born October 7, 1939) is a retired college football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Kansas State University from 1989 to 2005 and again from 2009 to 2018. Snyder initially retired from the p ...
features a photo collection and memorabilia of the
Wildcats
The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...
dynasty.
There is a memorial to honor the lives of Wichita State University football players killed in the tragic WSU plane crash of October 1970.
Kansas' small college football history includes Pittsburg State's national dominance under coaches Carnie Smith,
Dennis Franchione
Dennis Wayne Franchione (born March 28, 1951), also known as Coach Fran, is a retired American football coach. He is the former head football coach at Texas State University, a position he held from 1990 to 1991, when the school w ...
Ted Kessinger
Ted Kessinger (born January 15, 1941) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas from 1976 to 2003, compiling a record of 219–57–1 for a winning percentage of . He is amo ...
, Coffeyville Community College Coach Dick Foster.
Kansas' colorful high school football exhibits include items from perennial state powers Kapaun Mt. Carmel, Lawrence, Midway-Denton, Pittsburg-Colgan, Smith Center, Conway Springs and feature Kansas prep stars like DeAngelo Evans of Wichita Collegiate, Shannon Kruger of
Silver Lake
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
,
John Riggins
Robert John Riggins (born August 4, 1949), nicknamed "Riggo" and "Diesel", is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets and Washington Redskins. He played col ...
of Centralia and Hall of Fame coaches
Eddie Kriwiel
Edward Adam Kriwiel (September 8, 1926 – December 2, 2007) was an American football and golf coach. A member of seven Kansas halls of fame, Kriwiel was a figurehead in state high school sports for many years.
Playing career High school
At Tild ...
and Al Woolard.
Baseball
Some of baseball's legendary Kansas stars such as
Baseball Hall of Fame
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
rs
Walter Johnson
Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "Barney" and "The Big Train", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Baseball as a right-ha ...
,
Joe Tinker
Joseph Bert Tinker (July 27, 1880 – July 27, 1948) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played from 1902 through 1916 for the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Chicago Whales of the ...
and Fred Clarke are presented in the baseball gallery. Photos and memorabilia of the great Wichita State Shocker program under Coach
Gene Stephenson
Gene Stephenson (born August 31, 1945) is an American retired college baseball coach, who served as the head baseball coach at Wichita State from 1978 to 2013.
Career
When he arrived at Wichita State, he inherited a program that had been dormant ...
with stars like
Joe Carter
Joseph Chris Carter (born March 7, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, ...
,
Darren Dreifort
Darren James Dreifort (born May 3, 1972) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Early career
Dreifort played baseball in High School at Wichita Heights High School and was drafted out of High School by th ...
, and
Mike Pelfrey
Michael Alan Pelfrey (born January 14, 1984) is an American college baseball coach and former professional baseball pitcher. He is the pitching coach at Wichita State University. He played college baseball at Wichita State University from 2003 to ...
are surrounded by vintage photos and memorabilia including autographed pieces by Johnson,
Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
,
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Commerce Comet" and "the Mick", was an American professional baseball player. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...
,
Mel Ott
Melvin Thomas Ott (March 2, 1909 – November 21, 1958), nicknamed "Master Melvin", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants, from through .
He batted left-handed an ...
and countless others.
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
longtime standout player
George Brett
George Howard Brett (born May 15, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player who played all of his 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman for the Kansas City Royals.
Brett's 3,154 career hits are second-mo ...
was inducted in 2017. The Coleman Company/Johnny Bench Award given annually to the Collegiate Catcher of the Year by th Wichita Sports Commission is also on display here at the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame as are items from numerous Kansas baseball icons including
Elden Auker
Elden LeRoy "Submarine" Auker (September 21, 1910 – August 4, 2006) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Browns between 1933 and 1942. Auker batted and threw right-handed. Auker ...
,
Bill Russell
William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most V ...
,
Ralph Houk
Ralph George Houk (; August 9, 1919 – July 21, 2010), nicknamed The Major, was an American catcher, coach, manager, and front office executive in Major League Baseball. He is best known as the successor of Casey Stengel as manager of the New Yor ...
Murry Dickson
Murry Monroe Dickson (August 21, 1916 – September 21, 1989) was an American professional baseball right-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) during the 1940s and 1950s. He was known for his vast array of pitches and del ...
.
Track and Field
The track and field gallery shows off Kansas's reputation as one of the nation's leading producers of track and Olympic stars . Two Olympic gold medals are on display as well as shoes worn by world record holders
Jim Ryun
James Ronald Ryun (born April 29, 1947) is an American former Republican politician and Olympic track and field athlete, who at his peak was widely considered the world's top middle-distance runner. He won a silver medal in the 1500 m at the ...
,
Wes Santee
David Wesley Santee (March 25, 1932 – November 14, 2010) was an American middle distance runner and athlete who competed mainly in the 1,500 meters and mile events.
Born in Ashland, Kansas, Santee was nicknamed the "Ashland Antelope." Sante ...
,
Al Oerter
Alfred Oerter Jr. (September 19, 1936 – October 1, 2007) was an American athlete and a four-time Olympic Games, Olympic Champion in the discus throw. He was the first athlete to win a gold medal in the same individual event in four consecut ...
,
Glenn Cunningham Glenn Cunningham may refer to:
* Glenn Cunningham (athlete) (1909–1988), American runner, Olympic Games medalist
*Glenn Cunningham (Nebraska politician) (1912–2003), American politician, mayor of Omaha, and congressman for Nebraska
*Glenn Cunni ...
, and
Thane Baker
Walter Thane Baker (born October 4, 1931) is an American former sprinter and winner of the gold medal in the 4x100 m relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, with a new world record of 39.5 seconds. At those Olympics Baker a ...
.
Olympic champions
Billy Mills
Billy may refer to:
* Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name)
Animals
* Billy (dog), a dog breed
* Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945
* Billy (pygmy hippo), a pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge
* Billy, a youn ...
,
Bill Nieder
William Henry Nieder (August 10, 1933 – October 7, 2022) was an American athlete who mainly competed in the shot put.
Nieder was born in Hempstead, New York, and grew up in Lawrence, Kansas.Maurice Greene, John Kuck,
Catherine Fox
Catherine Mai-Lan Fox (born December 15, 1977) is an American former competition swimmer who won two gold medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
She is of Vietnamese and European descent. Her father, Thomas C. Fox (editor and former publisher of ...
,
Peter Mehringer
Peter Joseph Mehringer (July 15, 1910 – August 27, 1987) was an Olympic Gold Medal-winning freestyle wrestler from Kinsley, Kansas. Mehringer was nicknamed the "Kansas Whirlwind".
After learning how to wrestle from a correspondence c ...
and
Kenny Harrison
Kenny Harrison (born Kerry Harrison, February 13, 1965 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States) is a former track and field athlete competing in triple jump.
Athletic career
High school
Harrison went to Brookfield Central for high school, w ...
– and others, are prominently presented. There is also a high jump bar set at 7’ 4 ½”, the Kansas high school record set by Brad Speer of Wichita East in 1984 on display, and hundreds of photos of Kansas high school and college standouts.
Inductees
As of 2017 there are 273 individuals who have been named to the hall of fame, and the class of 2018 added 11 more for a total of 286. New members are inducted each fall. A partial list of Hall-of-Famers includes:
*
Johnny Adams
Laten John Adams Jr. (January 5, 1932 – September 14, 1998), was an American blues, jazz and gospel singer, known as "The Tan Canary" for the multi-octave range of his singing voice, his swooping vocal mannerisms and falsetto. His biggest ...
*
Mike Ahearn
Michael Francis Ahearn (November 28, 1878 – February 5, 1948) was a British-American athlete and college athletics administrator. Ahearn played and coached American football, basketball, and baseball, and was a college professor and athletics ad ...
*
Lucius Allen
Lucius Oliver Allen, Jr. (born September 26, 1947) is an American former professional basketball player. He is one of only a select few players to have won at least one state championship, collegiate national championship, and NBA championship. ...
*
Phog Allen
Forrest Clare "Phog" Allen (November 18, 1885 – September 16, 1974) was an American basketball coach. Known as the "Father of Basketball Coaching,"Elden Auker
Elden LeRoy "Submarine" Auker (September 21, 1910 – August 4, 2006) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Browns between 1933 and 1942. Auker batted and threw right-handed. Auker ...
*
Thane Baker
Walter Thane Baker (born October 4, 1931) is an American former sprinter and winner of the gold medal in the 4x100 m relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, with a new world record of 39.5 seconds. At those Olympics Baker a ...
Bill Bates
William Frederick Bates (born June 6, 1961) is a former American football safety who played for fifteen seasons in the National Football League, all of which were spent with the Dallas Cowboys. A fan favorite, he was a Pro Bowl selection in ...
Rolando Blackman
Rolando Antonio Blackman (born February 26, 1959) is a Panamanian-American former professional basketball player. He was a four-time NBA All-Star who spent most of his career with the Dallas Mavericks.
Blackman was born in Panama City, Panama, ...
Bob Boozer
Robert Louis Boozer (April 26, 1937 – May 19, 2012) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Boozer won a gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics and won an NBA Championship as a member of the ...
*
Bob Brannum
Robert Warren Brannum (May 28, 1925 – February 5, 2005) was an American basketball player.
A 6'5" center from Winfield, Kansas, Brannum attended the University of Kentucky and Michigan State before playing professional basketball.
Brannum wa ...
*
George Brett
George Howard Brett (born May 15, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player who played all of his 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman for the Kansas City Royals.
Brett's 3,154 career hits are second-mo ...
*
Chuck Broyles
Charles Leroy Broyles (born February 5, 1947) is a former American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Pittsburg State University from 1990 to 2009, compiling a record of 198–47–2 in 20 se ...
*
Kurt Budke
Kurt John Budke (June 3, 1961 – November 17, 2011) was an American college basketball coach. Budke was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. His final coaching job was as the head coach for the Oklahoma State Cowgirls baske ...
*
Antoine Carr
Antoine Labotte Carr (born July 23, 1961) is an American retired basketball player. Nicknamed "Big Dawg", he played power forward (and sometimes center) for six different teams in the National Basketball Association across 16 seasons.
Early life ...
*
Joe Carter
Joseph Chris Carter (born March 7, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, ...
*
Wilt Chamberlain
Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a Center (basketball), center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 yea ...
*
Jim Colbert
James Joseph Colbert (born March 9, 1941) is an American professional golfer.
Colbert was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He attended Kansas State University, where he finished second in the NCAA golf championships in 1964, before graduating ...
*
Nolan Cromwell
Nolan Neil Cromwell (born January 30, 1955) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kansas Jayhawks, where he earn ...
*
Glenn Cunningham Glenn Cunningham may refer to:
* Glenn Cunningham (athlete) (1909–1988), American runner, Olympic Games medalist
*Glenn Cunningham (Nebraska politician) (1912–2003), American politician, mayor of Omaha, and congressman for Nebraska
*Glenn Cunni ...
*
Darren Daulton
Darren Arthur Daulton (January 3, 1962 – August 6, 2017), nicknamed "Dutch", was an American professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (, –) and Miami Marlins, Florida Marlins (199 ...
*
Lynn Dickey
Clifford Lynn Dickey (born October 19, 1949) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. He played college football at Kansas State and was sele ...
*
Bobby Douglass
Robert Gilchrist Douglass (born June 22, 1947) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) who played most of his career with the Chicago Bears, who drafted him in the second round of the 1969 NFL Draft. Durin ...
Martin Gramatica Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austr ...
*
Steve Grogan
Steven James Grogan (born July 24, 1953) is a former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for sixteen seasons with the New England Patriots. He played college football at Kansas State University and was sel ...
*
Bill Guthridge
William Wallace Guthridge (July 27, 1937 – May 12, 2015) was an American college basketball coach. Guthridge initially gained recognition after serving for thirty years as Dean Smith's assistant at the University of North Carolina and summing ...
*
John Hadl
John Willard Hadl (February 15, 1940 – November 30, 2022) was an American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 16 years. He won an AFL championship with the San Diego Cha ...
Jack Hartman
Jack Hartman (October 7, 1925 – November 6, 1998) was an American gridiron football player and basketball coach.
Hartman played basketball and football collegiately at Oklahoma State University with his basketball tutelage under famed coach ...
Ralph Houk
Ralph George Houk (; August 9, 1919 – July 21, 2010), nicknamed The Major, was an American catcher, coach, manager, and front office executive in Major League Baseball. He is best known as the successor of Casey Stengel as manager of the New Yor ...
*
David Jaynes
David Duane Jaynes (born December 12, 1952) is a former American football quarterback. He played in college at the University of Kansas, where he was selected to the 1973 College Football All-America Team. That same year, he was a finalist for t ...
*
Walter Johnson
Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "Barney" and "The Big Train", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Baseball as a right-ha ...
*
Ewing Kauffman
Ewing Marion Kauffman (September 21, 1916 August 1, 1993) was an American pharmaceutical entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Major League Baseball owner.
Early life and education
Ewing Kauffman was born on September 21, 1916, on a farm near Gar ...
Bob Kenney
Robert Earl "Bob" Kenney (June 23, 1931 – October 27, 2014) was an All-State basketball player at Winfield High School in Winfield, Kansas as well as an American basketball player who competed in the Basketball at the 1952 Summer Olympi ...
Lon Kruger
Lonnie Duane Kruger (born August 19, 1952) is a retired American college and professional basketball coach who was most recently the men's basketball head coach of the University of Oklahoma. Kruger played college basketball for Kansas State Uni ...
*
Bill Lienhard
William Barner Lienhard (January 14, 1930 – February 8, 2022) was an American basketball player who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics.
Lienhard was born in Slaton, Texas
Slaton is a city in Lubbock County, Texas, United States foun ...
*
Emil Liston
Emil Smith "Liz" Liston (August 21, 1890 – October 26, 1949) was an American athletic coach and administrator. He coached basketball, football and baseball at Wesleyan University and Baker University. He was the founder of the National Associat ...
*
Cleo Littleton
Cleophus "Cleo" Littleton (born December 31, 1932) is a former American college basketball player who played for Wichita State University, then known as The Municipal University of Wichita.
Littleton was the first college basketball player locate ...
*
Clyde Lovellette
Clyde Edward Lovellette ( ; September 7, 1929 – March 9, 2016) was an American professional basketball player. Lovellette was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988. He was the first basketball player in history to ...
*
Danny Manning
Daniel Ricardo Manning (born May 17, 1966) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the Associate Head Mens Basketball Coach at the University of Louisville. Manning played high school basketball at Walter Hin ...
Xavier McDaniel
Xavier Maurice McDaniel (born June 4, 1963), nicknamed "X-Man", is an American retired professional basketball player who, at 6 ft 7 in, played both small forward and power forward. He played in college at Wichita State University.
Hi ...
*
Ralph Miller
Ralph H. Miller (March 9, 1919 – May 15, 2001) was an American college basketball coach, a head coach for 38 years at three universities: Wichita (now known as Wichita State), Iowa, and Oregon State. With an overall record of , his teams had ...
*
Billy Mills
Billy may refer to:
* Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name)
Animals
* Billy (dog), a dog breed
* Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945
* Billy (pygmy hippo), a pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge
* Billy, a youn ...
*
Brian Moorman
Brian Donald Moorman (born February 5, 1976) is an American former football punter in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Pittsburg State University, and was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free age ...
*
Margaret Murdock
Margaret Thompson Murdock (born August 25, 1942) is a nurse and former United States Army officer most widely known for her success in international shooting competitions, including a silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Murdock is the first ...
James Naismith
James Naismith (; November 6, 1861November 28, 1939) was a Canadian-American physical educator, physician, Christian chaplain, and sports coach, best known as the inventor of the game of basketball. After moving to the United States, he wrote ...
*
Bill Nieder
William Henry Nieder (August 10, 1933 – October 7, 2022) was an American athlete who mainly competed in the shot put.
Nieder was born in Hempstead, New York, and grew up in Lawrence, Kansas.Al Oerter
Alfred Oerter Jr. (September 19, 1936 – October 1, 2007) was an American athlete and a four-time Olympic Games, Olympic Champion in the discus throw. He was the first athlete to win a gold medal in the same individual event in four consecut ...
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Nicole Ohlde
Nicole Katherine Ohlde (born March 13, 1982) is a former American professional basketball player. She most recently played for the Phoenix Mercury and the Tulsa Shock of the Women's National Basketball Association.
College years
Born in Clay Ce ...
Paul Pierce
Paul Anthony Pierce (born October 13, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), predominantly with the Boston Celtics. He was most recently an analyst on ESPN ...
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John Riggins
Robert John Riggins (born August 4, 1949), nicknamed "Riggo" and "Diesel", is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets and Washington Redskins. He played col ...
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Adolph Rupp
Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was an American college basketball coach. He is ranked seventh in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching at the Univ ...
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Jim Ryun
James Ronald Ryun (born April 29, 1947) is an American former Republican politician and Olympic track and field athlete, who at his peak was widely considered the world's top middle-distance runner. He won a silver medal in the 1500 m at the ...
Barry Sanders
Barry Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL), from 1989 to 1998 for the Detroit Lions. Sanders led the league in rushing yards four times and ...
Gale Sayers
Gale Eugene Sayers (May 30, 1943September 23, 2020) was an American professional football player who was both a halfback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). In a relatively brief but highly productive NFL career, Sa ...
Wayne Simien
Wayne Anthony Simien Jr. (born March 9, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player, who last played with Spain's Cáceres Ciudad de Baloncesto. He was a member of the Miami Heat when they won the 2006 NBA championship. Simien pla ...
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Bill Snyder
William D. Snyder (born October 7, 1939) is a retired college football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Kansas State University from 1989 to 2005 and again from 2009 to 2018. Snyder initially retired from the p ...
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David Snyder
David L. Snyder (born September 22, 1944) is an American film and television production designer. He has worked as an art director, producer, and assistant director on films including ''Blade Runner'', '' Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey'', ''The Whole ...
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Gary Spani
Gary Spani (born January 9, 1956) is a former NFL linebacker who played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1978–1986. He has worked for the Chiefs' front office since 1989, and is currently the Director of Special Events for the Chiefs.
Spani w ...
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Bud Stallworth
Isaac "Bud" Stallworth (born January 18, 1950) is a retired American basketball player. He was a 6'5" (1.96 m) and 190 lb (86 kg) shooting guard and played college basketball at the University of Kansas (KU) where he was named 1972 All ...
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Dave Stallworth
David A. Stallworth (December 20, 1941 – March 15, 2017) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eight seasons and was a member of the New York Knicks' 1969–70 championship-wi ...
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Eddie Sutton
Edward Eugene Sutton (March 12, 1936 – May 23, 2020) was an American college basketball coach. A native of Bucklin, Kansas, Sutton played college basketball at Oklahoma A&M (later Oklahoma State) and was a head coach at the high school, junio ...
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Bill Tidwell
Billy Dale Tidwell (born April 8, 1932) was an American university sports administrator and former college track and field and cross country coach. Tidwell served as Emporia State University's athletic director from 1971 to 1979, and coached trac ...
Fran Welch
Francis George Welch (August 21, 1895 – June 19, 1970) was an American football player and coach, track and field coach, and college athletics administrator. He was of the first three coaches to be selected for the National Association of Interc ...
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Jess Willard
Jess Myron Willard (December 29, 1881 – December 15, 1968) was an American world heavyweight boxing champion billed as the Pottawatomie Giant who knocked out Jack Johnson in April 1915 for the heavyweight title. Willard was known for size rat ...
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Tex Winter
Morice Fredrick "Tex" Winter (February 25, 1922 – October 10, 2018) was an American basketball coach and innovator of the triangle offense. He was a head coach in college basketball for 30 years before becoming an assistant coach in the National ...
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Lynette Woodard
Lynette Woodard (born August 12, 1959) is a retired American basketball Hall of Fame player and former head women's basketball coach at Winthrop University. Woodard made history by becoming the first female member of the Harlem Globetrotters and ...