Bill Snead/Journal-World File PhotoHere’s a look at 50 of the most memorable sporting moments in Allen Fieldhouse’s storied history, in no particular order, as chosen by the Journal-World staff:
1. Wilt Chamberlain scores 52 points in his college debut, an 87-69 victory over Northwestern on Dec. 3, 1956. Chamberlain converts 20 of 29 floor shots and 12 of 20 free throws. He also had 31 rebounds.
2. Bud Stallworth drops in 50 points, many from long-range, in a 93-80 victory over Missouri on Feb. 26, 1972. Stallworth’s explosion is witnessed by KU’s 1952 title team in town for a 20th reunion.
3. KU registers an astonishing 150-95 romp over Kentucky on Dec. 9, 1989. Terry Brown finishes with 31 points while nailing seven of 10 three-point shots. KU led, 80-61, at the half.
4. Wilt Chamberlain returns Jan. 17, 1998, as part of KU’s 100th anniversary of basketball. Wearing his old letter jacket, Chamberlain charms the fans with an emotional speech and stays two hours after the game to sign autographs.
J-W File Photo5. Allen Fieldhouse opens with a 77-66 victory over Kansas State on March 1, 1955, as Gene Elstun scores 21 points.
6. Fans are astounded during a game with Kansas State on Feb. 20, 1965, when a pair of 6×12 banners saying “Go Cats, Kill Snob Hill Again” unfurl on the east and west sides of the scoreboard with eight minutes left in the first half of KU’s 88-66 victory. A wire stretching to the south end zone enabled visiting KSU fans to trip the banners.
7. Kansas wins the last meeting between Phog Allen and Oklahoma State’s Hank Iba, 56-55, on Jan. 31, 1956, giving Allen a 17-16 edge in head-to-head matchups between the legendary coaches.
8. Oscar Robertson scores a fieldhouse-record 56 points, lifting Cincinnati to a 97-62 NCAA Tournament victory over Arkansas on March 15, 1958.
9. Oklahoma players clip the nets Feb. 22, 1984, after spilling the Jayhawks, 92-82, in overtime and clinching the Big Eight championship. Afterward, peeved KU coach Larry Brown remarks, “What goes around comes around.”
J-W File Photo10. KU’s Lynette Woodard explodes for 44 points, most ever by a woman in the fieldhouse, in a 101-64 victory over Iowa State on Feb. 10, 1979. Eight days later she scores 49 points in a 105-54 victory at Southwest Missouri State.
11. Houston, led by Elvin Hayes’ 19 points, stuns the No. 3-ranked Jayhawks, 66-53, in an NCAA Tournament game in March, 1967.
12. KU thumps Oklahoma State, 75-57, in the final home game for seniors Danny Manning, Chris Piper and Archie Marshall. OSU coach Leonard Hamilton agrees to allow Marshall, on crutches because of a knee injury, to limp onto the floor and take an uncontested shot with 1:33 remaining. Marshall missed.
13. Anthony Peeler scores 43 points, but KU tops Missouri, 98-89, March 8, 1992, and the Jayhawks cut down the nets after assuring a tie for the Big Eight Conference title.
14. Danny Manning scores 40 points in a 70-60 victory over Notre Dame on Feb. 8, 1987.
J-W File Photo15. Wilt Chamberlain collects 46 points in a 102-46 massacre of Nebraska on Feb. 8, 1958. At the time, the 56-point margin was the largest in fieldhouse history.
16. Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich combine for 43 points March 1, 2003, in their last fieldhouse game — an 89-61 victory over Oklahoma State. It also was Roy Williams’ final game in Allen. A month later, he left for North Carolina.
17. Adolph Rupp, a member of KU’s 1923 national-championship team, brings Kentucky to Lawrence for the first time Dec. 14, 1959. Wayne Hightower scores 33 points, but Rupp’s team wins, 77-72.
18. Raef LaFrentz, Billy Thomas and C.B. McGrath finish their careers undefeated (58-0) at home with an 83-70 victory over Oklahoma on Feb. 23, 1998.
19. Missouri pops Kansas, 76-49, Jan. 24, 2004, in Marian Washington’s last game as KU women’s coach. Three days later, Washington takes a medical leave of absence and a month after that announces her retirement after 31 years and 560 victories.
J-W File Photo20. KU spills Missouri, 80-70, to wrap up the 100-year anniversary weekend celebration Feb. 8, 1998. At halftime, hundreds of KU players and coaches walk onto the court for introductions.
21. A crowd of around 14,000 shows up Nov. 19, 1955, to watch KU’s freshmen sting the varsity, 81-71, behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 42 points.
22. A school-record nine Jayhawks score in double figures in a 127-82 victory over Iowa State on Jan. 7, 1989. That’s also the most points KU has scored in a conference game.
23. Larry Bird tallies 22 points and grabs 13 boards in Indiana State’s 86-69 victory over Virginia Tech in the NCAA Midwest Regional final March 11, 1979.
24. Bill Bridges retrieves 30 missed shots in an 86-69 season-opening victory over Northwestern on Dec. 3, 1960.
J-W File Photo25. Terry Brown drills a school-record 11 three-pointers and scores 42 in a 105-94 victory over North Carolina State on Jan. 5, 1991.
26. Danny Manning tallies 27 points in a 100-66 blasting of Missouri on Feb. 11, 1986. It’s KU’s biggest victory over the Tigers in the fieldhouse.
27. Oklahoma State’s Randy Rutherford scores 45 points, but KU holds 7-footer Bryant Reeves scoreless in a 78-62 victory that gives the Jayhawks the league title March 5, 1995.
28. Approximately 6,000 show up for the first Late Night extravaganza Oct. 14, 1985.
29. Terry Brown scores 26 points, pacing KU to a 73-60 victory over Miami on Jan. 16, 1991, in a game that nearly was canceled because of the start of Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf. Brown dedicates the game to a brother serving in the Gulf.
J-W File Photo30. Several KU students unveil a banner made of shower curtains that reads, “Pay heed all who enter: Beware of the Phog,” prior to a Feb. 22, 1988, game against Duke.
31. A renovation project during the summer of 1974 covers the fieldhouse’s original dirt surface completely. A synthetic basketball floor is installed to replace the original portable raised floor. Five years later, another portable wood floor replaces the synthetic one.
32. Mitch Richmond scores 35 points as Kansas State halts KU’s 55-game home winning streak, 72-61, Jan. 30, 1988.
33. KU trails UCLA by 15 points at halftime, but rallies to win by 15 (85-70) Dec. 1, 1995. No KU team has overcome a larger halftime deficit.
34. Nick Collison scores 24 points and collects 23 rebounds before fouling out in a 90-87 victory over Texas Jan. 27, 2003, prompting TV analyst Dick Vitale to give Collison a standing ovation from press row. At halftime, Roy Williams gives retired Missouri coach Norm Stewart a rocking chair.
35. Alonzo Jamison shatters the backboard with a dunk during the 1988 Late Night.
36. Danny Manning’s jersey No. 25 is retired Dec. 1, 1992. The Jayhawks beat Georgia, 76-65, with Manning sitting in the student section.
37. In a Feb. 26, 1966, showdown between No. 6-ranked KU and No. 8 Nebraska, the Jayhawks romp, 110-73, and cut down the nets after clinching the Big Eight title.
38. Jo Jo White scores 30 points in his last KU game, an 80-70 victory over Colorado on Feb. 1, 1969. White received the game ball after coach Ted Owens’ 100th career victory.
39. KU downs Oklahoma State, 64-48, Feb. 3, 1969, for the 1,000th victory in school history. Coach Ted Owens had torn the seat of his trousers in the second half and had to wear a towel around his waist in a postgame ceremony.
40. Kansas State’s Mike Wroblewski scores 46 points, the most ever by a KU opponent in the fieldhouse, in a 91-72 K-State victory Feb. 7, 1962.
41. Coach Roy Williams tries to start six seniors plus Raef LaFrentz before waving walk-ons Joel Branstrom and Steve Ransom off the Allen Fieldhouse court prior to tipoff of a 78-58 victory over Kansas State on Feb. 22, 1997.
42. Jacque Vaughn’s three-pointer at :0.2 in overtime gives KU an 86-83 victory over Indiana on Dec. 22, 1993. Vaughn finishes with 13 points.
43. Four-time Olympic champion Al Oerter is among the KU competitors Feb. 3, 1956, in the first indoor track meet in school history. Kansas wins the dual with Oklahoma, 56-48, in front of 2,000 fans.
44. Marian Washington posts her 500th career victory, a 58-54 decision over Oklahoma on Feb. 20, 1999.
45. A sellout crowd watches Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls knock off the Seattle SuperSonics in an NBA exhibition game Oct. 11, 1997.
46. Coach Dick Harp goes on the PA system Feb. 23, 1958, to beseech KU fans to stop booing Missouri’s Mike Kirksey on the free-throw line. Harp is ignored, and the KU coach asks the official to call a technical foul on the fans. Kirksey makes three free throws, but KU wins, 85-81.
47. Iowa snaps KU’s school-record 62-game home win streak Dec. 8, 1998, with an 85-81 victory.
48. A Fill the Fieldhouse promotion on Jan. 9, 1994, lures a record women’s crowd of 13,352 that watches the Jayhawks edge Colorado, 59-57.
49. The Harlem Globetrotters, featuring Lynette Woodard, appear Feb. 10, 1987, and, as usual, defeat the Washington Generals.
50. Days after winning the 1988 NCAA title, coach Larry Brown holds an afternoon press conference in the fieldhouse to announce he has turned down a job offer from UCLA. Less than a month later, he bolts for the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs.
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