Dateline: December 3, 1949 - KU's First Televised Basketball Game

Television made its debut in Kansas City on October 16, 1949.  A few weeks later, basketball made its television debut in Kansas City when Rockhurst College hosted the Kansas Jayhawks on December 3, 1949.  WDAF-TV broadcast the game to the estimated 20,434 television sets in the Kansas City area (the number had grown from 7,500 sets in October, and 15,755 sets in November).

Kansas City Star, December 2, 1949

Kansas City Star, December 3, 1949

Another debut was made that night as Clyde Lovellette played in his first game for the Jayhawks.

The following is the Kansas City Star's take on the novelty, from its December 4 , 1949 issue.

CAGERS ARE TV STARS 

FAST ACTION INTO LENSES AT K. U. – ROCKHURST GAME. 

Two Cameras Give Fans at Home a Close-Up Seat as Basketball Joins Other Video Sports.
----------------
Basketball made its television debut in Kansas City last night and proved itself a worthy companion of the sports of the ring and the rink as a WDAF-TV medium.  The probing eye of video brought out all the speed and gusto of action as the University of Kansas defeated Rockhurst college, 55 to 34. 

TWO CAMERAS ARE USED.
With the two cameras settled in a corner of the Mason-Halpin field house at Rockhurst, the plays were followed as they were set up.  Then the cameras seemingly reached almost into the baskets to follow the course of the ball as the counters were rung up.  K. U. had little trouble in handling the Rockhurst team, but the Kansas City school had it all over the Jayhawkers in the field of uniforms being telegenic.  The white Rockhurst letters stood out well against the dark blue uniforms, while K. U.’s  blue letters on red uniforms were at times indistinct.  Strangely enough, the television was at its best when the play was in the end of the court away from the cameras.  There, the range took in the entire width of the court.  At the near end the camera’s scope was lessened by the very proximity. 

TV AUDIENCE KEPT POSTED.
Victor Peck, the announcer, concentrated on identifying the players and keeping the television audience posted on the score and the time, letting the cameras provide the account of the action.  In many instances the cameras took the viewer closer to the play than they ever could have gone if at the scene of the game.  One outstanding sequence was in the first half when the cameras swooped down on the basket while eager Jayhawkers tapped the ball six times in a futile effort to sink rebound shots.  The close confines of the gymnasium were ideal for picking up the cheers, the enthusiasm which marks basketball.  At one time Peck’s voice virtually was drowned out as the partisan crowd booed what it considered roughness on the part of a Kansas player. 

CROWD AT NEAR RECORD.
Between halves Peck interviewed the Rev. Paul Smith, Rockhurst athletic director, who estimated the crowd at 3,400, a near record for the field house.  Father Smith also volunteered the statement that:  “We are very glad to have television here and I want you to know the welcome sign will always be out for WDAF-TV.”  Also in the intermission Peck explained that WDAF-TV had a 9-man crew at the scene and that the mobile video unit was parked outside the field house, relaying the program to thousands of television sets in the area.
Moving back to the court between halves the cameras picked up a shot of Dr. F. C. Allen, Jayhawker coach, at his ebullient best, slapping a well-wisher on the back while, at the same time, issuing orders to his players, about to take the floor. 

FIND A GAP IN DEFENSE.
At the onset of the half the cameras themselves seemed to pick a gap in the K. U. defense, through which Rockhurst quickly drove for a setup.  Again, the cameras moved down for a closeup of towering Clyde Lovellette, K. U.’s highly touted sophomore, shaking his head in disgust after flubbing an easy one.  As usual, there were those who made deliberate efforts to make their actions seen over television. But they were confined to a group of 7 and 8 year olds seated on the floor level at the far end.  They jumped, waved and grimaced for the benefit of the cameras on several occasions.

Other Early Televised KU Games

One other KU basketball game was televised that season, the Fifth District NCAA play-in game against Bradley on March 20, 1950 in Kansas City, also broadcast by WDAF.  Television sets were rare in Lawrence, so watch parties for the Bradley game were arranged for the few sets available. The high school had two 16-inch-screen sets placed on the stage of the auditorium where about 600 people gathered to watch the game.  The KU Student Union also had a brand new TV tuned to the game.  Downtown businesses with TVs reported crowds of between 20 to 100, some watching through the windows from outside.

During the 1950-51 season, only one KU game was televised, but not locally.  The KU - St. John's game in Madison Square Garden on December 12, 1950 was televised in New York City on WPIX, and the game was called by Curt Gowdy.

New York Daily News, December 12, 1950

The first KU home game to be televised was against Kansas State on March 7, 1952.  Played in Hoch Auditorium, it was also broadcast by WDAF in Kansas City.  An estimated one million viewers saw KU win.  The Kansas City viewing area had about 195,000 TV sets at that time.  In Lawrence, watch parties were organized.  The following is an excerpt from the Lawrence Journal-World's report of game.

Along with the game and its general area telecast, big screen TV made its debut in Kansas at Lawrence's own Granada Theater.  Over 900 fans, about 200 of them from Manhattan where TV reception is extremely poor, jammed every seat in the local theater to see the Wildcats and Jayhawkers perform on the giant 14 by 20 foot screen.  The theater picked up its signal direct from the auditorium where the game was in progress.

Kansas City Times, March 8, 1952

KU's first nationally televised game was against Wisconsin, played on December 10, 1955 in Madison on CBS.

Jesse James the Basketball Player

   In KU's first ever varsity basketball game played in 1899 one of the players on the opposing team was in trouble with the law.  He had been accused of train robbery, and his name was Jesse James.

   Sifting through newspaper accounts of the game, it is not initially clear who this fellow was.  In the Kansas University Weekly’s report of the game was this mention, 

"Jesse James, the young man who has lately come into prominence by his alleged connection with the recent train robberies in Missouri, at this time played a rough, and at times, a very ungentlemanly game.  He was cautioned and punished by the referee several times during the game.”1

   Attempting to decipher the Weekly's report, Bernice Larson Webb in her Naismith biography, The Basketball Man, apparently thought the train robbing claim was fiction and wrote,

“A high point of the event was the discovery by the Kansas players and fans that one of the Y. M. C. A. participants was a Jesse James, who, it was reported tongue-in-cheek, had a connection with the recent train robberies in Missouri.  Train robber or not, Jesse James played “a very ungentlemanly game” and, despite several penalties and numerous warnings by the referee, helped his team steal the match from K.U.”

   In the 1937 Jayhawker yearbook can be found a review of early KU basketball which includes this paragraph,

"Most disgruntled fans who shout disapprovingly at referees, "Hey, Jesse, where's your horse," never had the opportunity that Kansas fans of 1899 did. The famous old desperado himself played against Kansas that year in the first game ever played by the University.  Jesse James played right back on the Kansas City Y. M. C. A. team and according to the account of the game, "played a rough, and at times, a very ungentlemanly game."  He was cautioned and punished by the referee several times.  His roughness apparently persuaded the University team to stay out of his territory and Jesse's team won the game 16-5.  Several weeks later when K. U. again played the Y team Jesse was dodging the law so the Lawrence boys dodged their opponents, sans young James, often enough to win 17-14. Apparently this daring young gunman was to his basketball team what his horse was to him.”2

   So who was this Jesse James, and was he really involved in, of all things, train robbery?  He obviously wasn't the "famous old desperado" the Jayhawker claimed him to be.  That Jesse James was killed in 1882.  But he did have a son, also named Jesse.

Jesse James, Jr.

   Jesse Edward James was the son of Jesse Woodson James, the notorious outlaw.  Until he was six years old, young Jesse did not know his father's true identity nor even his own real name, having been raised under the name Tim Howard.  His discovery of the truth began in grisly fashion.

   When Jesse James was assassinated in his home in St. Joseph, Missouri in 1882, his son was nearby.  Many years later, Jesse, Jr. recounted the death of his father,

 "The morning my father was murdered we had just finished breakfast.  I heard from the front room the loud roar of a shot.  My mother rushed in and screamed.  I ran in after her and saw my father dead upon the floor, and my mother was down upon her knees by his side and was crying bitterly. My father was killed instantly by the bullet that Ford shot into the back of his head.  He never spoke or breathed after he fell.

Soon after the murder of my father a great crowd gathered outside the house.  My childish mind imagined that these were responsible for the murder, and in great anger I lugged from its closet my father's shot gun and tried to aim it at the people outside, but my mother took it from me"3

   Shortly after the death of his father, Jesse, Jr. moved to Kansas City with his mother and sister.  In 1896 he returned to St. Joseph for the first time since his father's death.  He would visit the house where the assassination occurred, however this was not the reason he came to St. Joseph.  He was in town to play basketball.4

The Basketball Player

   Basketball was first played in Kansas City in 1894.  Beginning at the YMCA it was later taken up by club teams and national guardsmen.  In 1896 Jesse, Jr. was playing for the Third Regiment of Missouri National Guard.5

  The position Jesse played was guard or back, which in those early days of basketball was defined as a defensive position.  In Kansas City the brand of basketball played was a seven-man game, eventually evolving into a six-man game by 1898.  Each team had two forwards who played near their own goal and where looked upon to do the scoring, two or three centers who were positioned in the center of the court and either passed to the forwards or took outside shots, and two guards who stayed back and guarded the opposition's forwards.6

   In the winter of 1898-99, Jesse was a member of the Kansas City YMCA basketball team.  But he found only enough time to appear in five games that season, he was much too busy playing defense in the court of law.


The Leeds Train Robbery
   

Kansas City Times, September 24, 1898

   In early 1898, when he was 21, Jesse opened a cigar stand in the Jackson County courthouse and it was here that he began befriending suspected train robbers, one of whom would betray him.

   On September 23, 1898, a gang of train robbers dynamited the safe in the express car of the Missouri Pacific Train No. 5 in Leeds, Missouri, a few miles southeast of Kansas City.  The explosion was so loud it was heard for miles, and so destructive that only about $30 was retrieved by the bandits from the resultant rubble.  The robbery was front page news in the Kansas City newspapers the next day.

“Dynamite Used In Plenty”, “The Safe Shattered, and the Express Car Blown Up by an Explosion Heard in the City”.  “That they did not blow off their own feathers was a wonder, for the car was razed, the great iron safe was shattered, and, for a distance of two miles, waybills and papers and fragments of baggage were scattered along the track.” - Kansas City Star

 “The track for 100 yards on either side was littered with broken parcels, pieces of timber, etc.  Flying fragments of the car broke down the telegraph wires along the Missouri Pacific and the 'Frisco, which parallels the former road.  There were several crates of chickens in the car and nothing but feathers was left to tell the story.” - Kansas City World

   

"Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?"

   

   William Lowe, an acquaintance of Jesse, Jr.,  was arrested and confessed to the crime.  Not only did he have a letter from Jesse in his possession, he claimed Jesse was the leader of the gang.  Jesse was arrested on October 11, 1898 and newspapers nationwide picked up the story of the younger Jesse stepping into his father’s footsteps.

   

Chicago Tribune, October 12, 1898

Los Angeles Herald, October 12, 1898

Atlanta Constitution, October 12, 1898

New York NY Herald, October 16, 1898

Chicago Inter-Ocean, October 16, 1898

Buffalo NY Evening News, November 3, 1898

   While out on bond and awaiting trial, James began playing basketball with the Kansas City YMCA Tigers, including the game against KU on February 3, 1899.  Not only did James Naismith bring his Jayhawks to Kansas City that night, he brought along the "modern" game of five-on-five basketball.

"A change will be made in the game of basket ball which is to be played at the Young Men’s Christian association gymnasium at 810 Wyandotte street this evening between the Tigers and the University of Kansas team.  But five men will be allowed on each team and instead of having the floor divided into thirds as has been the recent rule no division will be made and all will be allowed to play anywhere in the field.  This will have a good effect in that it should make the game even faster than it has been before."7

The accounts of the game in the Kansas City dailies singled out Jesse's play.

"Jesse James' defensive work was one of the features of the game." - Kansas City World

"Jesse James, Jr. is an expert basket ball player.  Jesse plays right back for the Tigers and puts up a fast and determined game, playing with a dash, spirit and gameness that is generally a feature of the games in which he takes part." - Kansas City Star

"Jesse James, who played one of the backs for the Tigers, was censured five times by Referee Naismith and Umpire Clark for fouling, but he played a hard game and got much applause from the crowd."  - Kansas City Times

"Martin and James were off in their playing, both forgot that they were not playing football and would start to run, hence the number of fouls charged to their account."8  - Kansas City Journal

   The rematch between the two teams was scheduled to be played in Lawrence on February 25, but whether Jesse would be able to play in that game was in doubt since his trial was to begin on February 23.  The Lawrence Daily World quipped,

"In the game of basketball to be played at the rink next Saturday night Jesse James will be on of the players for Kansas City, if nothing prevents."

   The trial continued all that weekend and the Tigers, playing without Jesse, lost to KU.  The following Monday the Kansas City Star in its coverage of the trial wrote,

“This morning when the trial was in progress and a witness was giving important testimony a young man whom Jesse knew very well entered and sat down close to him. 

Jesse leaned over and whispered:  “How did the Tigers come out at Lawrence?”

 A whispered reply was made and Jesse laughed and asked again: "Who played guards?  Who played in my place?”

Jesse is a member of the Tigers’ basket ball team that played the Lawrence team Saturday."9

   On February 28, 1899, Jesse was found not guilty, despite William Lowe's accusation and being identified by a witness to the robbery.  Those who have since studied the case also believe Jesse was innocent.10  In 1910 Lowe admitted his accusation was a "pack of lies", claiming he was coerced into implicating Jesse.11

   His trial over, Jesse found time to author a book entitled Jesse James, My Father.  Only the first half of the book is about his father.  The later half is autobiographical and is a summary of the Leeds train robbery and his own ensuing trial.  On page 169 of the book is quoted the Kansas City Star article from February 27, 1899 that mentions Jesse played basketball for the YMCA and his interest in the rematch played in Lawrence.

    A few days after the trial ended, Jesse rejoined his YMCA teammates for a game against Wentworth Academy in a game billed as the "Championship of Western Missouri".  Jesse played poorly, being charged with a staggering 13 fouls, but his team was able to win.12  There is no record of Jesse ever playing basketball again after this game.

Notes:

1. Kansas University Weekly, February 4, 1899.
2. 1937 Jayhawker, The Hawk Flies High, by William Fitzgerald, p186.

3. Jesse James My Father, by Jesse James, Jr.

4. St. Joseph Daily News, February 29, 1896 and March 2, 1896.
5. Kansas City Star, September 27, 1896, No Acting For Jesse, Jr.
6. Kansas City Journal, January 10, 1898, Is An Exciting Game.
7. Kansas City Star, February 3, 1899.
8. Basketball rules in 1899 defined fouls as any violation of the rules, thus they included such things as traveling or kicking the ball, as well fouling one's opponent.  There was no limit on the number of fouls a player could commit.  Disqualification after five fouls did not enter the rules book until 1908.
9. Kansas City Star, February 27, 1899.
10. The Train Robbery Era, by Richard Patterson, 1991.
11. Kansas City Star, February 20, 1910.
12. Kansas City World, March 5, 1899.

Most combined points in consecutive games

Andrew Wiggins joined an elite group of Jayhawks when he scored 41 and 30 points in consecutive games against West Virginia and Oklahoma State.  The combined 71 points is the 15th time in KU history that a player has scored at least 70 points in back-to-back games, but the first time it has happened since 1972.  Wilt Chamberlain did it 6 times, Clyde Lovellette 4 times, Bud Stallworth 2 times, and Walt Wesley, Dave Robisch and Wiggins once each.

91 - Chamberlain, 52+39, vs Northwestern and Marquette, 1956
81 - Chamberlain, 36+45, vs Oklahoma and Colorado, 1956
80 - Stallworth, 30+50, vs Colorado and Missouri, 1972
78 - Stallworth, 50+28, vs Missouri and Oklahoma St, 1972
77 - Lovellette, 44+33, vs St. Louis and Santa Clara, 1952
77 - Robisch, 39+38, vs Iowa St and Colorado, 1970
76 - Chamberlain, 40+36, vs Colorado and SMU, 1957
75 - Lovellette, 31+44, vs TCU and St. Louis, 1952
74 - Lovellette, 33+41, KSU and Colorado, 1952
72 - Lovellette, 41+31, vs Colorado and TCU, 1952
72 - Wesley, 34+38, vs Missouri and Oklahoma, 1965
71 - Chamberlain, 40+31, vs Marquette and St. Joes, 1957
71 - Chamberlain, 25+46, vs KSU and Nebraska, 1958
71 - Wiggins, 41+30, vs West Virginia and OSU, 2014
70 - Chamberlain, 38+32, vs KSU and Colorado, 1957-58

Chamberlain holds the record for most points in 3 consecutive games, 121 in the first three games of his college career.

30 Point Games In KU History, Part 2

In all, it has been accomplished 201 times by 58 different players.

The Players

Here's a list of the players and the number of times they scored 30 or more points.

Chamberlain/Wilt	30
Manning/Danny	22
Lovellette/Clyde	21
Wesley/Walt	13
Stallworth/Bud	8
Robisch/Dave	7
Hightower/Wayne	6
Kellogg/Ron	6
Pierce/Paul	5
Born/B. H.	4
LaFrentz/Raef	4
Simien/Wayne	4
Mason/Frank	3
McLemore/Ben	3
Randall/Mark	3
Brown/Terry	2
Collins/Sherron	2
Collison/Nick	2
Dobbs/Dallas	2
Douglas/John	2
Ellis/Perry	2
Gardner/Jerry	2
Gooden/Drew	2
Graham/Devonte'	2
Guy/Tony	2
Henry/Carl	2
Lawson/Dedric	2
Loneski/Ron	2
Newman/Malik	2
Sproull/Ralph	2
Suttle/Rick	2
Unseld/George	2
Vick/Lagerald	2
Wiggins/Andrew	2
Black/Charlie	1
Chalmers/Mario	1
Dreiling/Greg	1
Ellison/Nolen	1
Eskridge/Jack	1
Haase/Jerod	1
Harmon/Phil	1
Henry/Xavier	1
Jackson/Josh	1
Johnson/Elijah	1
Knight/Danny	1
Koenigs/Ken	1
Magley/David	1
Miller/Ralph	1
Mokeski/Paul	1
Morris/Marcus	1
Petersen/Gene	1
Robertson/Ryan	1
Robinson/Thomas	1
Ross/Ricky	1
Selden/Wayne	1
Thompson/Calvin	1
White/Jo Jo	1
Wright/Julian	1

Wilt, 30 X 30

Wilt Chamberlain played in only 48 games at KU, yet managed to top 30 points 30 times, including the first four games he played. In two of his 30+ point games he also had 30+ rebounds (Northwestern, December 3, 1956 and Iowa State, February 15, 1958). Chamberlain's career totals included six games of 40 or more points, 46 double-doubles, and 302 blocked shots.

Wilt Chamberlain is high man with 30 games of 30+ points.

Danny, 31 On A Monday In April

Danny Manning's 22 games of 30 or more points included a 31 point performance in the 1988 national championship game. Manning is the only Jayhawk to score 30 points while wearing yellow. When KU played Western Carolina in Cullowhee in December 1987, Larry Brown had the team wear yellow uniforms. Despite Manning's output, coach Brown was critical of the team's play and the yellow outfits were never worn again.

Clyde, Rolling In March

In the month of March, 1952, KU played nine games, winning all nine and in the process claiming the NCAA championship and the right to put 7 players on the US Olympic team. Clyde Lovellette scored at least 30 points in eight of those games, including seven games in a row (three times he was over 40 points). The one game he didn't break 30, he scored 29.

"Big" Clyde rang up 30 points 21 times.

Teammates

In the 2012/13 season, Elijah Johnson and Ben McLemore became the first KU teammates to ever score 30+ points in successive games.There have been 16 seasons in which two or more players scored 30+.

• 1962/63 Nolen Ellison and George Unseld
• 1963/64 George Unseld and Walt Wesley
• 1973/74 Danny Knight and Rick Suttle
• 1981/82 Tony Guy and David Magley
• 1982/83 Carl Henry and Calvin THompson
• 1984/85 Greg Dreiling, Ron Kellogg and Danny Manning
• 1990/91 Terry Brown and Mark Randall
• 1995/96 Jerod Haase and Paul Pierce
• 1996/97 Raef LaFrentz and Paul Pierce
• 1997/98 Raef LaFrentz and Paul Pierce
• 2009/10 Sherron Collins and Xavier Henry
• 2012/13 Elijah Johnson and Ben McLemore
• 2013/14 Perry Ellis and Andrew Wiggins
• 2016/17 Josh Jackson and Frank Mason
• 2017/18 Devonte' Graham and Malik Newman
• 2018/19 Dedric Lawson and Lagerald Vick

Trivia

Opponents that have suffered the most Jayhawk 30+ games,

• Iowa St 22
• Missouri 19
• Oklahoma 19
• Colorado 14
• Kansas St 14
• Oklahoma St 14
• Nebraska 12
• In nonconference games, Kentucky has been stung the most with six.

The most points scored by a KU player in a loss? Andrew Wiggins' 41 at West Virginia in 2014.

The first to put up 30 for KU? Ralph Sproull scored 40 points against league foe Washington University in 1913. "Lefty" also had a 30 point game against Missouri in 1915.

The first to put up 30 against KU? W. E. Anderson scored 34 points for Nebraska against KU in 1900.

30 In A Half

Scoring 30 points in one half has been done three times. Jack Eskridge was the first to do it against Nebraska in 1948. Amazingly he scored 30 points in the second half after going scoreless in the first half. Wilt Chamberlain scored 32 points in the second half against Colorado in the Big 7 preseason tournament in 1956. Walt Wesley scored 31 points in the first half against Loyola of Chicago in December 1964.

Going Out With A Bang

Four KU players have scored 30 or more points in their final game.

• Jo Jo White's 30 point finale in mid-season1969 was also celebrated as Ted Owens' 100th coaching victory.
• Bud Stallworth's best remembered game is the the 50 point barrage he had against Missouri in his last game in Allen Fieldhouse. But his final game was on the road against Oklahoma. Stallworth appeared destined to get 50 again as he scored 29 points in the first half. In the second half OU went to a box-and-one defense and held Stallworth to four points.
• Danny Manning had one of the all-time greatest performances in NCAA championship game history. His 31 points, 18 rebounds and 5 steals led KU to the title.
• Ryan Robertson saved his best for last, scoring 31 points against Kentucky in the NCAA tournament in 1999. Robertson took only 10 shots from the field, but he made seven including four three-pointers, and also was 13 of 14 from the line.