The First KU - Wichita State Basketball Game

Wichita Daily Beacon, December 17, 1908

KU and Wichita State first played each other on December 18, 1908.  Back then, WSU was known as Fairmount College. Fairmount became the Municipal University of Wichita in 1926, and was renamed Wichita State University in 1964.

KU took advantage of the Christmas break to make a road trip across Kansas playing the local colleges.  By defeating Emporia State, Kansas State, Kansas Wesleyan, Bethany, Fairmount and Baker, KU proclaimed itself Champions of the State.

Forrest "Phog" Allen was in his second season as the KU coach, but did not make the trip with the team. In fact, on the day of the game with Fairmount he was in Columbia, MO officiating the basketball game between Missouri and Warrensburg.  This was not unusual for the time, James Naismith also did not always travel with the team during his coaching tenure.

The game was the first ever in Fairmount's new gymnasium and KU won by a score of 65 to 15. Tommy Johnson led KU in scoring with 27 points, making 13 field goals and one free throw. Johnson's point total was a new KU scoring record, eclipsing Phog Allen's 26 point output against Emporia State in 1906. Johnson and Allen were freshman teammates in 1906 (Johnson tossed in 16 points in Allen's record-breaking game).

George McCune chipped in 21 points, marking the first time two Jayhawks scored 20 or more points in the same game.

It was the first game of the season for Fairmount.  Things didn't get any better in their second game which was played only a few hours later.  After the 50-point drubbing in the afternoon game against KU, Fairmount's team traveled to Newton, KS that evening and was again defeated by 50 points, 69 to 19, by the local YMCA team.

KU would go on to win its first 19 games en route to a 25-3 record and the Missouri Valley Conference championship during the 1908-09 season.

Boxscore from Wichita Daily Eagle

Kansan, January 5, 1909

Evolution of the Kansas single game scoring record.

4  William Sutton, vs Kansas City YMCA, February 3, 1899

13 William Sutton, vs Topeka YMCA, February 10, 1899
13 William Sutton, vs Kansas City YMCA, February 25, 1899

19 William Sutton, vs Topeka YMCA, March 3, 1899

21 Frederick Owens, vs Haskell, January 14, 1902

21 Donald Alford, vs Leavenworth High School, March 21, 1902

21 William Miller, vs Nebraska Wesleyan, January 28, 1905

23 Forrest Allen, vs Nebraska, February 12, 1906

26 Forrest Allen, vs Emporia St., March 3, 1906
27 Tommy Johnson, vs Fairmount College (Wichita St), December 18, 1908
40 Ralph Sproull, vs Washington MO, February 8, 1913
42 Clyde Lovellette, vs SMU, December 14, 1951
44 Clyde Lovellette, vs St. Louis in Kansas City, NCAA tournament, March 22, 1952
44 B. H. Born, vs Colorado, March 2, 1953
52 Wilt Chamberlain, vs Northwestern, December 3, 1956