1919–20 Chicago Maroons men's basketball team explained

Year:1919–20
Team:Chicago Maroons
Sport:Basketball
Conference:Big Ten Conference
Short Conf:Big Ten
Record:14–4
Conf Record:10–2
Head Coach:Harlan Page
Hc Year:9th
Asst Coach1:Samuel A. Rothermel
Asst Coach2:Twohig
Stadium:Bartlett Gymnasium
Captain:Paul Hinkle
Champion:Big Ten champion

The 1919–20 Chicago Maroons men's basketball team represented the University of Chicago.

Regular season

The 1919–20 Chicago Maroons men's basketball season was the final of nine seasons for head coach Pat Page. This group was first Big Ten champion in ten years for the Maroons. The campaign began with a three-game home winning streak, a loss to Iowa, followed by a seven-game winning streak. The team would play 12 conference games with only two defeats. The Maroons were led by captain Paul Hinkle, who would go on to coach Butler University in basketball as well as football for nearly 50 years. Complementing Hinkle at guard, the Maroons also started Herbert "Fritz" Crisler who also would create a legacy for himself as a coach and athletic director. Additionally, the team rounded out the starting five with combinations of Clarence Vollmer, Robert Birkhoff and Ted Curtiss at forward, Harry Williams and Robert Halladay at center.

At seasons end, Paul "Tony" Hinkle, was named an All-American, while also being named 1st-team all-conference guard.[1] For Hinkle, it was his second consecutive All-American honor and it was the third consecutive all-conference award. Crisler and Vollmer would be named to the all-conference honorable mention team for the 1920 season with Crisler being named defensive player of the year.

National Collegiate Championship Series

At the end of the regular season, Chicago sat at the top of the Big Ten and was considered the champion of the Western Intercollegiate Conference. Simultaneously the Penn Quakers had won the Eastern Intercollegiate Conference. To decide the 1920 national collegiate basketball championship a series of three games was arranged between the two champions. On March 22, 1920, the first game was played before a crowd of 3,600 fans in Bartlett Gymnasium. The champions of the east would fall behind the Maroons at the half by a score of 17–6; however, the final score of the game would be much tighter at 28–24. In the game both Vollmer and Birkhoff each scored 12 points, while Curtiss and Halladay each added a basket.

The second game was played at the University of Pennsylvania's gymnasium which was also the YMCA. The Maroons were not equipped to play in a facility such as this and struggled to a 10–10 halftime score. But, in the end, the champions of the west would succumb to the Quakers and be defeated by a final score of 29–18. In the game both Hinkle and Halladay would foul out as the Maroons would be the recipients of 20 fouls, allowing the Quakers to have multiple free throw opportunities.

The final game was played on the campus of Princeton University within the University Gymnasium. Back on a familiar setting and playing on a semi-neutral court, the Maroons played a very close game. In the end, the Quakers would come out on top by a score of 23–21 and win the Intercollegiate National Championship.[2]

Roster

PlayerPositionClassHometown
Paul Daniel Hinkle captainGuardSeniorLogansport, IN
Herbert "Fritz" Orin CrislerGuardJuniorEarlville, Illinois
Clarence VollmerForwardSophomoreAlma, WI
Robert Droppers BirkhoffForwardJuniorChicago, IL
Edwin "Ted" Charles CurtissForwardSeniorDowners Grove, IL
Harry George WilliamsCenterJuniorChicago, IL
Robert Thayer HalladayCenterSophomoreChicago, IL
Paul C. HitchcockSubstituteJuniorBeltrami, Minnesota
Edgar Henry PalmerSubstituteSophomore
Charles Euclid McGuireSubstituteSophomoreSweetwater, TN
Frank John MaddenSubstituteSeniorChicago, IL
Jerome Price NeffSubstituteSophomore
Perry SegalSubstituteJunior
[3]

Schedule

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Bold Italic connotes conference game[4] [5]

Awards and honors

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2013–14 Chicago Maroons Men's Basketball Media Guide. History. University of Chicago. 2013. May 13, 2014. December 8, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131208162228/http://static.psbin.com/r/r/4kbkpifzert7y5/Chicago-MBB-Yearbook-2013-14.pdf. dead.
  2. The Chicago Daily News Almanac and Yearbook for 1921, The Chicago Daily News Company publisher, 1921, p. 434
  3. The Cap and Gown, Volume XXV, published 1920, p.380
  4. Web site: Chicago Maroons season-by-season results. sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2014. May 13, 2014.
  5. The Cap and Gown, Volume XXV, published 1920, p.384