Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | [1] Evansville, Indiana, U.S. | October 17, 1881
Died | April 23, 1957 Evansville, Indiana, U.S. | (aged 75)
Alma mater | Indiana |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
Basketball | |
1901–1902 | Indiana |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 4–4 (basketball) |
Phelps Franklin Darby (October 17, 1881 – April 23, 1957) was a player and coach of Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team in 1902.
Phelps Darby, a law student and starting center on Indiana's first basketball team, returned in 1901–02 as the captain, a role that, with no designated coach, made him a virtual player-coach. Darby, who also starred in football, was in charge of the 12-man varsity basketball squad. The rest of about 50 candidates for the team formed a class taught by athletic director and football coach James H. Horne. The class was necessary to widen the base of athletes familiar with the 10-year-old sport.
Basketball's newness had other ramifications, too. According to the Arbutus, "The fact that the game has been so recently adopted as a college game, and there were so few experienced players in the university, prevented a general interest on the part of the student body."[2]
Darby's team went 4-4 against collegiate opposition, all from within the state. Purdue University games were disasters for the Hoosiers: 32–8 in Bloomington, 71–25 at Purdue. For more than 40 years, the loss to Purdue was the highest score ever against the Hoosiers, until George Mikan and DePaul beat Indiana 81–43 on December 18, 1943.[citation needed]
Phelps Darby was a leader in the Western Conference (also known as the "Big Nine"), which would later become the Big Ten Conference. In its second year, a decision was made to change control of athletics at Indiana from a faculty committee to what was called "a more general body, in which faculty, students and alumni would be represented."[2] "To further this end the Athletes Association was organized and assumed complete control of all athletics, and it was stipulated that no man, unless a member of the association, could represent Indiana in any athletic event. Over 250 shares were immediately sold."[2] Darby served as the association's first president.
A few years after graduation, Darby returned to join Indiana's law school faculty as a specialist in bankruptcy laws. Darby practiced law in Evansville, Indiana for 53 years, and he served in the Indiana legislature. He died in Evansville on April 23, 1957.
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Indiana Hoosiers (Independent) (1902) | |||||||||
1901–02 | Indiana | 4–4 | |||||||
Indiana: | 4–4 | ||||||||
Total: | 4–4 |
Source:[2]