Harry Lancaster

Harry Lancaster
Sport(s) Basketball, Baseball
Biographical details
Born (1911-02-14)February 14, 1911
Paris, Kentucky
Died February 5, 1985(1985-02-05) (aged 73)
Lexington, Kentucky
Alma mater Georgetown College
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Men's basketball
1943–1944 Kentucky (asst.)
1946–1969 Kentucky (asst.)
1981 Kentucky (asst.)
Baseball
1947 Kentucky
1951–1965 Kentucky
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1969–1975 Kentucky
Head coaching record
Overall Baseball: 163-164-2

Harry Lancaster (February 14, 1911 - February 5, 1985) was an American college sports coach and administrator. He was an assistant men's basketball coach at Kentucky for more than 20 seasons under Adolph Rupp. He was also Kentucky's head baseball coach in 1947 and from 1951 to 1965. Lancaster attended Georgetown College in Kentucky, where he played basketball and baseball.[1][2][3]

In addition to coaching, Lancaster worked as an instructor and administrator. He was a physical education professor at Kentucky from 1941 to 1975 and Kentucky's athletic director from 1969 to 1975.[4]

Lancaster died on February 5, 1985, at age 73. He had liver cancer and diabetes.[4]

Coaching career

Men's basketball

Lancaster was an assistant to Adolph Rupp for 22 years, hired to replace Paul McBrayer when McBrayer took the head coaching job at Eastern Kentucky. He was at Rupp's side for UK's first four NCAA Championships (1948, 1949, 1951, 1958) and "Rupp's Runts" of 1966, that finished NCAA Runner-Up.[5]

Baseball

Lancaster served as Kentucky's head baseball coach for 16 seasons over two stints (1947, 1951–1965). He had an overall record of 163-164-1. Through 1958, the Wildcats had only one winning season under Lancaster, when they went 8-7 in 1952. From 1959 to 1965, however, the team did not finish below .500 and won more than 15 games four times. It finished as high as second in the SEC East, in 1961.[1][6]

From 1962 to 1964, future Major League Baseball player Cotton Nash played at Kentucky under Lancaster. Lancaster final season, 1965, was the first year of the Major League Baseball Draft. The Houston Astros selected Kentucky's James Monin in the 3rd round.[1][7]

Head coaching record

Below is a table of Lancaster's yearly records as a collegiate head baseball coach.[1][6]

Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Kentucky (Southeastern Conference) (1947)
1947 Kentucky 7-9 4-4 T-6th
Kentucky (Southeastern Conference) (1951–1965)
1951 Kentucky 8-10-1 5-9-1 10th
1952 Kentucky 8-7 6-6 6th
1953 Kentucky 7-11 5-9 10th
1954 Kentucky 9-10 4-10 T-11th
1955 Kentucky 2-13 0-12 12th
1956 Kentucky 4-18 1-12 12th
1957 Kentucky 6-18 2-14 12th
1958 Kentucky 8-9 5-4 7th
1959 Kentucky 18-8 9-5 4th (East)
1960 Kentucky 18-8 9-7 T-3rd (East)
1961 Kentucky 17-8 10-6 2nd (East)
1962 Kentucky 12-7-1 9-7 T-3rd (East)
1963 Kentucky 11-11 8-10 T-4th (East)
1964 Kentucky 16-7 10-5 3rd (East)
1965 Kentucky 12-10 7-7 4th (East)
Kentucky: 163-164-2 94-127-1
Total: 163-164-2

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Legacy

The Lancaster Aquatic Center at the University of Kentucky, the home of the Wildcat's swimming and diving teams, is named for Lancaster.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "2009 Kentucky Baseball Media Guide". Kentucky Athletics Communications. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 16, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  2. "All-Time UK Coaches". UKAthletics.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  3. Rutledge, Bill (December 17, 2008). "1966 Kittens -- The Coaches: Harry Lancaster". ASeaOfBlue.com. SB Nation. Archived from the original on August 16, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Harry Lancaster Dies". Daily News. February 7, 1985. Archived from the original on August 16, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  5. Wallace, Tom (2002). Kentucky Basketball Encyclopedia. Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC. p. 13. ISBN 1-58261-569-1.
  6. 1 2 "2014 SEC Baseball Media Guide: History & Records". Southeastern Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 27, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  7. "MLB Amateur Draft Picks who came from "University of Kentucky (Lexington, KY)"". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  8. "Lancaster Aquatic Center". University of Kentucky. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/7/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.