Throughout the process of writing a book – organizing your facts, developing your thoughts, crafting chapters and beating deadlines – it is easy to lose track of the ultimate goal. In my mind, that goal is pleasing your readers. The final product should be a book that people enjoy. I was constantly reminded of that challenge during the two signings I conducted last week for my latest book, 100 Things Kansas Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.
There were smiles. There was laughter. It was very rewarding.
During my signing Saturday, Feb. 1 at the Kansas Sampler Oak Park in Lenexa, a gentleman approached me with a book he wanted signed. He told me his name was Kenn (same as my name with a slightly different spelling).
“I have something I want to show you,” he said.
Kenn pulled out an envelope from a pocket in his jacket. Inside the envelope were a few black and white photographs. Very special photographs.
I love college basketball. I love telling the stories of the history and tradition of basketball at Kansas, the subject of two of my books. To see the passion of Kansas fans and to understand how much basketball means to them is the greatest reward I can receive as a writer.
Kenn showed me his first picture and told me the tall, slender man in the photograph was his father, Loren Florell, a forward who lettered at KU in 1938 and 1939. There was a man standing next to Loren, wearing a long coat and a hat. Kenn told me that was a friend of his father.
“That looks like Dr. Naismith,” I said, referring to the inventor of the game and the first basketball coach at Kansas, James Naismith.
“Yes, it is,” Kenn said.
The photo was not dated, but given Loren Florell’s time at KU, it must have been taken shortly before Naismith’s death in 1939. Kenn told me that his father had been to Naismith’s home on several occasions. Their friendship took place at a time when Naismith’s first wife, Maude, had just passed away. James and Maude had met in Springfield, Mass., where Naismith invented basketball, and they had five children together. Maude Naismith died in 1937. James remarried in June 1939 and died in his Lawrence home later that year at age 78.
There were other pictures of Loren Florell, in his uniform and shown at various locations on the KU campus. And there was a team photo with Dr. Forrest C. “Phog” Allen, the revered coach of the Jayhawks who gave his name to Allen Fieldhouse.
I had never heard of Loren Florell until that moment and it’s difficult to find much information on the man. But his name is in the Kansas media guide, listed among all the great letterwinners in KU history, The Jayhawks were 18-2 overall in 1937-38 and finished first in the Big Six Conference with a 9-1 record – one of the many conference championships Allen won at KU. The next season wasn’t as good. KU was 13-7 (6-4 Big Six, 3rd) in 1938-39. Florell was gone by the time the 1939-40 Jayhawks finished as national runner-up at the Final Four.
In addition to Allen, the team photo includes long-time KU trainer Dean Nesmith and a player named Dick Harp, who would go on to succeed Allen as head coach when Phog was forced into retirement at age 70.
Kenn pointed to a player in the middle of the team photo and commented that he was the best player on the team, a KU great. His name eluded Kenn at that moment.
“That looks like Fred Pralle,” I said. “That’s right,” Kenn replied. Fred Pralle was KU’s first consensus All-American. Phog’s son, Bob Allen, who also played with Florell, once said that Pralle “was a one-man team” when the Jayhawks won that Big Six title in 1938.
Through Google, I found an article from the Dec. 18, 1937, Lawrence Journal-World that included this paragraph: “Also seeing action at forward have been Loren Florell, a sophomore from Topeka, and Fen Durand, a letterman. Florell, 6 feet 4 inches tall, has been bothered by a bruised hip recently, but has a fine eye for the basket and is a good man on tip-ins.”
And from the Jan. 12, 1939, Journal-World: “The guards, Corlis and Harp, are pretty well set in their positions, but the front three of the Allen machine are still in doubt. Golay, Ralph Miller, Howard Engleman, Don Ebling, Loren Florell and Bruce Reid, are forwards with plenty of talent, but which ones to use to obtain a five-man combination that clicks is the puzzle Dr. Allen faces.”
According to hoopszone.net, Loren “Junior” Florell, played in 31 games and scored 70 points in a Kansas uniform. Thanks to Kenn, I know that he also was a friend of the inventor of the game and dined with Dr. Naismith in his home on a few occasions. Loren Florell is a Jayhawk, just as much as Wilt Chamberlain, Danny Manning or Andrew Wiggins.
People have asked me if it was hard to come up with 100 Things to discuss in this book. No, the hardest part was trimming back. Thanks to Kenn Florell, I have learned another lesson from KU history. All the stories are fascinating. This one was really special.
In the numerous signings I’ve held since 2009, I’ve had fans show me Kansas family treasures, such as pennants and buttons, that have been passed down through the generations. I’ve heard stories about parents or grandparents who lived in the same neighborhood as Phog Allen. Every story is a reminder – a reminder of that ultimate goal. It’s the reason for writing these books and keeping the history and tradition alive.
At Allen Fieldhouse last Wednesday and at Kansas Sampler on Saturday, I signed books for birthday presents, I signed to grandmother and aunts, fathers and sons, and entire families. I signed to people in California and Florida, people who are transplanted Jayhawks and watch all the games on TV. I met a Lenexa fireman, who bought books for the Holy Cross school charity event. He bought a book for a firefighter friend who had been out the night before risking his life to help others during an ice storm. I shook his hand and thanked him for all he does. I was honored he stopped to buy my book.
I shook a lot of hands, got a few hugs, was thanked for coming from Connecticut to Kansas to sign books and was treated like a king. It all just reconfirms what I already knew: Kansas fans are the best. It’s not even close. (A few of my friends who went to K-State, Mizzou and Wichita State aren’t too bad either.)
Signing books in the Booth Hall of Athletics at Allen Fieldhouse is an experience I will always treasure. I was quite happy to sell 75 books in two events last week. Considering the cold and ice on Saturday, I can’t believe we sold 42 copies in two hours. I want to thank everyone at Triumph Books, KU Athletics, the KUStore and Kansas Sampler/Rally House who helped with these events. I had a blast.
I have so many great friends. Their support means the world to me. If you haven’t already seen the photo albums, please go to the Facebook site for this book and see pictures of my friends from junior high, high school, KU, my English professor and my band director. KU great Wayne Simien was there too. My son, Joe, gave up his bed and let me crash at his apartment for three nights. Thanks to him and my wife, Nancy, who stayed home and held down the fort in Connecticut, allowing me to have these wonderful experiences I will never forget.
But most of all, thanks to Kenn Florell and all the other Kansas basketball fans, who reminded me of the most important thing.
These books are for you. Never lose your passion – and Rock Chalk forever.
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