Clyde Alwood
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 1, 1895 Zanesville, Ohio |
| Died | August 14, 1954 (aged 59) Clinton, Illinois |
| Nationality | American |
| Career information | |
| High school | Clinton (Clinton, Illinois) |
| College | Illinois (1914–1917) |
| Position | Forward |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Clyde Gobel Alwood (January 1, 1895 – August 14, 1954)[1] was an American college basketball standout for Illinois in the 1910s. A forward, Alwood would play for the Fighting Illini from 1913 to 1917, scoring 242 points in 41 games during his three years of varsity play earning a varsity letter each year. Graduating from Clinton High School, Alwood was the son of Henry Alwood and Minnie (Rundle) Alwood. He would marry twice in his life, his first marriage would be to Martha Amy Hargitt and his second would be to Doris Jean Keifer.
University of Illinois
Alwood would enroll at the University of Illinois in the fall of 1913 and join the varsity basketball team. His sophomore year would place him as a starting forward for the 1914-15 Fighting Illini team that would finish as the only team in Illinois history with a perfect record, 16 wins and 0 losses. This team would not only be Big Ten Conference Champions, they would also be named Helms National Champions as well as Premo-Poretta National Champions. This would be the University of Illinois's first national championship. As a junior, Alwood maintained his starting role with an Illini team that would finish in second place in the conference with an overall record of 13 and 3. Alwoods' senior season, while playing for hall-of-fame coach Ralph Jones, would bring the Fighting Illini an additional Big Ten Conference championship. Alwood would be named the team captain for the 1916-17 season and the Illini would finish their schedule with an overall record of 13 wins and 3 losses and a conference record of 10 wins and 2 losses. The season would bring two prestigious awards to Alwood, the Big Ten Medal of Honor, given to the one student-athlete from the graduating class of each university who had “attained the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work”,[2][3] while also being named a consensus All-American. This team was extremely special in the history of Illinois basketball due to the fact that it included the university's first Helms National Player of the Year, Ray Woods, as well as the National Football League's co-founder George Halas.
References
- "2004–05 Illinois Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2004. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
- "Consensus All-America Teams". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
- Scott, Frank William (2004). The semi-centennial alumni record of the University of Illinois (PDF). University of Illinois. p. 706. Retrieved December 5, 2010.