represented the United States as a unit on the American basketball entry in the '48 Olympics and were highly instrumental in capturing the World Championship of Basketball for the USA.
Not to be outshone by the highly-publicized cage powerhouses he has developed at Kentucky, Baron Rupp has scaled the pinnacles of professional and personal fame to win deserved recognition in his own right.
In 1944, he was given the highest individual coaching honor in the basketball world when he was elected to the Hall of Fame sponsored by Helms Foundation.
The New York Basketball Writers Association named Rupp as "Coach of the Year" for the rebuilding job he accomplished on the sophomore-studded 1949-50 Wildcats who succeeded the "Fabulous Five."
He was made an honorary citizen of New Orleans for the second time in 1951 and, at the same time, received the first plaque of appreciation ever awarded by the Sugar Bowl committee. Colonel Rupp was named to Kentucky's Hall of Fame in 1945 and, in 1949, was honored as the outstanding citizen of the University city of Lexington.
Rupp is a past Potentate of the Oleika Temple of the Shrine and is very active in Shrine hospital work. He was selected as one of the 10 outstanding Shriners of the nation in 1950 and holds honorary life memberships in various temples of the order throughout the country.
Recognized internationally in registered Hereford breeding circles, Rupp has four farms near Lexington on which he maintains white-faced Hereford herds and raises fine burley tobacco. He was named president of the Kentucky Hereford Association for 1953-54.
Born in Halstead, Kansas, Sept. 2, 1901, Rupp attended the University of Kansas where he played guard under the veteran Phog Allen. Following his graduation in 1923, Rupp coached one year at Marshall-town, Iowa, and then at Freeport, III., for four seasons before coming to Kentucky in 1930. Colleges and the pro ranks have repeatedly made eyes at the successful mentor, but he has chosen to honor a 10-year contract with the University which does not expire until May 1, 1957.
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