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34 Ed Allin

Name
Ed Allin
Position
Guard-Forward
Class
Junior
Hometown (Last School)
Lexington, KY (Henry Clay)
Ht
6'1"
Wt
165
Seasons
1943-44, 1944-45, 1945-46
Birthday
March 2, 1924

Ed Allin was born Edward Wiley Allin in Dayton, Kentucky on March 2, 1924, to Edward Wiley Allin, Sr. and Helen Heckle Allin.  He and his family lived in the area where the present William T. Young Library stands.  His grandfather, Bushrod Warren Allin, was a member of Morgan’s Raiders, a group of Confederate cavalry led by the charismatic General John Hunt Morgan, during the Civil War.

Allin was a reserve as a University of Kentucky player from 1943-46 who later made basketball history as a high school coach.

Allin was on the UK teams in the 1943-46 seasons. He played a total of 21 games and scored 16 points.

Humzey Yessin, a manager on those Kentucky teams, said Allin was a talented player.  “He happened to come along when the Fabulous Five came along,” Yessin said.

During his three seasons for Kentucky, Allin was teammates with three of the eventual Fab Five: Wallace “Wah Wah” Jones, Ralph Beard and Alex Groza.

“So he grew up essentially right on campus,” said his son, Mike Allin. “He was hanging around and sneaking into UK practices when he was a young down in Alumni Gym.”

Allin graduated from Henry Clay High School. He was good enough to receive a scholarship offer from Adolph Rupp.

UK’s roster for those seasons said Allin was a guard/forward even though he was listed as only 6-foot-1 and 165 pounds. “Back then, that was a big guard,” Yessin said.  He scored a career-high 5 points on March 1, 1945 against Florida.

Allin also played baseball. He was a good enough catcher to participate in a tryout camp organized by the Boston Red Sox.

For many years, Allin worked as an umpire in softball and baseball games played at Lexington’s Woodland Park.

A history major, Allin wanted to be a coach. “He told me that’s all he ever wanted to do,” his son said. “He just wanted to coach high school sports.”

Rupp helped Allin begin his coaching career at Midway High School.

At Midway High School in the early 1960s, Allin became one of the first Kentucky coaches at an integrated high school to have a Black player on the team. Then as Woodford County High School coach in the 1964-65 season, he was the first to start five Black players.

“I saw Coach Allin as a trailblazer,” said William Bland, one of those five starters for Woodford County. “He was really a man before his time.”

 Bland said he believed Allin’s lineup was not an attempt to make history.  “I really can hear him saying, ‘I am going to play my best players,’” Bland said. “He was probably sending a message: Somebody may not like it, and that’s OK. But this is what I’m going to do.

“He wasn’t influenced by any political influences. He was a man that stood for right.”

Bland suggested that an other-worldly influence led Allin to use an all-Black starting lineup at a time of heightened racial tensions.

Allin, who coached at the school for seven seasons, was inducted into the Woodford County Public Schools Hall of Fame in 2018. He earlier coached 12 seasons for Midway High School and later three seasons for Bryan Station.

In 2008, Allin received the first Midway Living History Award in recognition of his dedication as a teacher, coach, and humanitarian and contributions to the history of Midway. During the ceremony, former players presented Allin with a poem about his courage to take a stand for Black players.

Allin passed away on August 13, 2020, survived by his wife, Jean Allin, son Mike, daughter Dottie Allin, and an older sister, Margene “Bitsy” Martin.

College Statistics:

Season Games Played FG FT Total Points
1944-45 11 4 2 10
1945-46 10 2 2 6
Total 21 6 4 16

 

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