Harry Lancaster

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]

Harry Lancaster
Lancaster from the 1948 Kentuckian
Biographical details
Born(1911-02-14)February 14, 1911
Paris, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedFebruary 5, 1985(1985-02-05) (aged 73)
Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Alma materGeorgetown College
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Basketball
1943–1944Kentucky (assistant)
1946–1969Kentucky (assistant)
1981Kentucky (assistant)
Baseball
1947Kentucky
1951–1965Kentucky
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1969–1975Kentucky
Head coaching record
Overall163–164–2

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

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's 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]

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]

Head coaching record

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

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Kentucky Wildcats (Southeastern Conference) (1947)
1947 Kentucky 7–94–4T–6th
Kentucky Wildcats (Southeastern Conference) (1951–1965)
1951 Kentucky 8–10–15–9–110th
1952 Kentucky 8–76–66th
1953 Kentucky 7–115–910th
1954 Kentucky 9–104–10T–11th
1955 Kentucky 2–130–1212th
1956 Kentucky 4–181–1212th
1957 Kentucky 6–182–1412th
1958 Kentucky 8–95–47th
1959 Kentucky 18–89–54th (East)
1960 Kentucky 18–89–7T–3rd (East)
1961 Kentucky 17–810–62nd (East)
1962 Kentucky 12–7–19–7T–3rd (East)
1963 Kentucky 11–118–10T–4th (East)
1964 Kentucky 16–710–53rd (East)
1965 Kentucky 12–107–74th (East)
Kentucky: 163–164–294–127–1
Total:163–164–2

References
  1. "2009 Kentucky Baseball Media Guide" (PDF). Kentucky Athletics Communications. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  2. "All-Time UK Coaches". UKAthletics.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 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 19, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  4. "Harry Lancaster Dies". Daily News. February 7, 1985. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  5. Wallace, Tom (2002). Kentucky Basketball Encyclopedia. Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC. p. 13. ISBN 1-58261-569-1.
  6. "2014 SEC Baseball Media Guide: History & Records" (PDF). Southeastern Conference. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 9, 2015. 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 4, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  8. "Lancaster Aquatic Center". University of Kentucky. Archived from the original on 28 September 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
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