Arthur L. Powell (May 14, 1884 – March 10, 1969) was an American

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

and

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

player and coach.

Early life and playing career

Powell was born in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in 1884 and was brought to

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

as an infant. As a teenager, Powell learned the game of basketball from the

Buffalo Germans The Buffalo Germans was an early basketball team formed in 1895 at a YMCA on Buffalo's East Side. Team members included Dr. Fred Burkhardt (coach), Philip Dischinger, Henry J. Faust, Alfred A. Heerdt (captain), Edward Linneborn, John I. M ...

team. The Germans became the most-feared team in the country, playing against the best pro and amateur teams in the world, and winning with relative ease. In 1961, the

basketball team was enshrined in the

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

. After graduating from Masten Park High School in Buffalo, he starred in basketball, baseball and football at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

in the early 1900s graduating in 1907. Although he was five feet four inches tall, he jumped

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for the Syracuse basketball team and was twice named captain. He weighed less than 140 pounds but was the Syracuse football

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for three years.

Coaching career

Powell began his basketball coaching career in 1907 at the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

. His 1909–10 Rochester basketball team finished with 16 wins and 2 losses and made a valid claim as the best Eastern college team. In 1912, Powell was recruited to

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...

, to serve as the head coach of the

Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball The Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team represents Indiana University Bloomington in NCAA Division I college basketball and competes in the Big Ten Conference. The Hoosiers play at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on the Branch McCracken Court in Bl ...

team. He stayed just that one season (1912–13) finishing 5–11 and last in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. In 1915, Powell returned to Buffalo, and spent the next 27 years as the head coach of the Buffalo Bisons men's basketball program, from 1915 to 1943. He also coached the Buffalo Bisons football team from 1916 to 1921. As the basketball coach at Buffalo, Powell had a 198–190 record in 28 seasons, including 28 straight wins and a 45–5 record over three seasons (1929–1932), with triumphs over Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Syracuse and Yale. Powell's 1930–31 team was 15–0, the best mark in Buffalo basketball history. When the University of Buffalo suspended intercollegiate athletics in 1943 for the duration of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Powell left and coached basketball at

Canisius College Canisius University is a private Jesuit university in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 ma ...

for two seasons (1944–45 and 1945–46). His top achievement with the

Canisius Golden Griffins The Canisius University Golden Griffins are composed of 16 teams representing Canisius University in intercollegiate athletics. These teams include men's and women's basketball, cross country, track, lacrosse, soccer, and swimming and diving. Men ...

was a victory over

Nat Holman Nat Holman (born Nathan Helmanowich; October 19, 1896 – February 12, 1995) was an American professional basketball player and college coach. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and is the only coach to lead his team ...

CCNY The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 18 ...

team.

Later years

When his career ended, Powell had coached men's basketball for 38+ seasons at the University of Rochester, Indiana University, University of Buffalo and Canisius College. He died in Kenmore, NY at the age of 85 in 1969."Arthur L. Powell, Coached Basketball for 27 Years.," ''New York Times'' - March 11, 1969. In 1984, he was inducted into the University at Buffalo Athletics Hall of Fame.

Head coaching record

Football

Basketball

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Art 1884 births 1969 deaths American football quarterbacks American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from Buffalo, New York Buffalo Bulls football coaches Buffalo Bulls men's basketball coaches Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball coaches Centers (basketball) Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball coaches Players of American football from Buffalo, New York Sportspeople from Buffalo, New York People from Old Toronto Syracuse Orange football players Syracuse Orange men's basketball players Syracuse Orangemen baseball players