Clyde Gobel Alwood (January 1, 1895 – August 14, 1954) was an American college basketball standout for

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

in the 1910s. A

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, Alwood played 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 A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. Description ...

each year. Graduating from Clinton High School, Alwood was the son of Henry Alwood and Minnie (Rundle) Alwood. He married twice in his life, his first marriage was to Martha Amy Hargitt and his second was to Doris Jean Keifer.

University of Illinois

Alwood enrolled at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Unive ...

in the fall of 1913 and join the varsity basketball team. His sophomore year placed him as a starting forward for the 1914–15 Fighting Illini team that finished as the only team in Illinois history with a perfect record, 16 wins and 0 losses. This team was not only

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conferen ...

Champions A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

, but was also named Helms National Champions as well as Premo-Poretta National Champions. This was the

's first national championship. As a junior, Alwood maintained his starting role with an Illini team that finished 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 Ralph Robert "Curley" Jones (September 22, 1880 – July 26, 1951) was an American high school and college football and basketball coach. He also served as the head coach for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 193 ...

, brought the Fighting Illini an additional Big Ten Conference championship. Alwood was named the team captain for the 1916–17 season and the Illini finished their schedule with an overall record of 13 wins and 3 losses and a conference record of 10 wins and 2 losses. The season brought two prestigious awards to Alwood, the

Big Ten Medal of Honor One of the most prestigious conference awards in college athletics, the Big Ten Medal of Honor was first awarded in 1915 to one student-athlete from the graduating class of each university who had “attained the greatest proficiency in athletics ...

, given to the one student-athlete from the graduating class of each university who had ''“attained the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work”'',UofI Commencement program pg. 66
/ref> while also being named a

consensus All-American The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best college football players in the United States at their respective positions. The original use of the term ''All-America'' seems to have been to the 1889 College Football ...

. 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 Ray James Woods (February 2, 1895 – October 1965) was an American college basketball standout for Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball, Illinois in the 1910s. A guard (basketball), guard, Woods helped lead the Fighting Illini to two Big Ten ...

, as well as the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

's co-founder

George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (; February 2, 1895October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was an American professional football player, coach, and team owner. He was the founder and owner of the National Football League's Chi ...

References

# # # {{DEFAULTSORT:Alwood, Clyde 1895 births 1954 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Ohio Forwards (basketball) Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players Sportspeople from Zanesville, Ohio