Forrest Sale "Red" DeBernardi (February 3, 1899 – April 29, 1970) 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 ...

player in the 1920s. Standing 6 ft. 1 inches tall, DeBernardi was one of the best centers of his era, and played all five positions. Born in Nevada, Missouri, he attended Westminster College where he played from 1919 to 1921. DeBernardi also competed in tennis, baseball, and track and field at Westminster College. On January 19, 1920, he made 24 field goals against Missouri Wesleyan, a school record that stands to this day. DeBernardi then transferred to the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

in order to be closer to the Kansas City Athletic Club so that he could compete for them in the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

(AAU). He did not play for the university, however. Following his impressive collegiate career, DeBernardi became an outstanding AAU player. Between 1920 and 1929, when he played with Kansas City Athletic Club (1920–22), Hillyard Shine Alls (1922–27) and Cook's Painter Boys (1927–29), he played in 10 national AAU tournaments and was named to the AAU All-American team five times. DeBernardi was also an AAU national champion five times. In 1938 the

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selected DeBernardi as the center on its All-Time All America college basketball team. He was also awarded with the Helms Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame Award in 1952. In 1961, DeBernardi was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2006, he was elected posthumously into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

References

HOF BB Players – Forrest DeBernardi

Westminster College Hall of Fame – Forrest DeBernardi
{{DEFAULTSORT:DeBernardi, Forrest 1899 births 1970 deaths All-American college men's basketball players Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Kansas Basketball players from Missouri Centers (basketball) College men's tennis players in the United States Westminster Blue Jays men's track and field athletes Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees People from Nevada, Missouri University of Kansas alumni Westminster Blue Jays baseball players Westminster Blue Jays men's basketball players