Jack D. "Jumping Jack" McCracken (June 15, 1912 – January 5, 1958) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player in the 1930s and 1940s. A native of

Chickasha, Oklahoma Chickasha is a city in and the county seat of Grady County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,036 at the 2010 census. Chickasha is home to the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. The city is named for and strongly connect ...

, McCracken went to

Classen High School Classen School of Advanced Studies, often referred to as Classen SAS, CSAS or simply Classen, is a public speciality school serving students in grades 9–12 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City Public Schools program participates in th ...

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...

. He attended Northwest Missouri State Teachers College (now

Northwest Missouri State University Northwest Missouri State University is a public university in Maryville, Missouri. It has an enrollment of about 8,505 students. Founded in 1905 as a teachers college, its campus is based on the design for Forest Park at the 1904 St. Louis World ...

) in

Maryville, Missouri Maryville is a city and county seat of Nodaway County, Missouri, United States. Located in the "Missouri Point" region, As of the 2020 census, the city population was 10,633. Maryville is home to Northwest Missouri State University and Northwes ...

and played for coach

Henry Iba Henry Payne Iba (; August 6, 1904 – January 15, 1993) was an American basketball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head basketball coach at Northwest Missouri State Teacher's College, now known as Northwest Missouri St ...

, who had also coached him in

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. McCracken never turned professional. After leaving Northwest Missouri State Teachers College, he went to

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

, to play in the AAU.

External links

Jack "Jumping Jack" McCracken biography
on hoophall.com * 1912 births 1958 deaths Basketball players from Oklahoma Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Northwest Missouri State Bearcats men's basketball players People from Chickasha, Oklahoma Phillips 66ers players Sportspeople from Oklahoma City American men's basketball players Forwards (basketball) Classen School of Advanced Studies alumni {{1910s-US-basketball-bio-stub