(Contributor: Rob Jiang)
Ken Gunning Biography
Kenneth “Ken” Woodrow Gunning was a basketball player and coach from Shelbyville, Indiana who played for three seasons under coach Everett Dean at Indiana University between the years of 1934 and 1937. Ken Gunning led the Hoosiers in scoring in all three years and played professional basketball a total of two seasons (1937-38, 1945-46) after college. Ken Gunning then served as a head coach at both the college and high school levels for a total of 22 years. He passed away on April 2, 1991 at the age of 76.
- Name: Kenneth Woodrow Gunning
- Position: Guard / Forward
- Nationality: USA
- Birthday: June 4, 1914 in Shelbyville, Indiana
- Died: April 2, 1991 (76 years old) in Seguin, Texas
- Hometown: Shelbyville, Indiana
- High School: Shelbyville High School
- Height: 5’11” (180 cm)
- Weight: 170 lb (77 kg)
- Jersey: #3
- Seasons as a Player at Indiana University: 3 (1934-1935, 1935-1936, 1936-1937)
- Seasons as a Professional Basketball Player: 2 (1937-1938, 1945)
- Seasons as a Head Coach: 22 (1938-1960)
Accomplishments, Awards, and Accolades
- Second-team All-American by the Omaha World-Herald (1937)
- 2 x All-Big Ten (1935, 1936)
Ken Gunning High School Career
Ken Gunning played at Shelbyville High School (Golden Bears) located in Shelbyville, Indiana for three seasons between the years of 1930 and 1933.
Ken Gunning Seasons as a Indiana University Player
14-6 (8-4 Big Ten)
18-2 (11-1 Big Ten)
13-7 (6-6 Big Ten)
Ken Gunning Statistics as a Hoosier
| Season | G | FG | FGA | PCT | FTM | FTA | PCT | PTS | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1934-1935 | 20 | 63 | 255 | 0.280 | 42 | 56 | 0.750 | 168 | 8.4 |
| 1935-1936 | 20 | 70 | 220 | 0.318 | 43 | 61 | 0.705 | 183 | 9.2 |
| 1936-1937 | 19 | 66 | 227 | 0.291 | 31 | 49 | 0.633 | 163 | 8.6 |
| Totals | 59 | 199 | 302 | 0.296 | 116 | 166 | 0.699 | 512 | 8.7 |
Ken Gunning Indiana University Basketball Career
Ken Gunning enrolled at Indiana University in 1933 and would end up playing for coach Everett Dean in 1934 during Dean’s 11th season with the Hoosiers. Despite his size, the 5-foot-11 Shelbyville native played both the guard and forward position in college. Coming to Indiana University, Ken Gunning was largely known as a shooting ace who could attack and score buckets from multiple angles on the court.
Ken Gunning joined the men’s basketball program as a player during his sophomore year of college. He was Indiana’s fastest player on the court and led Indiana in scoring with 8.4 points per game. During the 1934-1935 season, Coach Everett Dean moved Gunning to the forward position to get him even more opportunities to score the ball.
During Ken Gunning’s time at IU, his most successful season was the 1935-1936 season where the Hoosiers only lost twice during the entire season. The Hoosiers returned four of their five starters and seven lettermen in basketball. The team would also be getting Vern Huffman back from a football injury to give Indiana even more roster depth.
Indiana won every match-up except two away contests against DePaul and Ohio State. The Hoosiers set school records in both conference and non-conference wins and the season would be Everett Dean’s greatest season as head coach.
In the 1936-1937 season, then-senior Ken Gunning was named captain of the Indiana University men’s basketball team alongside senior teammate Vernon Huffman. By the end of the season, Ken Gunning earned All-American honors and he was given the Balfour Award in the same year. Despite the efforts of Gunning, the Hoosiers finished with a 13-7 overall record and 6-6 in the conference play.
Ken Gunning as a Professional Player
After graduating from Indiana University, Ken Gunning played in the National Basketball League (NBL) for the Whiting Ciesar All-Americans. He only played a single season for Whiting during the 1937-1938 season. Gunning averaged 7.0 points per game and helped Whiting finish second in the Western Division of the NBL.
