Dr. John M. Cooper's 94th Birthday Celebration
A celebration was hosted by the Kinesiology department on February 2, 2006 for Dr. John M. Cooper, Professor Emeritus, in honor of his 94th birthday.
In the 1930's, as a basketball player for the University of Missouri, John Cooper invented the JUMP SHOT! As a professor, Dr. Cooper helped invent the science of biomechanics. He has made significant research contributions in the area of biomechanics and has published over 70 articles on subjects ranging from aging, reflexes, balance, sport movements, falling and track starts. John Cooper has even appeared on Wheaties cereal boxes for his sporting accomplishments.
In September of 2004, IU's graduate kinesiology program was renamed the Dr. John M. Cooper Graduate Program in Kinesiology.
During the birthday celebration, Professor Phil Henson read articles from the Chillicothe Constitution Tribune dating back to the 1930's when Dr. Cooper played for the "Kiwanians".
Quoting Phil Henson from his reading of the Chillicothe Constitution Tribune, March 9, 1938:
"Climaxing half a season of debate as to whether the boys who composed the Skelly Oil Company basketball team last night could dump in more buckets that the Kiwanis team, the Kiwanians drove to a 46-32 victory on the high school court.
The game was the last of the season for the Kiwanians, who have played eight games for the benefit of their underprivileged child fund. The team did not lose a game all season.
The game was one of the roughest for the Kiwanis team, which is getting a reputation for hard play. Even John Cooper, who has a name for scientific basketball, had two fouls called on him, and Gorman, hard-playing guard, would have been out of the game had another personal foul been attributed to him.
Renfro with seventeen points led the scoring. Cooper had 15. "
Happy Birthday, Dr. Cooper!
Related article on the Indiana Daily Student website
Photo Gallery
Images from the event are presented below.
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