University of Kansas

2014 Kansas Sports Hall of Fame: Charlie Hoag

Members of the U.S. Olympic basketball team pose with the team's coaches in New York's Madison Square Garden, April 1, 1952, after Peoria Caterpillars defeated Kansas, 62-60, in the Olympic tournament final. Front row from left: Bob Kenney, John Keller, Clyde Lovellette, Bill Lienhard, Dean Kelley, Charlie Hoag and Bill Hougland, all of Kansas. Center row from left: coach Forrest C. "Phog" Allen, who will be assistant coach of the Olympic team; Howard Hobson of Yale, chairman of the Olympic committee; and Peoria Coach Warren Womble, who will be head coach of the Olympic team. Back row, from left: Wayne Glasgow and Bob Kurland of Phillips Oilers, Ron Bontemps, Frank McCabe, Marcus Freiberger, Dan Pippin and Howie Williams, all of Peoria.
Members of the U.S. Olympic basketball team pose with the team's coaches in New York's Madison Square Garden, April 1, 1952, after Peoria Caterpillars defeated Kansas, 62-60, in the Olympic tournament final. Front row from left: Bob Kenney, John Keller, Clyde Lovellette, Bill Lienhard, Dean Kelley, Charlie Hoag and Bill Hougland, all of Kansas. Center row from left: coach Forrest C. "Phog" Allen, who will be assistant coach of the Olympic team; Howard Hobson of Yale, chairman of the Olympic committee; and Peoria Coach Warren Womble, who will be head coach of the Olympic team. Back row, from left: Wayne Glasgow and Bob Kurland of Phillips Oilers, Ron Bontemps, Frank McCabe, Marcus Freiberger, Dan Pippin and Howie Williams, all of Peoria. Matty Zimmerman AP

Charlie Hoag

University of Kansas

It’s possible that Charlie Hoag didn’t have a best sport — he was good at all of them.

An Illinois native, Hoag was a guard on Kansas’ first NCAA championship basketball team in 1952, and won a gold medal playing basketball for the United States in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. He was a two-time All-Big Seven halfback on the football field, and was chosen in the NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns in 1953. He lettered in track while at KU, and also lettered in baseball.

He finished his football career with 1,914 rushing yards, a school record that stood until Gale Sayers came along.

The 1952 Kansas basketball team went 28-3 and beat St. John’s 80-63 in the NCAA title game. Hoag, a junior, had nine points and four rebounds in the final, part of the Jayhawks’ supporting cast for Clyde Lovellette under legendary coach F.C. “Phog” Allen.

Five days after winning the NCAA championship in Seattle, KU beat NIT champ LaSalle 70-65 in New York, earning a spot on the Olympic team for seven Jayhawks including Hoag.

But for all his collegiate achievements, Hoag never played sports professionally. He suffered a knee injury in a football game against Kansas State during his senior year, an injury that prevented him from playing basketball his senior season.

The 1952-53 KU basketball team made it back to the NCAA championship game, losing 69-68 to Indiana. “We won the national championship in 1952 and my senior year we got beat by one point for the national championship, and we all knew that if Charlie had played we would have had another national championship,” teammate Al Kelley told the Lawrence Journal-World in 2012. “Charlie was known throughout the Big Seven for his quickness, desire to win. He was really a competitive giant, respected by all of his teammates as well as other teams.”

Hoag made a living as an insurance broker in Topeka, and moved back to Lawrence after he retired. He died in 2012.

Tom Seals

2014 Kansas Sports Hall of Fame inductees

Features on the 2014 class:

Roger Barta | DeLoss Dodds | Bill Freeman | Charlie Hoag | Caroline (Bruce) McAndrew | Ed Nealy | Gene Stephenson | Bill Tidwell | Chuckie Williams

This story was originally published October 3, 2014 at 7:23 PM with the headline "2014 Kansas Sports Hall of Fame: Charlie Hoag."

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