Autobiography: John M. Cooper, 1978
A Guide to the Collection of Oral History Interviews at
Indiana University Bloomington
Finding aid prepared by the staff of the Center for the Study of History and Memory with a grant from the National Endowment
for the Humanities Division of
Preservation and Access, 2000-2002
Overview of the Collection
Repository
Indiana University Center for the Study of History and Memory
Indiana University
400 North Sunrise Drive
Weatherly Hall North, Room 122
Bloomington, IN 47405
Phone: 812/855-2856
Fax: 812/855-0002
E-mail: ohrc@indiana.edu
http://www.indiana.edu/~cshm
Creator
Indiana University Center for the Study of History and Memory
TitleAutobiography: John M. Cooper, 1978
Project No.
ohrc008
Interviews
1 interview.
Audiotapes, transcripts, and collateral materials.
Physical Location
Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman
B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study
of History and Memory office.
Language
Materials are in English
Abstract
John M. Cooper, a professor of physical education at Indiana
University, discusses his life-long love of basketball, its history, its
development over the years, and his time as a player and coach of the sport. He
also talks about his current interests in kinesiology and biomechanics.
Scope and Content Note
This collection contains one interview, lasting 120 minutes. The interview consists of two tapes and a typed transcript, as
well as collateral materials.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Oral history interviews conducted by the Indiana University Center for the Study of
History and Memory from 1968 to the present, with particular focus on the history of
twentieth-century America and the Midwest.
Usage Restrictions
The archive of the Center for the Study of History and Memory at Indiana University is open
to the use of researchers. Copies of transcript pages are available only when such copies
are permitted by the deed of gift signed by the interviewee. Scholars must honor any
restrictions the interviewee placed on the use of the interview. Since some of our earlier
(pre-computer) transcripts do not exist in final form, any editing marks in a transcript
(deletions, additions, corrections) are to be quoted as marked. Tapes may not be copied for
patrons unless the deed of gift permits it, and a transcript is unavailable for that
interview. The same rules of use that apply to a transcript apply to the taped interview.
Interviews may not be reproduced in full for any public use, but excerpted quotes may be
used as long as researchers fully cite the data in their research, including accession
number, interview date, interviewee's and interviewer's name, and page(s).
Preferred Citation
[interviewee first name last name] interview, by [interviewer first name last name], [interview date(s)], [call number], [project
name], Center for the Study of History and Memory, Indiana University, Bloomington, [page number(s) or tape number and side
if no transcript].
Interview List
Interviewee
Cooper, John M.
May 2,
1978
Call Number
78-002
Physical Description
52 pages; 2 tapes, 1 7/8 ips, 120 minutes; no index;
interviewee's curricula vita; article written by interviewee; articles about
interviewee
Interviewer
Anderson, Terry H.
Access Status
Open
Scope and Content
John M. Cooper, a professor of physical education at Indiana
University, was born in 1912 and was raised in Corydon, Kentucky. He speaks of
his early obsession with basketball, and his time playing on his high school
team, where he first developed the jump shot. Professor Cooper went on to the
University of Missouri, where he played on the basketball team and participated
in track and field. He discusses his time coaching and teaching physical
education at three Missouri high schools, which was brought to an end by World
War II, where he was a physical trainer in the army. After the war, he got a
research position at Southern California University in their new kinesiology
and biomechanics lab. His experiences there led to his position at Indiana
University. Professor Cooper discusses the differences between kinesiology and
biomechanics, his work at Indiana University, and the importance of computer
technology and high-speed cameras in his field.
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Keywords
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Corporation Names
- Amateur Athletic Union
- Centralia High School
- Indiana University
- National Collegiate Athletic Association
- Southern California University
- University of Missouri
- Webster Grove High School
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Occupation Names
- basketball coach
- kinesiologist
- physical education professor
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Personal Names
- Naismith, James
- Sharman, Bill
- Woodard, Chuck
- Woods, Hooteye
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Place Names
- Chillicothe, Missouri
- Corydon, Kentucky
- southern California
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Subjects
- basketball coaching
- basketball origins
- basketball recruitment
- basketball regulations
- basketball rules
- basketball strategy
- biomechanics
- girls' basketball
- high school basketball
- high school sports
- jump shot
- kinesiology
- physical education
- professional basketball
- segregation
- track and field
- university sports scholarships
- World War II
