The year was 1964; a history-making year. It was the year Junior League football, the precursor to the Great Wichita Football League, was formed. It was Alvin (Pappy) Allen and a few of his good friends that made it happen.
It was still a time of innocence. The crime rate was low, for a Midwest City, Wichita was reasonably integrated, although housing and schools were mostly segregated. Kids played outside until the street lights came on, and baseball was king.
Pappy Allen had played a little baseball in his day. He played on a semi-pro league and, during exhibition games, he played against some of the great Negro League Players who would go on to integrate the National Baseball League.
Even though Pappy was a good player, he had to put his dreams on hold to take care of his growing family. Pappy and his wife Ruthalyne, had a growing brood and by the time they finished, they had eight children in all, seven boys and one girl.
Pappy worked as a butcher at the packing house, a good job for a man with so many mouths to feed. But those well fed boys needed a way to burn off some energy, as well as a way to stay busy. Pappy started the boys in the sport he knew best – baseball.
Field of Dreams
So in the 1950s, he organized and coached baseball teams as part of the City’s Westside Athletic League. That kept the boys busy during the summer, but Pappy needed to keep this group busy a little longer. At that time, the only organized youth football league was the Aircraft League, and it was only open to the children of aircraft industry employees.
That excluded a lot of kids in the neighborhood and Pappy decided to do something about it. He approached some people he knew, including some coaches from baseball, with his idea of starting a youth football league.
It would be easy to say the rest is history, but a 60 year legacy takes a lot of work to build. Pappy’s vision would turn into one of the most popular and prosperous youth football businesses in Wichita.
Don’t get the wrong idea; Pappy never made a dime off the league. In fact, Pappy was the kind of guy who went into his pocket to make sure kids who didn’t have money to play could. Plus, he was never looking to make any money from the league. He just wanted to provide children in the neighborhood an opportunity to play ball.
Back then, a lot of parents had big families, and many were struggling economically. So, when Pappy started the league, it was free. He approached the City about using their football fields and an amicable agreement was reached. Two years later, the City approached him about taking over the league.
“He was always looking out for those less fortunate,” says his son Larry Allen. “It [starting the league] was a very selfless act that came from a man who had a humble heart full of love and consideration for others.”
From the Ground Up
This was a home-grown organization with Pappy managing all the details during the evenings and on weekends. Larry says he recalled painting the first horseshoe, the Colts emblem, on a helmet, waiting for it to dry, then painting the other side. Pappy helped raise money for uniforms and for the player and league fees. No, the league wasn’t free any more. When the City took the program over, they immediately began charging players and teams a participation fee.
Larry says he knew there were costs associated with the league, since too often he saw his father go into his pocket to help cover costs, but he was more than disappointed his dad wasn’t offered even a part-time position assisting with the league he started and had grown.
After the City took over the league, Pappy worked on building the Colts brand. He grew the organization to include a team at each of the levels: 3rd, 4th, 5th,6th, 7th, 8th and 9th grade. Then the organization added cheerleaders, which provided a way for young girls in the community to become involved.
At one point the League had so many youth come out they knew it was time to start another organization.
“We had 70 something players come out and we could only keep 33,” recalls Larry. “We didn’t want all of those interested not to have an opportunity to play, so Theo Cribbs, who was a part of our organization, broke away and started the Bulldogs.”
Pappy’s Legacy
Early on, Pappy saw athletics as a way for children who came from homes where money wasn’t plentiful, to get a college education. He also saw the potential for his sons. Even though Ruthalyen worked for the Model Cities Program, it still would have been tough for the Allen’s to send eight children to college.
All of the boys were active in sports with a number of them going to college on sport’s scholarships and all of them going on to coaching, either volunteer but also in paid positions.
It’s easy to see the impact that Pappy had on his own family, but there were many more, such as Barry Sanders, a Wichita native who played on the Colts team.
“There are many role models that come from our city and we do not want to discount or overlook any of the men and women who have impacted our city but there is no question that Alvin (Pappy) Allen is one of those individuals that had major influence,” said Allen.
His legacy will live on well into the next generation of those who desire to help others. Pappy Allen passed away Sept. 16, 2019. He was 93 years-old.
