McCracken, Branch (Emmett Branch)
Basketball
b. June 9, 1908, Monrovia, IN
d. June 4, 1970
In three seasons of basketball at Indiana University, the 6-foot-4 McCracken scored 525 points, more than thirty percent of the team's total scoring during that period. He was named an All-American forward for 1929-30, his senior season, when he set a Western Conference (Big Ten) record with 147 points.
After graduating, he became basketball coach at Ball State University in Indiana. In seven seasons, his teams won 93 games while losing 41. He returned to his alma mater as coach in 1938 and the team soon became known as the "Hurrying Hoosiers" because of McCracken's emphasis on the fast break.
McCracken entered the Navy in 1943 and returned to Indiana after being discharged in 1947. He retired in 1965. His Indiana teams won two NCAA championships, in 1940 and 1953, and won or shared four Big Ten titles. Indiana won 364 and lost 174 during his 22 seasons at the school.