Margaret Shirk, 92, has been a lifelong fan of KU men’s basketball. As a child, she knew James Naismith personally. She attended the University in the ’30s, before Allen Fieldhouse was built, and went to games in Hoch Auditoria, now Budig Hall.

But some of her favorite memories are the 43 seasons when Shirk and her husband, David Shirk, drove from their north Lawrence farmhouse to Allen Fieldhouse to attend games. Shirk said the couple had missed only one game since 1966 and that was for a trip to Hawaii.

And going was just the beginning, Shirk said, smiling as she recalled the fondness the couple shared for finding friends, talking stats during warm-ups, and inviting coaches and team parents home for coffee and cake afterward.

But this year, after Margaret Shirk had bought tickets and planned for a 44th season of games with her husband, David Shirk passed away unexpectedly on Nov. 2, the day before the first exhibition game. Shirk attended the game anyway and said going to that game and others this season had helped to keep her going. Every game, she takes a friend, a neighbor or her son-in-law and finds comfort in the familiar faces that she and David have come to know throughout the years.

“I miss him,” Shirk said. “But I have two tickets, so I take somebody every game. David would have wanted me to go, and I would have wanted him to go if something happened to me. You know pretty well what each other would do after 69 years.”

Eileen Larson, a neighbor, said she was one of the first to be granted the privilege of going to a game with Shirk this season. Larson said she especially enjoyed meeting Shirk’s friends at the game and hearing all of Shirk’s KU basketball knowledge.

“Margaret was very on top of the game and the players,” Larson said. “And she stays for the whole thing. No cutting out before it’s over to avoid the crowds. I hope I get to go with her again.”

A Long Tradition

Shirk said she had enjoyed statistics since she took statistics courses in the KU business school in the ’30s. She came to be an expert at applying those skills to basketball statistics while watching her husband coach at Seaman High School in Topeka. She would sit behind him with pen and notepad in hand, she said, and take meticulous notes at every game.

“He liked it because if he had a student doing it, they could say the student made a mistake,” Shirk said, “But they couldn’t argue with me,” she added with a laugh.

Shirk said she and her husband held season KU basketball tickets the whole time they lived in Topeka and even before, when they lived in Abilene together in the ’40s. They would make the half-day drive starting early in the afternoon. They often wouldn’t make it back until three or four in the morning.

“That was our life, basketball and football,” Shirk said. “He was a good coach, too. He was good with kids, and they all liked him.”

Shirk said the games have changed significantly since she was a student in the class of ’39. She first attended games in the ’30s, even before she met her husband. Back then, Allen Fieldhouse wasn’t yet built, so home games were played in Hoch Auditoria — now Budig Hall.

Shirk said she learned to appreciate KU sports even before college because her family, native to Lawrence, would always befriend the players and coaches. They were friends with the inventor of the game, James Naismith.

Shirk, who moved with her husband back into her parents’ house in 1966, said she most remembers Naismith from her aunt’s wedding ceremony, which was held there when she was a child. Naismith performed the ceremony. Shirk, who was five, was the flower girl.

After they married, Shirk said she and her husband continued to keep up the practice of getting to know the coaches. She has had every coach except Bill Self over to visit her home.

Making Friends

The Shirks have also left lasting memories with other fans who attend games. Bo Gollier, of Lawrence, said he would never forget how the Shirks would always greet him warmly when he was a child in the ’70s and ’80s. Gollier, now 40, continues to buy tickets. One of his favorite people to say hi to at the games is still Margaret Shirk.

“I know exactly where she is,” Gollier said. “You can see all the people that go to at least say hi. She always greets everyone.”

John Naramore, husband of Eileen Lawson, said he had the opportunity to take Shirk to the game against Bradford University Wednesday night. He said he looked forward to witnessing up close the warm reception she always receives from other fans.

He said most of all, however, he looked forward to Shirk’s company.

“Margaret’s a very, very special person,” Naramore said. “She’s entirely ethical and she’s nice and she’s friendly and she’s fun and getting to hang out with anyone like that is a treat.”

— Edited by Brenna M. T. Daldorph