King J. McCristal

King McCristal came from a modest background on the outskirts of Peoria, Illinois, where he was raised in a log cabin with a dirt floor. His father passed away when he was only eight years old, and his mother survived just long enough to see King’s 16th birthday. Though he was virtually penniless, he managed to enter the University of Illinois in 1925, graduating with his bachelor’s degree in Physical Education for Men in 1929. With his undergraduate degree firmly in hand, King continued his studies and embarked on a remarkable career in physical education.

He followed up his undergraduate studies with a master’s degree in 1931, and then obtained his doctorate from Columbia University. In 1961, Seward Staley lured McCristal away from his very distinguished career at Michigan State University and recruited him as the new dean of the College of Physical Education at the University of Illinois. It was a short distance from Peoria, where McCristal grew up, but a world away from the log cabin he had left in the 1920’s when he first became a student at the U of I.

Among his many contributions was his role in the Big Ten Body of Knowledge Project, a long-term project that helped codify knowledge in the fields of exercise, sport, dance, and play, and which charted the course for future scholarship. During his tenure as dean the College enjoyed tremendous growth and change. The rehabilitation program joined the College, and a research wing in Freer Hall was built. Among his important accomplishments was the conception, funding, and construction of the Intramural-Physical Education Building (IMPE), which was a landmark for its time. He was also widely recognized in his field, having been named a Fellow in the American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation; the American College of Sports Medicine; the College Physical Education Association; and the American Academy of Physical Education. He stepped down as dean of the College in 1973 to return to full-time teaching and research until his retirement in 1975.

Through an endowed fund established by Dr. McCristal in 1987, the College of Applied Health Sciences awards an annual King J. McCristal Distinguished Scholar Award. The award remains one of the most prestigious forms of faculty recognition that the College of Applied Health Sciences bestows.