Knox College Athletics

John Liston graduated from Knox in 1958, after helping to lead the men’s basketball team to successful 1956-57 and 1957-58 seasons. Knox recognized his basketball abilities by naming him as one of the Knox Men’s Basketball Players of the 1899-1999 Century.

The Galesburg Register Mail wrote about John’s success in his first season at Knox: “Operating at a forward position, the 6’5” star set Knox records in field goals and free throws made, total points for one season, scoring average, rebounds and free throw percentage.”   John dominated the opposition in just 18 games during his first season, as he missed the first four games due to his transfer from the University of Iowa. He was instrumental in leading Knox to a 14-8 winning season (its first winning season in 10 years) and a third place Midwest Conference standing. John averaged 19.9 points per league game, good for third in the conference, and the coaches named him to the All-Midwest Conference First Team.

The individual records at Knox that John established during the 1956-57 season were 128 field goals and 137 free throws made, for a total of 371 points and a 20.6 season average that ranked him 47th nationally. His 83.7 percent from the free throw line ranked him 8th in small college individual foul shooting. John’s 35 points against Grinnell established a Knox single game scoring mark that broke the previous mark of 32. He also averaged 14.2 rebounds per game.

John led the 1957-58 Knox basketball team to an even stronger season record and more accomplishments. Limited to just 13 games when his NCAA eligibility ran out, Knox was 11-2 and undefeated in all eight Midwest Conference games after John played in his final Knox basketball game. He acted as team manager and assistant coach for the remainder of the season.

John’s leadership and playing abilities during Knox College’s early season success helped the team tie for first place in the Midwest Conference Championship. Knox was awarded the conference’s NCAA Tournament representative and finished second in the Midwest Regional. John was again named All-Midwest Conference First Team at the end of the season. He finished his limited season with a 21.8 points per game scoring average and a career average of 21.1 points per game. He finished second in Midwest Conference scoring with a 21.5 points per game average.

After graduating from Knox College, John coached his former high school basketball team for three years, and in 1999, was elected into the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame.