The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership of Helms Bakery.Thus, the name was a misnomer, as there actually was no foundation in place to sustain the operation. Bill Schroeder founded the organization with Helms and served as its managing director. The men were united in a love of amateur athletic competition.
The organization became well known for presenting awards and trophies for local, national, and international competition, naming the Southern California Player of the Month and Year, national championships in college basketball and college football, Rose Bowl Player of the Game, Coach of the Year, Pacific Coast football player of the year, and other such awards for athletic achievement. Schroeder described himself in 1967 as a "committee of one" in selecting the championship teams. The organization dedicated Helms Hall in 1948, which housed a museum for sporting artifacts as well as the Helms Hall of Fame.
Following the death of Paul Helms in 1957 and the eventual closure of Helms Bakery in 1969, Schroeder sought new benefactors. The organization continued under a series of new sponsors as the United Savings–Helms Athletic Foundation, Citizens Savings Athletic Foundation, and First Interstate Bank Athletic Foundation. Schroeder died in 1987. Under the direction of Peter Ueberroth the Helms Athletic Foundation collection, library, and archives were absorbed into the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles, later renamed the LA84 Foundation.
History
Founding Schroeder brought to the partnership a large personal collection of sports memorabilia. He sought a corporate sponsor to finance a hall of fame to house his collection and to present awards to local athletes.
The idea was taken seriously by Paul Helms, who was himself invested in athletics both personally and professionally. The bakery with which he made his fortune was a sponsor of the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, and "Helms Olympic Bread" continued to be associated with the competition. The organization was originally known as the Helms Olympic Athletic Foundation.
In 1936, with Helms' backing, Schroeder set to work from a rented office in downtown Los Angeles. As the organization's only employee, he issued frequent announcements of the selections he made for the Helms Athletic Foundation's various and numerous awards.
Helms Hall
The organization dedicated Helms Hall in 1948. The purpose-built building adjacent to Helms Bakery near Culver City housed a museum for the sports artifacts originally collected by Schroeder, as well as the Helms Hall of Fame.
Schroeder selected the organization's national champion teams and made All-America team selections in a number of college sports, including football and basketball. The Helms Foundation also operated a hall of fame for both college basketball and college football. Besides collegiate athletics, the organization operated halls of fame for professional football, Major League Baseball, the Pacific Coast League, basketball, fencing, golf, tennis, swimming, auto racing, track and field, and soaring.Cumming, M. (1966). The Powerless Ones: Gliding in Peace and War. Frederick Muller Ltd., London
Later years
After Paul Helms' death in 1957, his family continued supporting the organization until 1969, when the bakeries went out of business. Schroeder found a new benefactor in United Savings & Loan, and the organization's name became United Savings–Helms Athletic Foundation. United merged with Citizens Savings & Loan in 1973, when the organization became the Citizens Savings Athletic Foundation. Schroeder's collection was moved to the bottom floor of the organization's offices near Los Angeles International Airport. The firm was again renamed in 1982 when First Interstate Bank assumed sponsorship, and it became the First Interstate Bank Athletic Foundation. The museum moved to the Eugene W. Britt House in 1984.
When the Helms Foundation dissolved, its historical holdings were absorbed into the collection of the Amateur Athletic Foundation, renamed the LA84 Foundation in 2007.
National championship selections
Basketball
Helms Athletic Foundation national champions in college basketball selections for 1900–01 through 1918–19 were published retroactively in 1957. Those from 1919–20 through 1941–42 were selected retroactively in 1943.
The Helms Foundation began releasing Schroeder's national championship selections for college basketball in 1943, when in February 1943 it published his retroactive picks for the national champion for each year from the 1919–20 through 1941–42 seasons. Later in 1943, Schroeder picked a national basketball champion for the 1942–43 season, and he continued to select national basketball champions for the Helms Foundation annually through the 1981–82 season, its final year of selections. In 1957, the Helms Foundation also released Schroeder's retroactive picks for the college basketball champions for the 1900–1901 through 1918–19 seasons. The retroactive Helms national championships from 1900–01 through 1941–42 were the opinions of one person about teams that played during an era when, due to factors outside their control (e.g., minimal schedules, lack of intersectional play, differing rule interpretations, minimal statistics), it is difficult to know or assess the relative strength of the teams.
The National Invitation Tournament began play in 1938 and the NCAA tournament in 1939; until at the least the mid-1950s, the NIT was widely considered the more prestigious of the two.Anonymous, "How the NCAA Overtook Its Rival, the NIT," Sport History Weekly, March 24, 2019 Accessed May 4, 2021 When Schroeder made his first set of retroactive championship picks in February 1943, he chose the NIT winner as the national champion for 1938 and 1939; for 1940, he chose USC (which won neither tournament that year); and for 1941 and 1942 he chose the NCAA Tournament winners as the national champion. After he began making annual picks in 1943, he selected the NCAA Tournament winner in every year except 1944 (when he picked undefeated Army, which won neither tournament) and 1954 (when he picked undefeated Kentucky, which won neither tournament). Thus, through the final Helms selection in 1982, NCAA Tournament winners Oregon (1939), Indiana (1940), Utah (1944), and La Salle (1954) were the only NCAA champions that were not also Helms champions. Some schools claim a Helms selection as a national championship.
Year Team Record National Collegiate Champions(Part I, published 1957) 1900–01 Yale 10–4 1901–02 Minnesota 15–0 1902–03 Yale 15–1 1903–04 Columbia 17–1 1904–05 Columbia 19–1 1905–06 Dartmouth 16–2 1906–07 Chicago 21–2 1907–08 Chicago 23–2 1908–09 Chicago 12–0 1909–10 Columbia 11–1 1910–11 St. John's 14–0 1911–12 Wisconsin 15–0 1912–13 Navy 9–0 1913–14 Wisconsin 15–0 1914–15 Illinois 16–0 1915–16 Wisconsin 20–1 1916–17 Washington State 25–1 1917–18 Syracuse 16–1 1918–19 Minnesota 13–0 National Collegiate Champions(Part II, published February 1943) 1919–20 Penn 21–1 1920–21 Penn 21–2 1921–22 Kansas 16–2 1922–23 Kansas 17–1 1923–24 North Carolina 26–0 1924–25 Princeton 21–2 1925–26 Syracuse 19–1 1926–27 Notre Dame 19–1 1927–28 Pittsburgh 21–0 1928–29 Montana State 36–2 1929–30 Pittsburgh 23–2 1930–31 Northwestern 16–1 1931–32 Purdue 17–1 1932–33 Kentucky 21–3 1933–34 Wyoming 26–4 1934–35 NYU 19–1 1935–36 Notre Dame 22-2-1 1936–37 Stanford 25–2 1937–38 Temple 23–2 1938–39 Long Island 23-0 1939–40 USC 20–3 1940–41 Wisconsin 20–3 1941–42 Stanford 27–4 Contemporary annual selections 1942–43 Wyoming 31–2 1943–44 Army 15–0 1944–45 Oklahoma A&M 27–4 1945–46 Oklahoma A&M 31–2 1946–47 Holy Cross 27–3 1947–48 Kentucky 36–3 1948–49 Kentucky 32–2 1949–50 CCNY 24–5 1950–51 Kentucky 32–2 1951–52 Kansas 28–3 1952–53 Indiana 23–3 1953–54 Kentucky 25–0 1954–55 San Francisco 28–1 1955–56 San Francisco 29–0 1956–57 North Carolina 32–0 1957–58 Kentucky 23–6 1958–59 California 25–4 1959–60 Ohio State 25–3 1960–61 Cincinnati 27–3 1961–62 Cincinnati 29–2 1962–63 Loyola (IL) 29–2 1963–64 UCLA 30–0 1964–65 UCLA 28–2 1965–66 Texas Western 28–1 1966–67 UCLA 30–0 1967–68 UCLA 29–1 1968–69 UCLA 29–1 1969–70 UCLA 28–2 1970–71 UCLA 29–1 1971–72 UCLA 30–0 1972–73 UCLA 30–0 1973–74 NC State 30–1 1974–75 UCLA 28-3 1975–76 Indiana 32–0 1976–77 Marquette 25–7 1977–78 Kentucky 30–2 1978–79 Michigan State 26–6 1979–80 Louisville 33–3 1980–81 Indiana 26–9 1981–82 North Carolina 32–2Source
Football
The NCAA recognizes the Helms Athletic Foundation as a "major selector" of college football national championships in their official records book.
The champions for 1883 through 1941 were published in August 1942.
Year Team Record Retrospective selections (1942)1883 Yale 8–01884 Yale 8–0–11885 Princeton 9–01886 Yale 9–0–11887 Yale 9–01888 Yale 13–01889 Princeton 10–01890 Harvard 11–01891 Yale 13–01892 Yale 13–01893 Princeton 11–01894 Yale 16–01895 Penn 14–01896 Princeton 10–0–11897 Penn 15–01898 Harvard 11–01899 Harvard 10–0–11900 Yale 12–01901 Michigan 11–01902 Michigan 11–01903 Princeton 11–01904 Penn 12–01905 Chicago 11–01906 Princeton 9–0–11907 Yale 9–0–11908 Penn 11–0–11909 Yale 10–01910 Harvard 8–0–11911 Princeton 8–0–21912 Harvard 9–01913 Harvard 9–01914 Army 9–01915 Cornell 9–01916 Pittsburgh 8–01917 Georgia Tech 9–01918 Pittsburgh 4–11919 Harvard 9–0–11920 California 9–01921 Cornell 8–01922 Cornell 8–01923 Illinois 8–01924 Notre Dame 10–01925 Alabama 10–01926 AlabamaStanford 9–0–110–0–11927 Illinois 7–0–11928 Georgia Tech 10–01929 Notre Dame 9–01930 Notre Dame 10–01931 USC 10–11932 USC 10–01933 Michigan 7–0–11934 Minnesota 8–01935 Minnesota 8–01936 Minnesota 7–11937 California 10–0–11938 TCU 11–01939 Texas A&M 11–01940 Stanford 10–01941 Minnesota 8–0 Contemporary annual selections1942 Wisconsin 8–1–11943 Notre Dame 9–11944 Army 9–01945 Army 9–01946 ArmyNotre Dame 9–0–18–0–11947 Notre DameMichigan 9–010–01948 Michigan 9–01949 Notre Dame 10–01950 Oklahoma 10–11951 Michigan State 9–01952 Michigan State 9–01953 Notre Dame 9–0–11954 UCLAOhio State 9–010–01955 Oklahoma 11–01956 Oklahoma 10–01957 Auburn 10–01958 LSU 11–01959 Syracuse 11–01960 Washington 10–11961 Alabama 11–01962 USC 11–01963 Texas 11–01964 Arkansas 11–01965 Michigan State 10–11966 Notre DameMichigan State 9–0–19–0–11967 USC 10–11968 Ohio State 10–01969 Texas 11–01970 Nebraska 11–0–11971 Nebraska 13–01972 USC 12–01973 Notre Dame 11–01974 OklahomaUSC 11–010–1–11975 Ohio StateOklahoma 11–111–11976 Pittsburgh 12–01977 Notre Dame 11–11978 AlabamaOklahomaUSC 11–111–112–11979 Alabama 12–01980 Georgia 12–01981 Clemson 12–01982 Penn StateSMU 11–111–0–1Source
Teams listed in italics indicate retroactively applied championships.
Pro Football Hall of Fame Helms Athletic Foundation selected players, coaches and administrators from 1950 through at least the 1970s to its pro football hall of fame. Contrary to other halls of fame, some members were selected during their active playing/coaching careers.