Kansas Prep Basketball History Part 5 Update April 1, 2012 Kansas High School Basketball History
Part Five: Kansas High School Association Tournament 1925-1940 * = Overtime ! = Forfeit by Patrick Macfee
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CHAPTER ONE: 1925-1930
CHAPTER TWO: 1931-1935
CHAPTER THREE: 1936-1940 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1925 CLASS A State
Tournament March
27-28
Robinson Gym Lawrence, KS
^ Includes record at National Tournament
Team Coach League
1st: Wichita 21 Newton
16
1. Wichita (21-6) ^ Raymond
Young ARK VALLEY
3rd: Emporia 35 Kansas City
16
2. Newton (22-1)
Lindley/Stuart ARK VALLEY
SF: Newton 31 Kansas City
19
3. Emporia (19-6) William
Rapp INDEPENDENT
SF: Wichita 21 Emporia
19
4. Kansas City (18-7) Jim
Bradshaw NEKL
QF: Kansas City 35 KC-Argentine 12
QF: Newton 42 Parsons 10
QF: Emporia 39 Ellsworth
10
Officials: Leslie
Edmonds
QF: Wichita 41 Haven
17
Louis Menze
1R: KC-Argentine 61 Independence
28
1R: Kansas City 30 Marion
18
1R: Newton 27 Clay Center
15
1R: Parsons 28 Lawrence
16
1R: Emporia 30 Liberal
14
1R: Ellsworth 26 Abilene 6
1R: Wichita 31 Dodge City 21
1R: Haven (x) 34 Norton 10
Score Source: One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA
(x) Haven was the CLASS B State Champion Invited Teams: Wichita, Lawrence, Marion, Kansas City, Independence, Abilene, Liberal
ALL STATE TOURNEY - Selected by Officials and Press
1st Team: John Hoover NEWTON, Ed Skradski KANSAS CITY, George Clow EMPORIA, Barry Dunham WICHITA, Forrest Cox NEWTON
2nd Team: ______ Grove DODGE CITY, Tom
Churchill WICHITA, Ross McBurney WICHITA, Ed Ash KC-ARGENTINE, Gus Fish
EMPORIA
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1925 CLASS B State Tournament March 20-21 King Gym - Kansas Wesleyan Salina, KS
Team Coach League
1st: Haven 25 Eudora
22
1. Haven
(19-4) A. B.
Guthrie
RENO COUNTY
3rd: Deerfield 20 Benton
18
2. Eudora (17-1) R. B.
Church
KAW VALLEY
SF: Eudora 30 Benton
28
3. Deerfield (?-?)
Barnes
INDEPENDENT
SF: Haven 29 Deerfield
26
4. Benton (16-3)
??
WEST BUTLER COUNTY
QF: Eudora 24 Bison 16
QF: Benton 8 Asherville 2
QF: Haven 26 Salina-Sacred Heart
8
Officials: Leslie Edmonds
QF: Deerfield 13 Oskaloosa 10
1R: Eudora 24 Axtell 16
1R: Bison 22 Gridley 13
1R: Benton 20 Americus 10
1R: Asherville 19 McDonald 10
1R: Haven 11 Denton 10
1R: Salina-Sacred Heart 30 Sawyer 8
1R: Deerfield 18 Burdette 17
1R: Oskaloosa 16 Paxico 14
Preliminary: Haven 30 Vilas 11
Preliminary: Denton 23 Sharon Springs 8
Preliminary: Sawyer 22 Long Island 10
Salina Journal All-Tourney Teams
1st Team: Elwin "Time" McGrew BENTON,
William Wolf HAVEN, Russell Doyle DEERFIELD, ______ Nickels,
SALINA-SACRED HEART, L. Miller EUDORA
2nd Team: Cliff Briethaupt EUDORA, Elvin McCoy HAVEN, Ermal
Westerhaus EUDORA, _______ Kosenberg, BENTON, Robert Doyle DEERFIELD
Score
Source: One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011) except for
Denton-Sharon Springs: Salina Evening Journal 3-21-1925
The association introduced a class structure for tournament competition in 1925. CLASS A was composed of schools with enrollment over 200 and CLASS B was made up of of all the other schools in the state. 1
The Class A bracket was limited to sixteen teams. The eight sectional champions automatically qualified and the top two teams from the CLASS B State were eligible as well. The field was filled in as selected by the KSHAA from sectional runner-ups. 2 The change was an answer to the complaints from most schools to the grueling schedule of the open style tournament. The new CLASS B was a response to the wishes of the small schools that rarely had a chance to get past the first round.
The 1925 Class A tourney was famous for upsets. An early shocker was the Kansas City walloping of KC-Argentine (35-12) in the quarter-finals. Argentine had defeated Kansas City three times during the season but had no answer for Ed Skradski - a future Kansas State star. 3 Then, Wichita claimed a minor upset when they defeated defending champion Emporia in the semi-final with a last second shot by Tom Churchill. Emporia had defeated Wichita during the regular season. 4
Ray Young's Wichita crew was considered a contender for the championship, but only if undefeated Newton slipped along the way. Wichita's district loss to Newton in the finals gave some hope to the boys as they were able to hold a lead late in the game before eventually bowing to the Railroaders. Few expected Wichita to upset the team that had defeated them four times before this first Class A final. Wichita's win was without question the biggest upset, to that date, in the history of the KSHSAA tournament. 5
Wichita received an invitation to the national event in Chicago and Newton was expected to be invited as well due to their victories over Wichita in league and tournament play. But the invitation never came for Coach Lindley and his team stayed home due to the hot shooting of Captain Berry Dunham of the Blue & White. The Wichita team left immediately for Chicago at the conclusion of the state meet. 6
It became clear after the first two rounds that Wichita would reach the finals of the Chicago tourney. They defeated Detroit-Southeast 39-24 and the experienced Yankton, SD team 37-15. The toughest game of the event for Wichita was the semi-final versus Westport of Kansas City, MO. They overcame a flat period during the 3rd quarter for a come from behind win 29-24. 7
The final game drew 2,000 fans to the Wichita gym for a special play-by-play of the game. The Wichita Eagle relayed the action by telephone to the gym as results were reported to their office by special wire. The fans were overwhelmed as the result of Wichita's easy win over Reno, OK (27-6) was reported. The players matched the reaction of the fans as they celebrated a national championship at Bartlett Gym in Chicago. Few could believe that the team that could not win the Ark Valley League championship had been declared the best high school team in the country. 8
The players were quiet on the return train trip to Kansas. "That's a mighty fine bunch of boys," said the (train's) porter. "Never had no loud stuff there. They just rode home like they was visiting their grandmothers." But when the train pulled into Emporia there was a loud reception from the Emporia basketball team that had gathered to greet and congratulate the Wichita boys. The next stop in Newton brought out the school and half the town to greet the Kansas heroes. 9
The reception for the boys at Union Station in Wichita was similar in size to the one given Kansas City in 1923. When the boys became visible, the crowd, estimated at 10,000, exploded with a roar that eliminated any attempt for a school cheer. Captain Dunham hugged the gold basketball championship trophy awarded the team and weaved his way through the mob and semi-collapsed in a waiting automobile. The other boys were removed from the station and the speech making was delayed until the following day when a parade was conducted down Douglas Avenue. 10
Three players from this team had significant basketball careers after high school. McBurney and Dunham played for Wichita University and both were stars in AAU competition after college. 11 Tom Churchill played his senior season in Oklahoma City and was an All-Missouri Valley player at Oklahoma University in football and basketball. 12
Haven captured the first ever Class B championship held in Salina. Coach Guthrie praised the physical condition of his players and stated that was the key to victory in Kansas Wesleyan's King Gymnasium. 13
Salina Journal writer Stu Dunbar explained that the directors of the tournament were inclined to not name an all-star team. They wanted to emphasize team play over individual accomplishment. Individual awards were planned for every member of the 1st and 2nd place teams 14 Despite these wishes - the Salina Journal did publish an all-star team selected by various writers covering the event. 15
Both Haven and Eudora were eligible for participation in the Class A tourney. Only Haven accepted the challenge. The 97 student school defeated Norton before elimination by the all-conquering Wichita boys. 16
1 One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA
(2011)
2 Lawrence Daily Journal-World, March 26, 1925, 8
3 Ibid, March 28, 1925, 8
4 Ibid, 1
5 Ibid, March 30, 1925, 8
6. Curtis Buller, 191-192
7 Wichita Eagle, April 5, 1925, 15
8 Ibid
9 Ibid, April 7, 1925, 8
10 Ibid
11 http://hoopedia.nba.com/index.php?title=AAU_Men%27s_National_Champions_%281898-1968%29
12 http://www.jimthorpeassoc.org/ok-sports-hof/hall-of-fame-members/churchill-tom/
13 Haven Journal, March 26, 1925, 1
14 Stu Dunbar, "Sport Chaff", Salina Evening Journal, March 19,
1925
15 Salina Evening Journal, March 22, 1925, 3
16 Lawrence Daily Journal-World, March 28, 1925,
10
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1926 CLASS A State
Tournament March 19-20
Robinson Gym Lawrence, KS
^ Includes record at National Tournament
Team Coach League
1st: Newton 25 Augusta
17
1. Newton (28-1) ^
Lindley/Stuart ARK
VALLEY
3rd: Emporia 32 Liberal
26
2. Augusta (17-4) Paul
Gross
INDEPENDENT
SF: Newton 36 Liberal
13
3. Emporia (19-5) William
Rapp
INDEPENDENT
SF: Augusta 27 Emporia
16
4. Liberal (23-4)
Eldon Shupe
ROCK ISLAND
QF: Newton 29 Topeka 10
QF: Liberal 37 Salina 22
QF: Emporia 29 Olathe 22
QF: Augusta 29 Abilene 21
1R: Newton 43 Quinter 13
1R: Topeka 38 Pratt 19
1R: Salina 24 El Dorado 15
1R: Liberal 33 Denton (x) 20
1R: Olathe 22 Ellsworth 20
1R: Emporia 42 Colby 19
1R: Augusta 45 Phillipsburg 10
1R: Abilene 27 Atchison 23
Officials: Leslie Edmonds, Louis Menze
Sectional Tourney Winners: Pratt, Olathe, Salina, Newton, Abilene, Colby, Augusta (x) = Denton - Class B State Champ.
Score
Source: One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011) except for
Newton-Topeka/Liberal-Salina: Lawrence Daily Journal-World, March 20, 1926
Emporia-Colby/Abilene-Atchison: University Daily Kansan, March 21, 1926
Tournament All-Kansas Team Augusta Daily Gazette, March 22, 1
1st Team: Ralph "Red" Forney NEWTON, Mahlon Bradford LIBERAL, Wilfred Okerberg NEWTON, George Clow AUGUSTA, Forrest Cox NEWTON
2nd Team: Dick Morgan NEWTON, Glenn Lietzke AUGUSTA, Reggie Roark OLATHE, Andrew Watson AUGUSTA, Harold Reeble EMPORIA
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1926 CLASS B State Tournament March 12-13 Washburn University Thomas Gymnasium Topeka, KS
^ Includes loss in CLASS A Team Coach League
1st: Denton 17 Deerfield
14
1. Denton (30-1) ^
None
INDEPENDENT
3rd: Hartford 24 Perry
7
2. Deerfield (?-?)
Barnes
INDEPENDENT
SF: Deerfield 27 Perry
21
3. Hartford (17-3) M.V.
Holm INDEPENDENT
SF: Denton 28 Hartford
13
4. Perry
(16-4)
Bernard Pyles JEFFERSON COUNTY
QF: Deerfield 22 Arlington 14
QF: Perry 20 Pawnee Rock 7
OFFICIALS: George Woodward, Arthur Lonborg
QF: Denton 21 Oxford 11
QF: Hartford 17 Eudora 8
1R: Deerfield 26 Bancroft 16
1R: Arlington 31 Bird City 8
1R: Perry 36 Vilas 19
1R: Pawnee Rock 26 Jewell City 14
1R: Denton 18 Ulysses 14
1R: Oxford 25 Haven 22
1R: Hartford 34 Plainville 15
1R: Eudora 36 Clyde 17
Preliminary: Arlington 13 Williamsburg 12
Preliminary: Perry 24 Emmett 16
Preliminary: Pawnee Rock 24 Frontenac 9
Preliminary: Denton 22 Jennings 7
Preliminary: Oxford 34 Covert
Preliminary: Eudora 19 Holyrood 18
Score
Source: One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011) except for
Perry-Vilas/Denton-Ulysses: Topeka Daily Capital , March 13, 1926, 8
Denton-Oxford: Topeka Daily Capital, 12B
Topeka State Journal Class B All-Team
1st Team: Russell Doyle DEERFIELD, ________ Wiedman DENTON, Boatwright
DENTON, Brown DENTON, Marshall Lewis PERRY
2nd Team: Frank Coffman
HARTFORD, Lloyd Miller EUDORA, Vance Welter PERRY, R Bowman PAWNEE ROCK,
Witte ARLINGTON
Class A
competition was held at Kansas University's Robinson Gym for the last time in
1926. The suggestions that the tourney be moved to other venues around the state
was adopted by the Association for the next few years. The obvious advantage for
Kansas University in the recruiting of high school athletes had become a sore
point with the other Kansas colleges.
The Newton dynasty was reinforced when Coach Lindley's team won the Class A championship. They rolled through the best basketball league in the state without a loss. Their junior guard, Forrest "Frosty" Cox, was one of the finest high school guards in the country. He was known for his outside shooting, dribbling and defensive abilities. 1 Frank Lindley continued as the unofficial coach of the team - Birch Stuart was often referred to as the head coach in newspaper articles of the day - but over time Lindley has always been credited as head coach of these Newton teams.
Augusta made their first appearance in the tourney a memorable one. George Clow *, a transfer from Emporia, was the team leader. 2 Coach Paul "Busch" Gross would later move on to a prominent career at Fort Hays State. 3 Augusta's highlight of the event came when they won their tough battle with Emporia in the semi-finals. Players admitted that game took a lot out of them and they were only able to play with Newton for a half before being out-classed. "We gave 'em all we had," an unnamed player stated, "and that wasn't enough." 4
Liberal became the first team from the Southwest to have an impact at state. Coach Eldon Shupe duplicated the success he enjoyed with the football team. Local boosters gave the Coach and team use of several Buicks to make the long trek from Liberal to Wichita and then north to Lawrence. Their return trip to Liberal took several days due to the muddy dirt roads of that era. 5
Fans from around the state who could not make the trip began to check with those people who had radios that could pick-up re-creations of the games. These broadcasts reported the scores and sometimes the play-by-play as received by wire. The local paper in Augusta was flooded with phone calls from fans wanting the latest telegraph reports. 6
Newton was finally on their way to the national tournament in Chicago. Their reputation was known around the country as the team who defeated the 1925 National champion four times. Coach Lindley was confident that this would be the year for another Kansas national champ. The early games - Zanesville, OH (26-15), Lexington, KY (56-19) and El Reno, OK (31-21) - made Newton the favorite to win it all. 7
Reporters called Newton's next game the greatest of the meet and one of the best in tournament history. Dutch Clark of Pueblo, CO was the all-everything center and future NFL star that won the day with great dribbling and he was the key element of the defense that kept Newton off its game. Pueblo's defense limited the Newton boys to only one point in the first half. They played a mostly deliberate game on offense that consisted of long perimeter shots that gave them a 6-1 lead at half-time. The Newton players were rattled in the second half and missed free throw shots that would have tied the score. Pueblo hung on for a 13-11 victory. 8 Coach Lindley admitted years later that Newton should have come out of their zone in the first half and pressured the ball. 9
Newton fans could hardly believe the results they received from the Newton newspaper office. They still maintained that their team was the best in the land and they honored the team upon their return as if they had won the 1st place trophy. Everyone turned out for a parade through the streets of the town. 10
Topeka was awarded the Class B tournament that was played at Thomas Gym on the Washburn University campus. The excellent reputation of George Woodward and Arthur "Dutch" Lonborg as tournament directors was a factor in Topeka's selection. 11 City business interests were excited to have the tournament - but the loss of Eudora in an early round upset cut out one of the largest fan contingents and hurt the gate in Topeka. C.E. Hobbs of the Topeka State Journal complained that the Topeka basketball fans showed very little interest in the event. 12
The great individual play of Weidman for Denton and Russell Doyle for Deerfield was the most memorable element of the final. Weidman won the day for Denton with his consistent shooting. Doyle struggled with torn ligaments suffered in the qualifying tournament held in Dodge City. He was still cited as the best player in the tournament by Topeka writer Hobbs. 13
Denton finished the tournament with a perfect 30-0 record. They were the team without a coach and the boys accepted the invitation to the Class A tourney where they lost to Liberal in the opening round. 14
* George Clow: He played for three different high schools in tournament play. Emporia-Roosevelt (1923), Emporia (1924 & 1925) and Augusta (1926)
1 Curtis Buller, 196
2 Emporia High Echo, March 26, 1926, 1
3 Busch Gross http://www.kshof.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=136%3Agross-paul&catid=2&Itemid=39
4 Augusta Daily Gazette, March 22, 1926, 2
5 Liberal News, March 25, 1926, 1
6 Augusta Daily Gazette, March 22, 1926, 2
7 George Morgenstern, "University of Chicago Eighth Annual
National Interscholastic Tournament", Spalding's Official Basketball Guide
1926-27, (American Sports Publishing:New York, 1926), 119-127
8 Ibid
9 Curtis Buller, 23
10 Ibid, 206-207
11 C.E. Hobbs, "In the World of Sport", Topeka Daily State
Journal, March 9, 1926
12 Topeka Daily State Journal, March 15, 6
13 Ibid
14 Topeka Daily Capital, March 18, 1926
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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1927 CLASS A State
Tournament March 18-19
Fort Hays State Sheridan Coliseum
Hays, KS
^ Includes National Tourney
Team
Coach
League
1st: Winfield 32 Lawrence 25
1. Winfield (17-8) ^ Bill
Martin
ARK VALLEY
3rd: Arkansas City 31 El Dorado 27
2. Lawrence (12-10) Severt
Higgins INDEPENDENT
SF: Lawrence 30 El Dorado 23
3. Arkansas City (19-5) Ernst Uhrlaub
ARK VALLEY
SF: Winfield 21 Arkansas City 13
4. El Dorado (22-4)
George Carlson ARK VALLEY
QF: Lawrence 30 Newton 20
QF: El Dorado 32 McPherson 21
QF: Winfield 56 Parsons 24
QF: Arkansas City 37 Olathe 21
1R: Newton 43 Topeka High 29
1R: Lawrence 24 Dodge City 21
1R: Parsons 39 Concordia 25
1R: Winfield 53 Iola 17
1R: Arkansas City 36 Pratt 21
1R: Olathe 22 Abilene 17
1R: El Dorado 32 Brewster 19
1R: McPherson 30 Powhattan
14
Officials: Dwight Ream, Leslie Edmonds
Score
Source: One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011)
KSHSAA Officials All-State Tourney Teanm
1st Team: Milton Whitson WINFIELD, Ernest Schmidt WINFIELD, Morris Paul EL DORADO, Carl Graeber LAWRENCE, Herman Barnett ARKANSAS CITY
2nd Team: Ramsey EL DORADO, Dick Layne ARKANSAS CITY, Haywood Hackley ARKANSAS CITY, Forrest Cox NEWTON, Dale Cochran WINFIELD
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1927 CLASS B State Tournament March 18-19 Washburn University Thomas Gymnasium Topeka, KS
Team Coach League
1st: Chautauqua 32 Williamsburg
13
1. Chautauqua (17-4) Longhofer
CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY
SF: Williamsburg 23 Hillsboro
21
2. Williamsburg (19-1) E.A.
Thomas INDEPENDENT
SF: Chautauqua 27 Ellis
18
3. Hillsboro
(15-8) Balzer
INDEPENDENT
QF: Williamsburg 29 Menlo
17
4. Ellis
(13-5)
??
INDEPENDENT
QF: Hillsboro 22 Salina-Sacred Heart 10
QF: Ellis 19 Frontenac 10
QF: Chautauqua 22 Perry 21
1R: Williamsburg 19 Chase 12
1R: Menlo 26 Oakley 15
1R: Salina-Sacred Heart 21 Garfield 18
1R: Hillsboro 25 Haven 14
1R: Frontenac 19 Andover 18
1R: Ellis 14 Virgil 10
1R: Chautauqua 24 Ebson 17
1R: Perry 14 Whiting 7
Preliminary: Chase 21 Leonardville 4
Preliminary: Hillsboro 35 Blue Mound 13
Preliminary: Andover 25 Haddam 18
Preliminary: Whiting 14 Baldwin 11
*
Officials: George Woodward, Arthur Lonborg, Orson McLaughlin
Score
Source: One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011) except for
Frontenac-Andover/Chase-Leonardville: Topeka Daily Capital, 3-19-1927, 8
Chautauqua-Williamsburg: Topeka Daily Capital, March 20, 1927, 14B
NO THIRD PLACE GAME
NO ALL STAR TEAM
TDC Honor Roll
Forwards - Dyck, Heibert HILLSBORO Fuller ELLIS,
Forney, Morrow WILLIAMSBURG Ferguson BLUE MOUND Jackson ESBON Schlege
PERRY
Centers -Don Remmy CHAUTAUQUA Jennings ANDOVER Welter PERRY Clifford Binns
WILLIAMSBURG
Guards - Goodchuck, Price ELLIS Joe Dunn, Sweet, Sutherland CHAUTAUQUA Towes,
Hedel HILLSBORO
The association awarded the Class A tourney site to Kansas State Teachers College at Hays (now known as Fort Hays State) as part of a commitment to share the event with different sections of the state. The games were played at the 2,000 seat Sheridan Coliseum. 1 The school paper reported that the crowds were the largest that ever attended a state tournament. 2
The pre-tournament favorites were El Dorado and Newton, winner and runner-up of the Ark Valley League that continued as the best league in the state. McPherson and Olathe impressed the sports writers as dark horse candidates for the title. Few would have predicted that Lawrence and Winfield, both runner-ups in sectional tournaments, would face-off in the finals. 3
Lawrence shocked the tournament fans with a 30-20 win over Newton in the quarter-finals. 4 Newton fans were especially not prepared to deal with a defeat in this round against the Lions. They blamed the rough play of the Emporia team with taking away part of the services of their star player Forrest "Frosty" Cox. His injuries in the final regular season game with Emporia hampered his play at the Hays event. (Newton stated they would no longer schedule Emporia due to the "poor sportsmanship" of the Spartan players. Emporia countered that they were fouled just as roughly and received ill treatment from the Newton crowd.) 5 Lawrence dispelled the idea that they won only because Cox was less than 100% when they defeated Ark Valley champ El Dorado in the semi-finals. 6
Winfield's road to the finals was helped greatly by the pre-tournament draw. Iola and Parsons were considered weak opponents in this field. The Vikings were average in finishing fifth in the Ark Valley with a conference record of 8-6. Yet, late in the season they seemed to gather steam with wins over Arkansas City and Wichita. Their younger players improved greatly over the season and they continued that trend with the upset win of Arkansas City (again) in the semi-finals. 7
Coach Bill Martin advocated a strong defensive play and a very precise offense. Lawrence seemed to be exhausted by their previous big game encounters and reporters noted that their second half play declined rapidly. 8 Captain Milton Whitson guided Winfield through the tournament - especially on the offensive side. His court leadership sparked the mid-season turn around that resulted in a state championship. 9
Winfield proceeded on to the national tournament where they inspected a court made of the finest maple and as smooth as any they had ever seen. The court had been reduced to the high school dimensions of 87' x 49'. There were no ceiling obstructions preventing high arch shots from any area of the court. The goals extended from steel girders with no part of the basket being connected with the floor. 10
The Winfield boys defeated Aberdeen, SD in the opening round but lost to Vienna, GA in the next game. 11 E.A. Thomas, Kansas Association director, agreed with others in the National Federation who were opposed to these post-season national events. Kansas and most other states would ban participation in the Chicago tournament after the 1928 season. 12
Washburn University AD George Woodward directed the Class B tournament that was held at Thomas Gym on the college campus. Chautauqua, the southeastern school near the Oklahoma border, won the title over Williamsburg of Franklin County. The Chautauqua boys upset Perry in an early contest and displayed a brilliant offense in the championship game. Clifford Binns, key player for Williamsburg, was unavailable for the final due to a sprained ankle. 13
The tourney was not a financial success for the second year in a row. Woodward did not name an all-tournament team and no third place game was played. The Topeka Daily Capital cited the draw of the national AAU tournament in Kansas City as a reason for lower attendance than expected. Washburn University made it to the semi-finals and played for third place on the same day as the Class B finals. 14
Washburn's Thomas Gym drew fire as an inferior venue even for a high school game. The court was too narrow and the rafters were so low they interfered with arched shots. The balcony extended over the corners of the court preventing shots from those spots. 15
1 K.S.T.C. Leader (Hays),
March 15, 1927, 1
2 Ibid, March 22, 1927, 1
3 Ellis County News, March 24, 1927, 9
4 Winfield Daily Courier, March 21, 1927, 6
5 Topeka Daily Capital, March 9, 1927, 11
6 Winfield Daily Courier, March 21, 1927, 6
7 Ellis County News, March 24, 1927, 9
8 Ibid
9 Winfield Daily Courier, March 24, 1927, 9
10 Ibid, March 28, 1927, 14
11 Ibid, March 31, 1927, 14B
12 E. A. Thomas, "Among Kansas High Schools with E. A. Thomas", Salina
Journal, March 6, 1929
13 Topeka Daily Capital, March 20, 1927, 14B
14 Ibid
15 Ibid, February 28, 1926, 10B
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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1928 CLASS A State Tournament March 15-17 Stewart Field House Southwestern College Winfield, KS
^ Includes National Tourney Team Coach League
1st: Winfield 18 Topeka
14
1. Winfield (23-2) ^ Bill
Martin ARK VALLEY
3rd: KC-Wyandotte 16 Pratt
14
2. Topeka
(18-5)
E. B. Weaver NEKL
SF: Topeka 29 Hays Catholic
16
3.
KC-Wyandotte Percy
Parks NEKL
SF: Winfield 27 KC-Wyandotte
13
4. Hays
Catholic
Lew Lane UNION
PACIFIC
QF: Hays Catholic 19 Emporia 16
QF: Topeka 34 Frontenac 19
QF: Winfield 26 Lawrence 15
1R: Frontenac 25 Wichita 24
1R: Topeka 36 Caney 10
1R: Hays Catholic 17 Newton 15
1R: Emporia 22 Dodge City 15
1R: Winfield 57 Sabetha 10
1R: Lawrence 25 Salina 16
1R: Pratt 26 Almena (x) 14
1R: KC-Wyandotte 34 Parsons
20
Officials: Leslie Edmonds, Dwight Ream, Dale Critser
Consolation
Tournament
1st: Newton 39 Parsons 7
SF: Parsons 27 Salina 21 # see notes below
SF: Newton 20 Wichita 19
QF: Parsons 30 Almena 7
QF: Salina 32 Sabetha 20
QF: Wichita 24 Caney 19
QF: Newton 25 Dodge City 19
Score Source: One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011)
(x) Almena was a Class B school (114 students) that chose
to enter a Class A meet that it won and qualified automatically for this
tournament.
Invited Teams: Four runner-ups were selected from the 12 district tourneys -
TOPEKA, LAWRENCE, WICHITA & PARSONS
# Walter Knight was the starting guard for Salina High School in 1928 and 1929. He appears to be the first African-American to have played in a KSHSAA tournament. The following excerpt comes from the SALINA HIGH NEWS, April 5, 1929.
"Walt has played basket ball for Salina High two years and twice he has been placed on the CKL (Central Kansas League) All-Star quintet. This year he was awarded one of the highest honors of the league by being appointed captain of this five. Walt is the first colored athlete in the history of the league to attain this distinction. He is exceptionally adept at getting rebounds; he never loses his head in wrath or excitement."
Walter Knight was interviewed
by Salina Journal writer Wayne Laugesen in 1989. He confirmed that he was the
first black to compete in inter-scholastic basketball competition with white
players. A review at that time by the author suggested he was most likely the
first in the state of Kansas and maybe even the United States to break the color
line in high school basketball. Walter talked about the support he received from
his Coach Ab Hinshaw and local Salina Journal writer Stu Dunbar. His team
and school classmates supported his play in 1927-28 and 1928-29. He was
blunt in describing the racial slurs that were hurled at him when playing on the
road. "The crowds would call me everything in the book - nigger, coon, you
name it, " Knight said. His teammates verified that he could have
easily played in college, but no school was willing to break the unwritten rules
in that era. 1
Walter had advice that other schools e.g.
Emporia State might have wanted him to play football, but he chose not to pursue
that road. He was a carpenter and lived in Los Angeles for most of his working
life. 2
He returned to Salina in the 1970s and died there in 2006 at age 98.
1
Salina Journal, March 19, 1989, Pgs 1 & 9
2 Salina Journal, May 2, 1976, 26
He was born too early to reach his full potential in athletics - but, besides his pioneer efforts, he was part of a family with many accomplished members. His brother Guy was the father of Bobby Knight who was an All-State football player for Salina High school in 1945 & 1946. Bobby is the father of Danny, Mark & Kelly Knight who played basketball at Kansas University. Another son, James, played for San Diego University.
KSHSAA All-Kansas Tournament
1st Team: Bob Boyd TOPEKA,
Ernest Schmidt WINFIELD, Paul Fairbank TOPEKA, Dale Cochran WINFIELD, Elmer
Schaake LAWRENCE
2nd Team: Milton Whitson WINFIELD Claunch KC-WYANDOTTE, Howard Sidwell WINFIELD,
Dean Officer TOPEKA
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1928 CLASS B State
Tournament March 15-17
Ottawa University Gym
Ottawa, KS
No Consolation Tournament Team Coach League
1st: Haven 13 Chase
10
1 Haven
(18-3)
Buel Hunter
INDEPENDENT
3rd: Hartford 29 Garrison
26
2 Chase
(28-2)
Frank Campbell RICE COUNTY
SF: Haven 42 Garrison
20
3 Hartford (20-2) Ronald
Mayo INDEPENDENT
SF: Chase 28 Hartford
25
4 Garrison (27-2)
????
INDEPENDENT
QF: Haven 40 Spring Township 27
QF: Garrison 37 Montezuma 13
QF: Chase 24 Brookville 13
1R: Haven 29 Lakin 25
1R: Spring Township 31 Bunker Hill 21
1R: Garrison 23 Wellsville 16
1R: Montezuma 24 Ransom 15
1R: Chase 17 Stilwell 13
1R: Brookville 23 Narka 8
1R: Hartford 38 Altoona 17
1R: Richmond 16 Cockerill 14
Preliminary: Garrison 22 Winchester 16
Preliminary: Wellsville 18 Hope
12
Officials: R. E. Gowans, Leslie Davis
Score Source: One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011)
Coaches & Officials All-Star Team
1st Team: Louis Koch HAVEN, Elvin McCoy HAVEN,
George Rummel HARTFORD, Austin Linke CHASE, Jesse Atkinson HAVEN
2nd Team: Allen Coffman HARTFORD, Kenneth Foote CHASE, Ralph Watson CHASE,
Wallace Haxton, CHASE, Elva Kennedy CHASE
The KSHSAA made Winfield the site of what had become the traveling Class A tournament. Stewart Gymnasium on the Southwestern College campus was the venue for sixteen teams that traveled through rain and snow to compete for the title. 1 The Wichita team started out their trip in cars, but ended up transferring to a train when the weather led to a collision with another car near the Sumner County line. Coach McAllister of Wichita was unable to make the opening round game with Frontenac due to the injuries he suffered in that crash. 2 The Parsons team had a car that slipped into a ditch. 3 Kansas roads were mostly unpaved and bad weather often caused road closures. Most roads leading to Winfield were closed after the start of the tourney. 4
For the first time in tournament history, a consolation tourney was held for first round losers. This guaranteed that all sixteen teams would play at least two games at Winfield. 5
Frontenac was able to spring a surprise on Wichita in the opening round. The Wichita players were a little shook up from the auto accident, but they were still highly favored as one of the top three teams in the Ark Valley. Then Newton followed with a first round loss to Hays Catholic. The Hays Catholics impressed everyone with their clean play and fighting quality. 6 Coach Lindley openly questioned his own basketball judgment to members of the press. He was discouraged by the task of scouting. He watched Pueblo in the 1926 National and was convinced that his second team would have prevailed, but instead "they beat us." 7
Winfield proved they were the class of
the A division with easy victories in the first three games of the tourney. When
Topeka tried to slow it down against them in the final, the Vikings matched that
style and
easily controlled the 18-14 contest. Ernie Schmidt played mostly center for
Winfield and was a dominating defensive player when teams attempted a deliberate
style of play. 8 Upon graduation in 1929, he attended Kansas State Teachers
College-Pittsburg where he was 1st Team All-American for Coach John Lance. He
was also named to a few All-American AAU teams. He was inducted into the
Naismith Hall of Fame in 1974 as a player. 9
Five hundred loyal Winfield boosters gathered at the Santa Fe
station for a rousing send-off to the boys bound for Chicago where they were
scheduled to play the state champions of Michigan. 10
Iron Mountain grabbed an
early 14-3 lead at the end of the first quarter. Winfield returned with a stingy
defense that only allowed four points the rest of the game. Whitson, Schmidt and
Sidwell displayed basket shooting that gave the team a 34-18 victory. 11
Winfield's next opponent, Tulsa High, OK, found a way to stop the pivot plays of Whitson and Schmidt and Winfield was unable to solve the defensive strategy. The scoring stayed close in the first half, but the Tulsa boys pulled away in the second half for a 26-19 win. Winfield's high hopes were crushed and this was the last time a Kansas team played in a National Tournament. 12
Ottawa University conducted the Class B tourney. Only winners of the Class B Sectional elimination tournaments were eligible. Eighteen of the eligible twenty-one teams entered the tournament - Jewell, Rexford and Denton declined. No consolation bracket was conducted. 13
Haven and Chase, regular season rivals, made the finals. Haven, coached by Buel Hunter, collected their 2nd state championship in a very low scoring game. The cautious game was becoming standard - especially when state championships were on the line. 14
1 Southwestern Collegian,
March 13, 1928, 1
2 Winfield Daily Courier, March 16, 1928, 1
3 Ibid, March 17, 1928, 8
4 Ibid, March 19, 1928, 8
5 Southwestern Collegian, March 13, 1928, 1
6 Winfield Daily Courier, March 16, 1928, 2
7 Ibid, March 19, 1928, 8
8 Ibid
9 http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tag/ernest-j-schmidt
10 Winfield Daily Courier, April 3, 1928, 1
11 Ibid, April 4, 1928, 10
12 Ibid, April 5, 1928, 4
13 Ottawa Herald, March 16, 1928, 1
14 Haven Journal, March 22, 1928, 1
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1929 CLASS A State Tournament March 21-23 Memorial Hall Salina, KS
Team Coach League
1st: Winfield 10 Newton
8
1 Winfield
(22-1) Bill
Martin
ARK VALLEY
3rd: Topeka 26 Wellington
20
2 Newton
(16-8)
Lindley/Stuart
ARK VALLEY
SF: Winfield 27 Topeka
22
3 Topeka
(20-4) E. B.
Weaver
NEKL
SF: Newton 23 Wellington
13
4 Wellington (16-9) Jack
Doty
ARK VALLEY
QF: Winfield 49 Salina 8
QF: Topeka 30 El Dorado 29 **
QF: Newton 36 Wilson 20
QF: Wellington 24 KC-Wyandotte 20
1R: Winfield 35 Parsons 15
1R: Salina 28 Ottawa 25
1R: Topeka 44 Abilene 14
1R: El Dorado 25 Chase County (x) 18 *
1R: Newton 33 Fredonia 19
1R: Wilson (x) 16 Emporia 12
1R: KC-Wyandotte 35 Liberal 10
1R: Wellington 25 Fort Scott
23
Officials: Leslie Edmonds, Dwight Ream, Jack McLean,
Ben Wood
Consolation Tournament
1st: Fort Scott 26 Parsons 20
SF: Parsons 15 Chase County 13
SF: Fort Scott 31 Fredonia 21
QF: Chase County 38 Abilene 23
QF: Parsons 22 Ottawa 20
QF: Fredonia 31 Emporia 24
QF: Fort Scott 23 Liberal 14
Score
Source: One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011) except
for
Fredonia-Emporia: Salina Journal March 23, 1929, 14
(x) CHASE & WILSON were Class B schools who qualified
for and won Sectional Tournaments. There was no Class B Tourney in 1929.
CLASS A Invited teams were SALINA, OTTAWA, EL DORADO, FORT SCOTT, WELLINGTON.
All-Tournament Team
1st Team: Allen Fink WINFIELD, William Pattison
TOPEKA, Ernest Schmidt WINFIELD, Arny Priest NEWTON, Burdett Merryman WELLINGTON
2nd Team: Irwin Deschner NEWTON, Bob Boyd TOPEKA, Allen Burns KC-WYANDOTTE, Dale
Cochran WINFIELD, Robert Young TOPEKA
The Class A tournament was publicized in an unprecedented manner in 1929 by the Salina Journal newspaper. E. A. Thomas noted in his newspaper column that was carried in several Kansas papers. "Stuart Dunbar, sports editor of the paper (Salina Journal), compiled the records and wrote the stories which comprised a great contribution to the tournament."1 Dunbar devoted several pages to pre-tournament coverage. He listed rosters, coaches and game-by-game season records of each team. 2 Dunbar was hoping that Salina would draw record breaking receipts for the tourney. He stated that this would be the biggest athletic event ever held in Salina. 3
Thomas was an active observer of the competition that took place at Salina's Memorial Hall. In previous years, he split time between the Class A & B tournaments. This year the association decided to consolidate the Class A and Class B state tournament. Class B teams (population 150 and under) competed in elimination tournaments as in the past. Then the top two finishers in these districts qualified for participation in the Class A sectional meetings held the following weekend. Chase County and Wilson qualified for the Salina tournament by winning Class A sectionals. 4 Thomas and the executive committee invited five teams to join the eleven sectional winners. Salina, Ottawa, El Dorado, Fort Scott and Wellington accepted the association's invitation. 5
Pre-tournament favorites were Winfield and KC-Wyandotte. The brackets were aligned to allow for a final between these two teams. Wellington upset that dream game by eliminating the Bulldogs with excellent long range shooting and skillful ball handling. Wyandotte was unable to take advantage of their height advantage - Andy Skradski and Allen Burns. Winfield made the finals with only Topeka providing much resistance. 6
Winfield's 10-8 final victory over Newton brought howls of criticism from fans and writers. Newton had abandoned the zone that Coach Lindley had used to great success in previous years. Still, both teams played a very deliberate offense and each were very familiar with each other from previous league encounters. The game boiled down to a cautious chess match where both teams were waiting for the other to make a mistake. One reporter summed it up this way, "The game was drab, featureless, cold-blooded, for against the slow motion offense which has won three successive titles for the Vikings the Railroaders matched one which was slower still." 7 Many critics favored a rule change that would establish a half-court line that would eliminate retreating to the backcourt to maintain ball possession. The national rules committee resisted and believed that abandoning the zone that Winfield used would eliminate the delay or stall. 8
Ernie Schmidt completed his final year in high school as the star who was an important part of Winfield's three consecutive championships. He was praised by writers who gathered in Salina and was heavily recruited by the college coaches that visited the tourney. In the 49-8 win over Salina, reports said he "leaped head and shoulders above the Maroons to give a remarkable exhibition of hitting at short range."9 Bill Martin left at the end of the year to become the head coach at Southwestern College. 10
Stu Dunbar was happy to post the announcement by A. B. Mackie, tourney director, that the receipts broke the $4000 amount for the first time. 11 He had less than favorable comments about KSHSAA head E. A. Thomas. He objected to Thomas demanding a seat in the press area that forced the two available typewriters out of the arena. He accused the executive secretary of cheering for Topeka over other opponents in the event. He complained in general that "the tournament was going to be well managed without Mr. Thomas making a spectacle of himself by fussing about in impersonation of an efficiency expert or an old hen gathering chicks in a rain storm." 12
Thomas announced several days later that the 1930 tournament would be held at Washburn University's new Whiting Field House in Topeka. Topeka would host the largest class tourney for ten out of the next eleven years. 13
1 E. A. Thomas, "State
High School Athletics", Salina Journal, March 25, 1929
2 Salina Journal, March 21, 1929, 16
3 Stu Dunbar, "Sport Chaff", Salina Journal, March 12,
1929
4 E. A. Thomas, "State High School Athletics", Salina
Journal, March 18, 1929
5 Topeka Daily Capital, March 19, 1929, 12
6 Leslie Edmonds, "Just as It Seems to Me", Topeka Daily
Capital, March 24, 1929
7 Salina Journal, March 26, 1929, 10
8 "Official Basketball Rules", Spalding's Official
Collegiate Basketball Guide for 1929-1930 (New York: American Sports, 1929),
33
9 Salina Journal, March 23, 1929, 14
10 Spalding's Official Collegiate Basketball Guide for 1929-1930 (New York:
American Sports, 1929), 179
11 Salina Journal, March 26, 1929, 10
12 Stu Dunbar, "Sport Chaff", Salina Journal, March 26, 1929
13 E. A. Thomas, "State High School Athletics", Salina Journal, March
25, 1929
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1930 CLASS A State Tournament March 20-22 Whiting Field House Washburn University Topeka, KS
Team Coach League
1st: KC-Wyandotte 17 Newton
9
1. KC-Wyandotte (21-5) Percy
Parks NEKL
3rd: Topeka 10 Hutchinson
9
2.
Newton (21-3)
Lindley/Stuart ARK VALLEY
SF: Newton 28 Topeka
13
3
Topeka (16-5)
E. B. Weaver NEKL
SF: KC-Wyandotte 23 Hutchinson
14
4
Hutchinson (20-5)
Edmund Cairns ARK VALLEY
QF: Newton 29 Fredonia 19
QF: Topeka 21 Olathe 10
QF: KC-Wyandotte 38 Quinter 17
QF: Hutchinson 18 McPherson 17
1R: Newton 37 Abilene 17
1R: Fredonia 39 Lawrence 27
1R: Topeka 25 Dodge City 10
1R: Olathe 30 El Dorado 27
1R: Quinter(x) 21 Pittsburg 20
1R: KC-Wyandotte 36 Augusta 13
1R: Hutchinson 26 Ottawa 14
1R: McPherson 41 Powhattan (x)
15
Officials: Leslie Edmonds, Dwight Ream, John Bunn
Consolation Bracket
1st: Pittsburg
30 Lawrence 19
SF: Pittsburg 23 Ottawa 15
SF: Lawrence 34 El Dorado 20
QF: Pittsburg 31 Augusta 18
QF: Ottawa 27 Powhattan 26
QF: El Dorado 34 Dodge City 21
QF: Lawrence 24 Abilene 20
Score
Source: One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011)
(x) Class B teams that won Class A Sectionals - There was no Class B State Tourney in 1930 Invited Teams: Lawrence, Olathe, Augusta, Ottawa, McPherson
KSHSAA Honor Roll
Guards: John Edwards, Harold Miller NEWTON Paul
Harrington, Alfred Haus KC-WYANDOTTE Cecil Peterson MC PHERSON
Dan Emrich TOPEKA Harry Chabin HUTCHINSON Ray Mueller PITTSBURG Ross
Marshall OLATHE
Forwards: Naaman Brown, Boyd Tourtillot NEWTON, Robert Tietze, John
Horvatin KC-WYANDOTTE Don Gutteridge PITTSBURG Wilkinson QUINTER
Andy Magyar HUTCHINSON Roy Vandeventer LAWRENCE
Centers: Stanley Michaels KC-WYANDOTTE Dwight Swan TOPEKA Lawrence Allison
NEWTON Roger Thatch FREDONIA
The first Class A tournament in Topeka received a promotion greater than even the 1929 Salina event. Topeka merchants provided tickets for the Coach and varsity players of over 80 teams in the Topeka and surrounding area. This was in addition to the free tickets provided to the sixteen competing high schools. 1
For those unable to see the
game in person, WIBW radio stepped forward with the first ever radio broadcast
of the championship final. Ernie Quigley and
John Bunn, future Naismith HOF'ers,
were the announcers for this live broadcast. Previous radio reports only relayed
information received by telegraph wire. 2
Ark Valley teams were once
again picked as favorites to win it all at the new Washburn University Whiting
Field House. Newton was the champion of the league and the sectional tournament
held in Salina. 3 Hutchinson, guided by Coach "Chop" Cairns, was
another power in the league and the only team able to defeat Newton in the
regular season. 4
The Salt Hawks advanced to the semi-finals over McPherson on the strength of a shot launched by Ed Colson from near the middle of the court with seconds left before the final whistle. Hutchinson won the center jump and dribbled out the remaining time. 5
In the final, KC-Wyandotte eased by Newton to win their first title since 1923. Coach Percy Parks employed a rigid zone defense that Newton could not crack. Some thought that the rough game played with Topeka wore down the Newton boys. The semi-finals were played Saturday afternoon with the final played in the evening. 6
KC-Wyandotte's win was a boost for northeast Kansas basketball and brought hope to other teams that the Ark Valley strangle hold on the title was over. 7 The third place game won by Topeka 10-9 over Hutchinson renewed the call for a ten-second back court rule and elimination of the center jump after made field goals . 8
Attendance for the Topeka tourney, supplemented by local merchant sponsorship, broke records set in Salina. Leslie Edmonds of the Topeka Daily Capital gave credit to E. A. Thomas by writing, "He has a right to take satisfaction from the steady progress of his institution. It's been good to see the finest youth of Kansas at play, to see youngsters whose loyalty is still indivisible, whose illusions are still their own, whose representation on their teams has no savor of commercialism or professionalism." 9
Dunbar of Salina praised the fine facilities of Washburn and predicted the tourney would stay in Topeka for many years. However, he found fault with the behavior of the crowds. He noted that the crowd for the foul plagued Topeka-Newton semi-final was "for utter viciousness" as bad as he had ever seen. The guilty parties were not connected with the schools, but came from some of the area youth who were given free tickets and joined with some adult locals to back the Topeka team. 10
B. P. Walker, a Topeka Daily Capital columnist known as the "Village Deacon", summed up the feeling of the hosts on the high school basketball spectacle. "These boys of eighteen have been fighting mighty battles on strange fields for the glory of the old home town - for father and mother, the beloved school and the sweetheart who awaits the conquering hero. To the old home town they return heroes, whether in victory or defeat, for they gave their best. How clean and fair and determined was it all. No thought of sordid monetary gain, no stalling for bigger purses, no short changing the public in any way." 11
1 Topeka Daily Capital,
March 18, 1930, 12
2 Leslie Edmonds, "Just as It Seems to Me", Topeka
Daily Capital, March 18, 1930
3 Topeka Daily Capital, March 19, 1930, 14
4 High School Buzz (Hutchinson), March 1, 1930, 4
5 Ibid, March 27, 1930, 4
6 Topeka Daily Capital, March 23, 1930, 13B
7 Ibid
8 Leslie Edmonds, "Just as It Seems to Me", Topeka
Daily Capital, March 24, 1930
9 Ibid, March 23, 1930
10 Stu Dunbar, "Sport Chaff", Salina Journal, March 24, 1931
11 B. P. Walker, "The Old Home Town and It's Youth", Topeka Daily
Capital, March 23, 1930, 13B