Kansas Prep Basketball History Part  5       Update May 10, 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
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1931 CLASS A State Tournament         March 19-21                                Whiting Field House    Washburn University   Topeka

1st:   Newton  22  Parsons  15                                                                   1  Newton (22-0)             Lindley/Stuart            ARK VALLEY
3rd:  Hutchinson  22  Lindsborg  12                                                          2  Parsons (10-5)             Bailey Ricketts         SEKL
SF:   Parsons  17  Hutchinson  16                                                             3   Hutchinson (11-8)       Edmund Cairns         ARK VALLEY
SF:   Newton  14  Lindsborg  12                                                               4   Lindsborg (17-3)         Oscar Ostenburg       CKL
QF:  Parsons  32  KC-Wyandotte  23
QF:  Hutchinson  30  Manhattan  12
QF:  Lindsborg  45  Olathe  11
QF:  Newton  27  Ottawa  16
1R:  KC-Wyandotte  22  Hays  12
1R:  Parsons  26  Arkansas City  25
1R:  Manhattan  22  Topeka  20
1R:  Hutchinson  24  Sabetha  14
1R:  Olathe  25  Dodge City  23
1R:  Lindsborg  32  Wichita North  25
1R:  Ottawa  25  Quinter (x)  17
1R:  Newton  42  Iola  18                                                                                Officials: Leslie Edmonds, Ernie Quigley, Dwight Ream

(x) Class B team chose to compete in Class A sectional and finished 1st
Invited Teams:  KC-WYANDOTTE, HUTCHINSON, WICHITA NORTH, OTTAWA

Consolation Bracket

1st:  Quinter  18  Topeka  15
SF:  Topeka  26  Arkansas City  20
SF:  Quinter  25  Wichita North  21
QF:  Topeka  31  Sabetha  21
QF:  Arkansas City  38  Hays  22
QF:  Quinter  28  Iola  18
QF:  Wichita North  34  Dodge City  20

Score Source:  One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011) except for
                            Lindsborg-Wichita North: Topeka Daily-Capital March 21, 1931, 16
                            Quinter-Topeka: Topeka Daily Capital March 22, 1931, 13B

KSHSAA Honor Roll

Guards:  John Edwards NEWTON, Paul Ahlstedt LINDSBORG, Harry Chabin HUTCHINSON, Ralph LaCroix, Dan Emrich TOPEKA, Bill Hicks, Joe Gassaway PARSONS, John Horvatin KC-WYANDOTTE
Forwards:  Naaman Brown, Boyd Tourtillott NEWTON, Emerson Colson HUTCHINSON, Ivan Hoover QUINTER, Gerald Barker OTTAWA, Edwin Wreath MANHATTAN, Rutledge ARKANSAS CITY,
                    Dedrick WICHITA NORTH
Centers:  Ray Ebling LINDSBORG, William Hester PARSONS, Rufus Jamison QUINTER, Red Royer NEWTON

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1931 CLASS B State Tournament            March 19-21                                               Sheridan Coliseum    Fort Hays State             Hays

1st:   Buhler  26  Menlo  20                                                                             Buhler (21-3)            Floyd Barngrover        INDEPENDENT
3rd:   Cullison  31  Gridley  9                                                                           Menlo (?-?)              Andrew Swoyer           INDEPENDENT
SF:    Buhler  14  Gridley  13                                                                           Cullison (22-1)          Jess Lockert               PRATT COUNTY
SF:    Menlo  27  Cullison  22                                                                          Gridley (22-2)           Emory Cox                  INDEPENDENT
QF:   Buhler  29  Pittsburg College HS  16
QF:   Gridley  21  Osage City  15
QF:   Menlo  29  Alexander  26
QF:   Cullison  24  Chase  17 *
1R:   Buhler  40  Lebanon  13
1R:   Pittsburg College HS  24  Byers  13
1R:   Gridley  28  Wichita American Indian Institute  25
1R:   Osage City  20  Coats  12
1R:   Menlo  25  Tampa  21
1R:   Alexander  32  Eudora  9
1R:   Cullison  39  Riley  13
1R:   Chase  26  St. Mary's Jesuit Academy  19                                           Officials:  Orson McLaughlin, John McLean, Stuart Dunbar

KSHSAA Invited Teams: ALEXANDER, LEBANON, COATS, CHASE

SPORTS WRITERS HONOR ROLL

Guards:  Reed, Lee Moore CULLISON, Wallace CHASE, Krebs ST MARY'S ACADEMY, Art Ediger BUHLER, Arthur Endsley GRIDLEY, Johnson BYERS, Dale Wardlaw ALEXANDER
Forwards:  Henry Dyck, Pete Duerksen BUHLER, Charles Bailey, Wendall Saathoff MENLO, Zents TAMPA, Richard Linke CHASE, Leroy Neeley BYERS, Moss COATS
Centers:  Elmer Wells GRIDLEY, Charley Carlton CULLISON, Herman Schwartzkof ALEXANDER, Vern Saathoff MENLO

Consolation Bracket

1st:   Tampa  17  Coats  15
SF:    Tampa  24  St. Mary's Jesuit Academy  23
SF:    Coats  23  Byers  16
QF:   Tampa  25  Eudora  21
QF:   St. Mary's Jesuit Academy  33  Riley  13   

QF:   Coats  24  Wichita American Indian Institute  16
QF:   Byers  34  Lebanon  9

 
Score Source:  One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011) except for
                             Osage City-Coats: Hays Daily News, March 20, 1931, 4

     The Class A Tourney returned to Whiting Field House with even deeper merchant support and produced a successful attendance figure though the economy was in a deep depression. Washburn University "W Club" members served as hosts for the visiting high school teams. They escorted teams from the rail station to their hotels and from there to the field house. Merchant purchased tickets were provided to area high school players whose teams did not qualify for the tourney. 1

    A major technological improvement in the game was introduced in the form of an electrically run scoreboard. The Topeka Daily Capital marveled at the features of the board that were controlled at the officials table. "An electrically driven clock ... at the end of playing time starts a loud blast on an automobile horn attached to the top of the board." 2

    One Class B team qualified for the Topeka tourney because they had the option to compete at the Class A regional in Norton. Quinter had previously finished second at the Class B district at Hoxie. The problem was that Class B was won by the mighty Class B power Menlo.
3 Rather than compete against Menlo in a Class B Regional, they took their chances with an open spot in the Class A ranks. They won that tournament and made the trip to Topeka and managed to win the consolation bracket. The boys and the town celebrated that trophy as if it were a state championship. 4

    Newton won the Class A tournament and finished the season undefeated. The Railroaders methodically progressed through the tourney as most of the experts around the state had predicted with returning stars Edwards, Royer and Tourtillot leading the way.  5 Newton's only scare came from Lindsborg in the semi-final game. Newton was in control for most of the game and would not allow any close in shots. Lindsborg finally began to connect with some long range throws and were able to  gain a 12-12 tie in the 4th quarter. That is when John Edwards calmly took control and put Newton ahead with seconds left to secure the win. 6

    There appeared to be hard feelings left over between the Topeka crowd and the Newton team from the roughly played semi-final of 1930. C.E. Hobbs of the Topeka State Journal wrote that he saw signals passed from the Newton bench to the players on the court indicating which plays to run. He implied that Coach Lindley was guilty of violating the rule against coaching from the bench at any time. The Newton Evening-Republican sports department replied, "Anyone who is acquainted with Mr. Lindley, knows that he will sit thru an entire game, scarcely showing any signs of emotion, let alone any signs which a player might interpret as signals for certain plays. " 7

     Paul Lawrence of the Newton paper described the Newton offense as  "cool, deliberate, systematic basketball under all conditions. " The coaching was all done before the game ever started or, many times, at halftime. Newton's best offense occurred frequently in the third quarter after the coaches could "analyze the defects and weak places in the opponents play... and at the same time, correct their own faults." 8  Gene Kemper of the Emporia Gazette saw the champs as "the best of all teams ever produced by Frank Lindley and Birch Stuart. The team is well balanced with three smart veterans, Brown, Edwards and Tourtillott, as a backbone. Brown is a sharpshooter and a sparkplug. Tourtillot is the pivotal man on offense, and Edwards directs the offense ... using a clever and deceptive passing ability." 9

     The association held a separate Class B tourney in 1931 after a two year absence. Hays State College was designated as the host for the event played at the Sheridan Coliseum. Paul "Busch" Gross served as tournament director. 10

     Pete Duerksen with great help from Art Ediger and Henry Dyck drove Buhler to the championship win over Northwest Kansas power Menlo. Buhler used a slow down game that most Class B teams rarely encountered. Menlo could only compete by playing a zone. When they switched to a man defense in an attempt to close the gap, Buhler picked them apart for easy scores. 11

      The Osage City cagers drew attention from the Hays press as they picked up on the story of the "All-American" or as others called "the Five Nations Team." The Topeka Daily Capital explained the description. "Anderson is of Swedish descent, the other forward (Stromgren) is of Norwegian extraction; Orendorf is a Negro: Romande and Parre, guards, are of Italian and French parentage, respectively." 12 Osage City had an unusual, for that time, mixture of population due to the many immigrants who were working in the town's coal mining industry that was still active in the 1930s. 13

        Carl Orendorf, as nearly as can be determined, was the first African-American player to compete in a Class B state tournament. Writers commonly used descriptive terms such as "dusky" or "colored" to describe the Negro athlete in high school games. There were very few areas of the state that allowed black basketball players on the varsity roster. Stu Dunbar of the Salina Journal reported that Orendorf was the only colored boy in the tournament. Dunbar described him as "an easy playing, gum-chewing, never-smiling negro. Orendorf managed his team beautifully, playing with a slow grace and accuracy which was almost aggravating in its finesse."
14

 RULE CHANGE: A free throw shooting contest was mandated for teams still tied after one overtime period. See year 1933 for description  of this overtime rule. E. A. Thomas installed this measure as a partial answer to complaints of physical exhaustion in tournament play. 15

1   Topeka Daily Capital, March 19, 1931, 8
2   Ibid, March 20, 1931, 12
3   Hoxie Sentinel, March 5, 1931, 12
4   Gove County Advocate, March 26, 1931, 1
5   Paul E Lawrence, "Newton Entry to be Strong", Hutchinson News, March 12, 1931, 3
6   Curtis Buller, 267
7   Ibid, 269-270
8   Paul E Lawrence, "Newton Entry to be Strong", Hutchinson News, March 12, 1931, 3
9   Curtis Buller, 271
10 Stu Dunbar, "Sport Chaff", Salina Journal, February 28, 1931
11 Ibid, March 24, 1931
12 Topeka Daily Capital, March 18, 1931, 10
13 1930 United States Federal Census, Osage City, Kansas
14 Salina Journal, March 21, 1931, 14
15 Curtis Buller, 264

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1932 CLASS A State Tournament         March 17-19                                Wichita North High School      Wichita

                                                                                                                              Team                          Coach                       League

1st:  Topeka  22  Parsons  12                                                                          1  Topeka (19-2)                 E. B. Weaver            NEKL
3rd:  Wichita East  31  Wichita North  27                                                       2   Parsons (13-3)               Bailey Ricketts         SEKL
SF:   Parsons  28  Wichita North  23                                                               3   Wichita East (12-6)       DeVerne Archer       ARK VALLEY       
SF:   Topeka  24  Wichita East  17                                                                  4   Wichita North (10-10)   Glen Hartman           ARK VALLEY
QF:  Wichita North  18  KC-Wyandotte  16
QF:  Parsons  27  Emporia  22 
QF:  Topeka  25  Salina  12
QF:  Wichita East  34  Newton  16
1R:  KC-Wyandotte  22  Hays-St. Joseph
1R:  Wichita North  21  Cherryvale  18
1R:  Parsons  34  Pratt  31
1R:  Emporia  20  Arkansas City  18
1R:  Salina  35  Leavenworth  31 *
1R:  Topeka  26  Dodge City  18
1R:  Wichita East  48  Ottawa  25
1R:  Newton  23  Clay Center  19                                                                         OFFICIALS:  Ernie Quigley, Dwight Ream, Gene Kemper

Consolation Bracket

1st:  Arkansas City  32  Dodge City  14
SF:   Arkansas City  29  Hays-St. Joseph  15
SF:   Dodge City  22  Ottawa  8
QF:  Hays-St. Joseph  24  Cherryvale  13
QF:  Arkansas City  29  Pratt  18
QF:  Dodge City  32  Leavenworth  25
QF:  Ottawa  19  Clay Center  11

Score Source:  One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011)                             

INVITED TEAMS:  WICHITA NORTH,  PRATT,  LEAVENWORTH,  WICHITA EAST,  OTTAWA.

KSHSAA HONOR ROLL

GUARDS:  Nagel WICHITA EAST, Joe Fee TOPEKA, Rathbone WICHITA NORTH, Miller WINFIELD, Briar NEWTON, Tommy Adams SALINA, Flick ARKANSAS CITY, Sturgeon DODGE CITY
FORWARDS:  Marty Houchin WICHITA EAST, Hapgood CLAY CENTER, Don Dittemore TOPEKA, Norman Fordyce KC-WYANDOTTE, Trowbridge EMPORIA, O Albertson Garber PARSONS, Laurie WINFIELD
CENTERS:  J Albertson PARSONS, Joe Michaels KC-WYANDOTTE, James Landes TOPEKA,  Staab HAYS-ST. JOSEPH

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1932  CLASS B State Tournament            March 17-19                           Wilson Gym                  Sterling College       Sterling

                                                                                                                     Team                          Coach                       League

1st:   Buhler  18  Cullison  13                                                                      Buhler (20-4)           Floyd Barngrover    INDEPENDENT                                                                           
3rd:   Marquette  20  Havensville  18                                                         Cullison (22-3)        Jess Lockert            PRATT COUNTY   
SF:   Buhler  13  Marquette  11                                                                  Marquette (19-4)     Emery Barclay       McPHERSON COUNTY
SF:   Cullison  25  Havensville  23                                                              Havensville (?-?)      ??                           INDEPENDENT
QF:  Buhler  20  Narka  17
QF:  Marquette  25  Macksville  23 **
QF:  Havensville  25  Arnold  24
QF:  Cullison  15  Alexander  9
1R:  Narka  29  Erie  24
1R:  Buhler  37  Sterling  18
1R:  Marquette  31  Williamsburg  12
1R:  Macksville  23  Stanley  21
1R:  Arnold  27  Leon  26
1R:  Havensville  18  Galva  14
1R:  Cullison  17  Wichita American Indian Institute  13
1R:  Alexander  36  Moline 20                                                                        OFFICIALS: M. N. Peterson, Orson McLaughlin, John McLean

Consolation Bracket

1st:   Erie  25  Wichita American Indian Institute  20
SF:   Erie  32  Stanley  25
SF:   Wichita American Indian Institute  29  Galva  27
QF:   Erie  32  Sterling  23
QF:   Stanley  20  Williamsburg  12
QF:   Galva  50  Leon  19
QF:   Wichita American Indian Institute  33  Moline  25

Score Source:  One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011)  except for
                            Stanley-Williamsburg/Erie-Stanley: Topeka Daily Capital, March 19, 1932, 10

INVITED TEAMS:  ARNOLD, MOLINE, BUHLER, MACKSVILLE, STERLING

KSHSAA HONOR ROLL

GUARDS:  Ernest Bartel, Dave Ediger BUHLER, Owens, Reed, CULLISON, Gibson ERIE, Yost ALEXANDER, Yeager MACKSVILLE, McLain WAIA, 
FORWARDS:  Briney, Urban CULLISON, Elmer Dirks, Pete Duerksen BUHLER, Ellis HAVENSVILLE, Crowe WAIA, Burns MACKSVILLE, Bruce MARQUETTE
CENTERS:  Harrold GALVA, Roller MARQUETTE, Herman Schwartzkopf ALEXANDER, Shurtleff MACKSVILLE

      Wichita began a pitch for the 1932 Class A tourney soon after the conclusion of the 1931 event. Civic leaders were proud of the Wichita Forum that drew big crowds for sporting events like AAU basketball. The Forum was home to AAU champ the Wichita Henrys. That was the venue the KSHSAA thought they would have when the tourney was planned, but a late breaking scheduling conflict forced the directors of the tourney to find another site. They decided that the recently constructed Wichita North gym could hold as many as 3,000 with the addition of floor seating. The new gym actually had better locker room facilities than the old Forum (located where the Century II complex now stands.) This marked the first time that the tournament was held in an exclusively high school gymnasium. 1

      It was the rule in this era that the winner of a Class A or Class B Regional automatically qualified for the state tournament. The association would then pick the best teams from the various runner-up clubs to fill out the sixteen team bracket. The association invited Wichita East who lost a semi-final game in their regional. Winfield, a perennial tournament participant, did finish second in their regional at Arkansas City - but they were left out of the Wichita event. Other teams - El Dorado and McPherson - also objected to the Wichita East pick by claiming more important regular season records. The uproar over this pick caused discussion about an alternative or "rump tournament" for the schools left out.
2 The possibility of a schism in the association was avoided when Supt. Evan Evans, a respected official from Winfield, shot down this idea. He would file an official protest with the KSHSAA over the selection process that, in several school's opinion, favored the choice of Wichita East to pump attendance in the opening round. 3

      Newton was favored as usual to win the title and came into the event as Ark Valley champ with only one loss. A classic upset opportunity arose when Wichita East faced off against the favorites in the quarter-finals. The Wichita boys delivered the shocker of the era when they defeated Newton 34-16. All the drama about East's inclusion in the tournament and the large margin of victory over Newton had all the fans buzzing. The Newton team experienced an extremely rare meltdown that saw one of their stars nearly tackling an East player late in the game. Wichita North, the other city team, may have been helped by the home court with their impressive upset over the other tournament favorite KC-Wyandotte. 4

       These upsets cleared the way for E. B. Weaver's Topeka Trojans to glide through to the finals and meet another dark horse team in Parsons. The Trojans were described as a "well-oiled machine" with two outstanding defensive players in Joe Fee and Ralph LaCroix. Fee was the leading scorer for the team that needed little offense to win in 1932. 5

      Class B competition took place at Wilson Gym on the campus of Sterling College in Sterling. Sterling was the smallest town to ever handle a state tournament. Only brief descriptions of the games exist. 6 Pete Duerksen was the MVP for Buhler who repeated as champion. He scored 12 of Buhler's point total in the final against Cullison. 7

1   Wichita Eagle, February 7, 1932, 9
2   Topeka Daily Capital, March 15, 1932, 9
3   Wichita Eagle, March 16, 1932, 14
4   Ibid, March 19, 1932, 14
5   Harry R. Elliott, "Championship Results From Expert Coaching", Topeka Daily Capital, March 20, 2010, 9B
6   Sterling Kansas Bulletin, March 24, 1932, 1
7   Topeka Daily Capital, March 20, 1932, 9B

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1933 CLASS A State Tournament         March 23-25                                   Topeka High School       Topeka

                                                                                                                              Team                          Coach                       League

1st:  KC-Wyandotte  25  Arkansas City  16                                             1  KC-Wyandotte (25-0)     Percy Parks          NEKL  
3rd:  Parsons  30  Topeka  16                                                                    2  Arkansas City (23-1)      Herb Conner         ARK VALLEY
SF:   Arkansas City  29  Parsons  16                                                        3   Parsons (15-2)                 Bailey Ricketts     SEKL
SF:   KC-Wyandotte  23  Topeka  19 *                                                    4   Topeka (11-14)                E. B. Weaver        NEKL
QF:  Parsons  15  Wichita North  13
QF:  Arkansas City  19  Emporia  18
QF:  Topeka  20  Hays-St. Joseph  19 **
QF:  KC-Wyandotte  24  Wichita East  21
1R:  Parsons  25   Salina  25
1R:  Wichita North  28  Leavenworth  25
1R:  Arkansas City  29  Marysville  11
1R:  Emporia  24  Oberlin  16
1R:  Hays-St. Joseph  36  Pittsburg  33
1R:  Topeka  21  Atchison  12
1R:  KC-Wyandotte  20  McPherson  11
1R:  Wichita East  29  Pratt  25                                                    OFFICIALS: Orson McLaughlin, Dwight Ream, George Gardner, Fred Kelley

INVITED TEAMS:  WICHITA NORTH, LEAVENWORTH, OBERLIN, TOPEKA, WICHITA EAST  

Consolation Bracket

1st:  Leavenworth  26  Pittsburg  22
SF:  Leavenworth  22  Marysville  21
SF:  Pittsburg  36  Pratt  20
QF:  Leavenworth  27  Salina  24 *
QF:  Marysville  24  Oberlin  17
QF:  Pittsburg  20  Atchison  19
QF:  Pratt  27  McPherson  19

Score Source:  One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011) 

TOPEKA DAILY CAPITAL ALL-STARS
   1st Team - Paul Rogers ARKANSAS CITY, Larry Trickett KC-WYANDOTTE, Joe Michaels KC-WYANDOTTE, John Alberton PARSONS, Blackwell ARKANSAS CITY
   2nd Team - Jim Landes TOPEKA, Marty Houchin WICHITA EAST, Ray Noble ARKANSAS CITY, Don Lietzke PARSONS, Richard Vose KC-WYANDOTTE

KSHSAA HONOR ROLL
   GUARDS - John Albertson, Don Lietzke PARSONS, Blackwell ARKANSAS CITY,  Richard Vose, Wilhelm  KC-WYANDOTTE, Eagles LEAVENWORTH, Rosenbaum PRATT
   FORWARDS - Paul Rogers ARKANSAS CITY, Larry Trickett KC-WYANDOTTE, Jim Landes, Holmer TOPEKA, Marty Houchin WICHITA EAST, Smith, Trowbridge EMPORIA, Laurie WICHITA NORTH
                               Morgan LEAVENWORTH
   CENTERS - Joe Michaels KC-WYANDOTTE, Ray Noble ARKANSAS CITY, Dick Staab HAYS-ST. JOSEPH, Winters WICHITA NORTH

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1933  CLASS B State Tournament            March 23-25                              Memorial Hall        Salina               

                                                                                                                     Team                                    Coach                       League

1st:  Salina-Sacred Heart  22  Buhler  18                                               1  Salina-Sacred Heart (23-2)   Anthony Zamrzla     INDEPENDENT
3rd:  Wilmore  29  KC-Pembroke  28 ***                                              2  Buhler (23-8)                          Floyd Barngrover    RENO COUNTY
SF:   Salina-Sacred Heart  20  KC-Pembroke  9                                    3  Wilmore (21-6)                       Elmer Crumpacker  ??  
SF:   Buhler  32  Wilmore  28                                                                   4  KC-Pembroke (?-?)              Red McKee             INDEPENDENT
QF:  Salina-Sacred Heart  42  Belpre  22
QF:  KC-Pembroke  25  Hillsboro  23
QF:  Wilmore  25  Hoxie  13
QF:  Buhler  25  Belle Plaine  22
1R:  Salina-Sacred Heart  27  Spring Hill  14
1R:  Belpre  24  Glasco  22
1R:  KC-Pembroke  23  Erie  21
1R:  Hillsboro  34  Quincy  16
1R:  Wilmore  32  Blue Rapids  14
1R:  Hoxie  39  Madison  20
1R:  Buhler  26  LaCygne  21
1R:  Belle Plaine  33  Athens  30                                                               OFFICIALS: Percy Fossey, John McLean, Leroy Sandberg

INVITED TEAMS:  ATHENS, SPRING HILL, HILLSBORO, MADISON, BELPRE

Consolation Bracket

1st:  Athens  23  Erie  13
SF:  Athens  29  Blue Rapids  23 *
SF:  Erie  32  Glasco  21
QF:  Athens  39  LaCygne  17
QF:  Blue Rapids  37  Madison  29
QF:  Erie  37  Quincy  12
QF:  Glasco  21  Spring Hill  19

Score Source:  One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011) except for
                            Buhler-Wilmore: Salina Journal, March 27, 1933, 10

SALINA JOURNAL ALL-STAR TEAM: Stu Dunbar - There was no KSHSAA Honor Roll selection in Class B

    1st TEAM - Redfield WILMORE, Ted Gagnon, Jimmy Schwartz, Gene Pfanensteil SALINA-SACRED HEART, A. Buller BUHLER
    2nd TEAM - Dick, L Buller BUHLER, Ray WILMORE, Mahley KC-PEMBROKE, Hardery HILLSBORO

           Topeka High's new high school building opened in 1932 and the school's gymnasium became the best high school facility in the state the day it opened.  The arena was unlike any other in Kansas with a published seating capacity of 3,000. 1 Actual attendance for some games ranged from 4,000 to 5,000 with additional seating that was used over the years. 
The gym hosted the top class event thirteen times between 1933 and 1950. 3

           The favorites in 1933 were the two undefeated entries KC-Wyandotte and Arkansas City. For the first time since 1919, Newton did not qualify or receive an invitation as Wichita North eliminated the Lindley boys in a regional semi-final. 
4

           Defending champion Topeka High engaged St. Joseph's of Hays in a quarter-final game that resulted in a 15-15 tie at the end of regulation. An overtime period was played with another tie result. The 1931 rule change came into play for the second overtime as the team Captains lined up the players on the court in order for a free throw shooting contest. Each of the five players for the two teams would alternate at the free throw line and the highest team total in the round decided the winner. Four players for Topeka and St. Joseph's matched each other with hits and misses at the line. The fifth man up for Topeka High sank his free throw with a roar of approval from the Topeka High crowd - the Jacobs try from the line for the Hays Catholics rolled off the rim and gave the Trojans a victory. 5

          Another black player made an appearance at the Class A tourney from Salina. Cecil Scroggins was a starter for the Maroons and the Topeka Daily Capital noted that Scroggins "played good and clean basket ball throughout" in the two games played by the team from the CKL.  The color line was breaking in areas of the state where few black athletes were enrolled. Salina, Hutchinson and Abilene all brought black athletes on to their varsity rosters. In other larger cities there existed enough population that separate basketball teams were established for the "colored" boys. This was the case at Topeka High, Atchison, Leavenworth and others. 7 The Kansas City school system's high schools were segregated. KC-Wyandotte was an all-white school and KC-Sumner was the all-black counterpart.  8

          Coach Percy Parks Wyandotte players were in top form as they entered the semi-final against tournament host Topeka High. The Trojans were missing their best player - Don Dittemore - due to a late season injury. Still, they showed a lot of fight and their win over Hays-St. Joseph was considered a minor upset because of Dittemore's absence. Near the end of the game, Wyandotte's star player Joe Michaels fouled Topeka's Lynn and suffered an injury. Topeka was down two points and confusion over the time-out called by Wyandotte gave Topeka an extra free throw. Topeka hit both free throws to tie the game and caused an overtime period. But Michaels came back strong in the extra period with two goals to settle the issue and move on to play Arkansas City in the finals. 10

         Wyandotte Principal J. F. Wellemeyer gave credit to the Kansas City pep band for their playing of the school song - "The Glory of Wyandotte" - during the time-out before the overtime period. Wellemeyer said the gym became as "quiet as a church" during the playing of the anthem and the thrill of school spirit gripped the Wyandotte players and fans and helped the team move on. 11

         Wyandotte won their third championship in convincing fashion. Coach Parks was praised for his second title, but the Kansas City Kansan referred readers to what Parks said earlier in the season. " I can't take much credit for having a good team with these boys," he said. "I would have to try harder to make a poor team of them." 12

          Salina-Sacred Heart became the first Catholic school to win a state title when they grabbed the Class B crown at Salina's Memorial Hall. Jimmy Schwartz, later a star for Colorado University, led the Knights with fifteen points to defeat Buhler in the final. Coach Anthony Zamrzla's team coasted through the tourney until the meeting with two time defending champion Buhler. A late rally led by Schwartz gained the lead with around three minutes left and the Knights played the stall until Schwartz scored another goal to clinch victory.
13

           Wilmore defeated KC-Pembroke (they were located in Johnson County during the 1930s) in triple overtime to win 3rd place. Free throw contests were used in the second and third overtime. 14 Athens , the township high school without a town, won the consolation bracket for the southwest corner of Jewell county. 15

RULE CHANGE:  1) Addition of the half court line and a ten second time period required to advance a ball from the back court to the front court. This rule also prevented a retreat to the back court by the offensive team (over and back). 2) No player with the ball may stand in the free throw lane for more than three seconds. 16

1   Topeka High School World, January 8, 1932, 1
2   E. A. Thomas, "Interscholastic Basketball: Kansas", Spalding's Official Collegiate Basket Ball Guide for 1935-36 (New York: American Sports, 1935), 108
Capacity crowd of 5,000 witnessed the match...
3  
One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011) 
4   Curtis Buller, 290
5   Topeka State Journal, March 25, 1933, 6
6   Topeka Daily Capital, March 25, 1933, 10
7   Topeka Capital-Journal, October 15, 2009, 1
8   Kansas City Public Schools, "The History of our Public Schools: Wyandotte County, Kansas", (January, 2010)
    
http://www.kckps.org/disthistory/openbuildings/sumner.html  
9   Topeka Daily Capital, March 25, 1933, 10
10 Ibid, March 26, 1933, 12B
11 Kansas City Kansan, March 27, 1933, 6
12 Ibid, March 26, 1933, 6B
13 Salina Journal, March 27, 1933, 10
14 Kansas City Kansan, March 26, 1933, 6B
15 Jewell County Republican, September 10, 1915
16 http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2012/Rules.pdf

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1934 CLASS A State Tournament         March 15-17                                  Topeka High School       Topeka

                                                                                                                              Team                          Coach                       League

1st:   Emporia  22  Wichita East  15                                                            1  Emporia (22-3)                Alfred Smith            EASTERN KANSAS CONF
3rd:  Hutchinson  23  Newton  19                                                                2  Wichita East (13-5)         Al Leonard              ARK VALLEY
SF:   Wichita East  17  Hutchinson  15 *                                                     3  Hutchinson (16-5)           Edmund Cairns       ARK VALLEY
SF:   Emporia  16  Newton  15                                                                     4  Newton (21-3)                 Lindley/Haury         ARK VALLEY
QF:  Hutchinson  18  KC-Wyandotte  17
QF:  Wichita East  19  Topeka  16
QF:  Newton  20  Parsons  14
QF:  Emporia  27  Pittsburg  20
1R:  Hutchinson  27  Sabetha  13
1R:  KC-Wyandotte  40  Salina  17
1R:  Wichita East  26  Chanute  22
1R:  Topeka  40  Abilene  16
1R:  Parsons  31  Belleville  23
1R:  Newton  29  Leavenworth  14
1R:  Pittsburg  25  Dodge City  19
1R:  Emporia  25  Norton  14                                                                
OFFICIALS:  Dwight Ream, John McLean, Gene Kemper, Fred Kelley

INVITED TEAMS: HUTCHINSON, ABILENE, PARSONS, LEAVENWORTH, EMPORIA

Consolation Bracket

1st:   Leavenworth  19  Salina  18 *
SF:   Salina  23  Abilene  21
SF:   Leavenworth  23  Dodge City  15
QF:  Salina  20  Sabetha  15
QF:  Abilene  33  Cjanute  31
QF:  Leavenworth  28  Belleville 12
QF:  Dodge City  27  Norton  26

Score Source:  One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011)  except for
                            Emporia-Pittsburg: Kansas City Kansan, March 17, 1934, 3

KSHSAA HONOR ROLL

GUARDS:  Harry Kinter EMPORIA, Jensen LEAVENWORTH,  Martin Houchin WICHITA EAST, Richard Vose KC-WYANDOTTE, Cecil Scroggins SALINA, Harlan Schlicher TOPEKA
                    Stephenson HUTCHINSON, Russell Briar, NEWTON, John Albertson, PARSONS
FORWARDS:  John Schrandt HUTCHINSON, Buxton, Skinner WICHITA EAST, George Kowalski, Lindell Petty EMPORIA, Elmo Peters NEWTON, Maletz PITTSBURG, Morgan LEAVENWORTH
CENTERS:  Rostine HUTCHINSON, Jack Dody EMPORIA, Joe Michaels KC-WYANDOTTE, Mullen WICHITA EAST

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1934  CLASS B State Tournament            March 15-17                            Wilson Gym       Sterling College         Sterling                  

                                                                                                                     Team                                    Coach                       League

1st:   Salina-Sacred Heart  27  Cherokee  24                                       1  Salina-Sacred Heart (25-3)  Anthony Zamrzla      INDEPENDENT
3rd:   Erie 21  Arnold  17                                                                       2   Cherokee (22-2)                   Ted Carnino             MINERAL BELT
SF:   Salina-Sacred Heart  34  Erie  25                                                 3   Erie (26-2)                            Leland Lewis           MINERAL BELT
SF:   Cherokee  25  Arnold  21                                                              4   Arnold (23-7)                       Jamison                    WKEA
QF:  Salina-Sacred Heart  25  Pawnee Rock  12
QF:  Erie  30  Alexander  28 *
QF:  Arnold  28  Sublette  24
QF:  Cherokee  28  Piper  22
1R:  Salina-Sacred Heart  38  Sawyer  19
1R:  Pawnee Rock  27  Onaga  17
1R:  Alexander  32  Randell  23
1R:  Erie  34  Windom  20
1R:  Sublette  35  Havana 30
1R:  Arnold  33  Eskridge  18
1R:  Cherokee  46  Belle Plaine  21
1R:  Piper  19  Buhler  17                                                        
OFFICIALS:  Melvin Binford, Rudolph Uhrlaub

Consolation Bracket

1st:  Buhler  24  Windom  18
SF:  Buhler  29  Havana  24
SF:  Windom  18  Onaga  15
QF:  Havana  28  Eskridge  27
QF:  Buhler  24  Belle Plaine  23
QF:  Onaga  20  Sawyer  18
QF:  Windom  29  Randall  25

SALINA JOURNAL ALL-STAR: 

1ST TEAM:  Jimmy Schwartz SALINA-SACRED HEART Kelly Maison ERIE Clyde Mitchell CHEROKEE  Eugene Pfanensteil SALINA-SACRED HEART Gibson ERIE
2ND TEAM: Larry Geis SALINA-SACRED HEART Maurice McClenehan CHEROKEE Donald Platt ARNOLD Doyle Foster PAWNEE ROCK Richard King BELLE PLAINE

KSHSAA HONOR ROLL

GUARDS:  Virgil Watson SUBLETTE, Albert Buller BUHLER, Gibson ERIE, Jones ARNOLD, Kaufman WINDOM, Richard King BELLE PLAINE, Nichols CHEROKEE, Eugene Phanensteil SALINA-SACRED HEART
FORWARDS:  Cave SUBLETTE, Doyle Foster PAWNEE ROCK, Larry Geis SALINA-SACRED HEART, E. Lyda ALEXANDER Kelly Maison ERIE, Mahaney PIPER, Maurice McClenehan, William Quarton CHEROKEE
CENTER:  Clyde Mitchell CHEROKEE, Kniff ONAGA, Donald Platt ARNOLD, Jimmy Schwartz SALINA-SACRED HEART 

Score Source:  One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011)  except for
                            Salina-Sacred Heart - Sawter/ Alexander-Randall: Salina Journal March 16, 1934 14

    Newton fans were encouraged by another great Ark valley campaign (11-1) and were confident that they would at least make the finals and forget the gloom of not even making the tournament in 1933. Experts predicted that defending champion KC-Wyandotte would meet the Railroaders in the championship game.

    Emporia's strong record was marred by a loss in the regional to Topeka. Fortunately the tournament directors recognized that the Spartans were only defeated twice during the year and issued an invitation to the team. 2 Emporia justified the nod by winning in good form over Norton and Pittsburg. Emporia then surprised Newton with a game that was no fluke. Petty, Kowalski and Kinter executed great rebounding and full court drives to pull ahead of Newton in the final seconds. Newton free throw failures and a blown lay-up gave the Spartans the opening they needed down the stretch. Emporia Gazette reporter Gene Kemper described the action. "Out of the heap came Kowalski with the ball (after the missed lay-up), dribbling ahead of the entire field. A Newton player cut him off and (he) attempted to stop abruptly under the basket to let his opponent by. It was good strategy (but his) foot slipped. His shot while falling was a dying man's effort, the ball hitting the edge of the backstop. But no ! In came Kinter following the play. He grabbed that rebound like a cat pounces on a mouse and in the same motion he sent the ball to the backstop." Kinter's goal came with three seconds left on the clock. 3

     Emporia's Coach Alfred Smith was the father of Naismith HOFer Dean Smith - he was also famous as the Coach who encouraged Paul Terry, a Negro, to come out for the varsity basketball team. Terry was used as a valuable defensive player and sixth man. He was the first African-American to play basketball in the Eastern Kansas Conference that included Topeka, Lawrence, Manhattan and Ottawa. 4 Coach Dean Smith stated in his auto-biography A Coach's Life that his father was told that Emporia would not be allowed to enter the tournament if Paul Terry played. Coach Smith decided to leave the player at home. 5 (See below for further information) 

     Hutchinson was an invited team like Emporia with a Negro on the roster and they did bring him to the tournament. Ralph Brady was a starter for the Salt Hawks who had lost six weeks of the season while recuperating from an appendectomy. When he returned late in the year, he gave a boost to the team that was already the second best team in the Ark Valley. 6

      John Schrant moved to center when regular center Foy came down with influenza shortly before the tournament start. Schrant and Brady provided the late surge that defeated KC-Wyandotte in the quarter-final. 7 This win was the biggest upset of the tourney and  Coach Cairns was praised for springing a zone defense to counter the post play of Wyandotte star Joe Michaels. 8

       Wichita East was able to squeak by Hutchinson in overtime, but they could not uphold the banner of the Ark Valley in the final against Emporia. The Spartans took the early lead and never lost the scoring advantage. Doty, Kinter and Anderson were the scorers that kept the Aces at bay. 9 Gene Kemper enjoyed poking the needle at the Ark Valley. "This team (Emporia) has yards of guts where some others have inches." He snorted at the idea that Emporia was the upset champion. "A team that won 22 of 25 games is no dark horse."10  The win by Emporia gave the northeast area of Kansas three consecutive first place finishes. 

       Class B tournament play returned to the Sterling College site used in 1932. Game reports of the early games that could be found give little more than scoring reviews but, in that regard, the play of Jimmy Schwartz was the highlight of the tourney. His thirteen points per game was a very high average in 1934. 11 Cherokee gave the Knights a scare in the finals, but Schwartz came through again with six of his ten points scored in the final quarter. 12 

        BLACK PLAYERS AT THE 1934 TOURNAMENT:   

           Coach Smith says in his book , A Coaches Life, that tournament officials would not allow Emporia to enter the tournament if Paul Terry played. He goes on to say that many assumed that Terry went with the team because he was listed in the team roster that was published in the paper and was honored at the school banquet after the season. 13 

It is known that at least three black players participated in the 1934 tourney. Review is listed below.

1. Cecil Scroggins SALINA. He participated in 1933 and 1934. Scroggins was the starting guard for the Maroons who finished second in the Consolation Bracket. He earned a spot
    on  the KSHSAA Honor Roll.
14 He would later star in several sports for Kansas Wesleyan in Salina. 15   
 
2. Dwaine White ABILENE. He was a starting guard and an All-CKL player in 1934. 16 He played in both Abilene tourney games as a starter.

3. Ralph Brady HUTCHINSON. He was a starter and played in the first three games of the tournament. He did not play in the third place game. That may appear suspicious and
    suggest that officials had some involvement with his play, but it can be explained that he gave up his spot to a senior (Foy) who had been unable to play the earlier games due to 
    illness.
17 He did play in the 3rd place game in 1935.  18 He would go on to star as a football player for Washburn University. He experienced discrimination there because 
    Missouri Valley Conference opponent Oklahoma A & M refused to take the field against a team that played a Negro. Washburn would have to leave him off the squad for that 
    game.
19

           It is probable that Coach Dean Smith was only relaying stories that had been told to him about his father's tourney championship as he was only three years old at the time. There is no doubt that Alfred Smith faced opposition from segments of the Emporia population and from conference officials in regard to his playing Paul Terry. It is also probable that he was receiving pressure to not risk embarrassment by letting Terry travel with the team and then face some form of hostile opposition or other prejudice. Paul Terry is a member of the Emporia High School Hall of Fame. 20\

 RULE CHANGES:  1) A player could re-enter a game twice. 21 2) The experiment with a free throw shoot-off after the first overtime ended with this season. Instead, if tied after the first overtime period, the second overtime was a sudden-death, first two points wins affair. 22

1   Curtis Buller, 299
2   Topeka Daily Capital, March 12, 1934, 6
3   Gene Kemper, "Sport Chatter", Emporia Gazette, March 20, 1934
4   Dean Smith, A Coach's Life, (New York: Random House, 1999), 8
5   Ibid, 9
6   Hutchinson News, February 24, 1934, 2
7   Topeka Daily Capital, March 17, 1934, 14
8   Ibid, 15
9   Ibid, March 18, 1934, 16B
10 Gene Kemper, "Sport Chatter", Emporia Gazette, March 20, 1934
11 Sacred Heart High School, 25th Anniversary Book, 1934, 11
12 Salina Journal, March 19, 1934, 10
13 Dean Smith, 9
14 Topeka Daily Capital, March 18, 1934, 16B
15 Salina Journal, August 19, 1991, 7
16 Salina High School News, March 9, 1934, 4
17 Kansas City Kansan, March 17, 1934, 5
18 Topeka Daily Capital, March 24, 1935, 11B
19 Jim Reed, "Gossip Along the Sport Front", Washburn Review, October 28, 1938
"...Brady and Eisha Scott (also Negro) will not get to play."
20 Emporia Gazette, March 28, 2005, 3
21
http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2012/Rules.pdf  
22 Gene Kemper, "Kibitzing on Sports", Topeka Daily Capital, March 20, 1937

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1935 CLASS A State Tournament         March 21-23                         Topeka High School       Topeka

                                                                                                                              Team                          Coach                       League

1st:   Chanute  46  Winfield  25                                                               1 Chanute (23-0)              Dale Skelton                 SEKL
3rd:   Hutchinson  25  Newton  14                                                           2  Winfield (18-5)             Ollie Thomas                 ARK VALLEY
SF:    Winfield  26  Newton  23                                                                3  Hutchinson (16-6)        Edmund Cairns             ARK VALLEY
SF:    Chanute  30  Hutchinson  16                                                          4  Newton (17-4)              Lindley/Haury              ARK VALLEY
QF:   Newton  36  Lawrence  28
QF:   Winfield  33  Parsons  21
QF:   Hutchinson  12  Topeka  10
QF:   Chanute  23  Arkansas City  22
1R:   Newton  31  Belleville  14
1R:   Lawrence  31  Dodge City  17
1R:   Winfield  21  KC-Ward  15
1R:   Parsons  22  KC-Wyandotte  21
1R:   Hutchinson  22  Emporia  16
1R:   Topeka  33  Pratt  16
1R:   Arkansas City  30  Pittsburg  20
1R:   Chanute  50  Hays-St Joseph  32                                       
OFFICIALS: Dwight Ream, John McLean, Fred Kelley, Bronson

Consolation Bracket

1st:  KC-Wyandotte  32  Pittsburg  11
SF:  Pittsburg  15  Pratt  14
SF:  KC-Wyandotte  22  Dodge City  20
QF:  Pittsburg  33  Hays-St. Joseph  23
QF:  Pratt  25  Emporia  19
QF:  KC-Wyandotte  35  KC-Ward  17
QF:  Dodge City  30  Belleville  7       

   Score Source:  One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011)  except for
                                Pittsburg-Hays-St. Joseph: Topeka Daily Capital, March 23, 1935, 12
                                   

INVITED TEAMS:  KC-WARD, WINFIELD, HUTCHINSON, PITTSBURG

KSHSAA HONOR ROLL:

GUARDS:  Ralph Brady, John Kline  HUTCHINSON, Don Sidwell, Sanders WINFIELD, Hugh Jones, Ken Caldwell CHANUTE, Long PARSONS, Harold Bratches ARKANSAS CITY, Clarence Dreier KC-WYANDOTTE
FORWARDS:  Harold Unsell, Gerald Unsell CHANUTE, Lloyd Tucker WINFIELD, Gilbert Quinton NEWTON, B. Morgan PITTSBURG, Lyman Corlis TOPEKA, Kenneth Johnson LAWRENCE
CENTERS:  Ralph Miller CHANUTE, Fred Bosiljevac KC-WYANDOTTE, Dewell DODGE CITY, Gene Grove NEWTON

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

1935 CLASS B State Tournament         March 21-23                                 Memorial Hall                 Salina

                                                                                                                              Team                          Coach                       League

1st:   Sharon  41  Oxford  24                                                                      1  Sharon (26-4)               J Allen Murry           BARBER COUNTY
3rd:   Erie  24  Virgil  14                                                                             2  Oxford (24-4)               Bill Nicholson           SUMNER COUNTY
SF:    Sharon  27  Erie  18                                                                           3  Erie (22-4)                   Adam Kahler             MINERAL BELT
SF:    Oxford  26  Virgil  22                                                                         4  Virgil (23-7)                 Wid Trusler              GREENWOOD COUNTY
QF:   Sharon  30  Baldwin  10
QF:   Erie  24  Powhattan  12
QF:   Virgil  30  Netawaka  24
QF:   Oxford  43  Florence  34
1R:   Baldwin  21  Chase  19
1R:   Sharon  46  Jamestown  32
1R:   Erie  35  Riley  19
1R:   Powhattan  35  Meade  27
1R:   Netawaka  26  Palco  24
1R:   Virgil  34  Salina-Sacred Heart  33
1R:   Florence  43  KC-Turner  22
1R:   Oxford  32  Sylvia  30                                                            
Officials:  Melvin Binford, Rudolph Uhrlaub, Percy Fossey

Consolation Bracket

1st:   Palco  22  Riley  11
SF:   Riley  32  Chase  23
SF:   Palco  24  Sylvia  8
QF:  Chase  33  Jamestown  29 *
QF:  Riley  25  Meade  22 *
QF:  Palco  43  Salina-Sacred Heart  29
QF:  Sylvia  25  KC-Turner  21

Score Source:  One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011)  except for
                              Oxford-Florence/Riley-Meade/Palco-Salina-Sacred Heart/Chase-Jamestown: Topeka Daily Capital, March 23, 1935, 12
   

SALINA JOURNAL ALL-STAR

1st TEAM:  Grant Barner OXFORD, Charles Crowder VIRGIL, Albert Rohman SHARON, Severns FLORENCE, Mauric McGuire SHARON
2nd TEAM:  Powell McGuire SHARON, Richard Cloke ERIE, Elmer McCann, Don Nevitt OXFORD, Floyd Schnelle SHARON

KSHSAA HONOR ROLL

GUARDS:  Earl Debler, Bill Pierce ERIE, Don Nevitt OXFORD, Floyd Schnelle SHARON, Moral PALCO, Severns FLORENCE, Johnson JAMESTOWN
FORWARDS:  W. Revel CHASE, Maurice McGuire, Powell McGuire SHARON, Oxendale NETAWAKA, D. Rogers PALCO, Wayne White, Grant Barner OXFORD, Richard Cloke ERIE
CENTERS:  Albert Rohlman SHARON, Elmer McCann OXFORD, P. Westerhaus FLORENCE, Prior SYLVIA

                 
The usual Ark Valley titans, Newton and Winfield, were mentioned by many as the favorites for the Class A title. There was plenty of support for KC-Wyandotte and even Arkansas City had some backing from the experts in Topeka. Yet there was a school from Southeast Kansas that had traveled through the 1934-35 season without a loss and with very few close contests. Almost everyone had heard the tales of Chanute's magnificent 15 year old Ralph Miller. The son of the school's Principal was setting scoring records, but the sports writers questioned the strength of schedule of SEKL teams. 1

              Ralph Miller reached his full height of 6' 2" as a sophomore. 2 Any question locals had about the super star status of Miller was dismissed in his first varsity game played against Frontenac. Miller scored thirty-five points in the game by canning sixteen field goals and three free throws. 3 Area opponents knew that Chanute was far from the category of a "one-man team".  Gerald and Harold Unsell, Hugh Jones and Ken Caldwell were capable scorers when Miller was double teamed and they were adept at getting the ball to the Blue Comet star. 4

              The Cadets of Hays were the first team at the tourney to experience the Chanute onslaught. Miller pumped in twenty-seven points in this opening round game - a feat unheard of in state competition. He was slightly injured in the first half and the Hays Catholics actually held a 23-17 lead at halftime. Then Miller returned in the 3rd quarter scoring ten points and followed with thirteen in the 4th quarter. The Topeka crowd cheered wildly for the fast breaking Chanute team and marveled at Miller's ability to score from all areas of the court. 5

              Second round opponent Arkansas City provided Chanute their toughest challenge in the meet. They gave Miller plenty of attention limiting him to only four field goals in the game. But in the end it was Miller who defeated the Ark City boys with trips to the foul line late in the game and a tip-in out of a mad scramble beneath the goal.  The action during this portion of the game was so intense that an Arkansas City fan was stricken with fatal heart failure. 6

              Hutchinson eliminated Topeka High in a hard fought defensive struggle with a 4th quarter rally despite the shrieking of most of the 4,200 fans cheering for the home team. 7 Ralph Brady, Marvin Sollenberger and John Kline were fine players, but Miller's work in the post prevented their advance to the finals. Miller scored thirteen points in the semi-final and was able to find his teammates for easy set-ups when the defense attempted to collapse on him. 8

               The final against Winfield left spectators, including several College coaches, amazed by what they saw from the Blue Comet star and team. Miller set a tournament record of eighty-five points. The Lawrence Journal World stated, "Players in championship games are not supposed to score twenty-eight points but that is what Miller did and ... most observers were satisfied that he could have scored more if he had not passed to teammates when he was in a better position to shoot at goal himself."
9  

              Coach Ollie Thomas spoke for many when he responded to the question "How good is this boy Miller ?" He told the Winfield Daily Courier, "I never saw DeBernardi ... in high school but I have seen Ralph Miller and his work in the state tournament was the best I ever saw by a high school athlete. He comes down the floor like lightning on a fast break and he is the only player who has ever weaved through our defense and hit goal after goal." 10 An unnamed school official commented in the paper about scheduling games with Chanute so "we could get that boy Miller" into Winfield and show the town folks what they had witnessed in Topeka. 11

               Two teams that had played three times in the season squared off in the Class B final played at Memorial Hall in Salina. Sharon used post man Alfred Rohlman's towering advantage to control the center tip nearly unchallenged throughout the tourney. Oxford's big man Elmer McCann helped his team gain the final with hope that the Sumner County squad could repeat their earlier upset of Sharon in the Wellington regional. Sharon regained their previous form against Oxford with a 41-24 victory. 12

1   E. A. Thomas, "At Least One Upset is Expected in 1st Round", Topeka Daily Capital, March 20, 1935, 9
2   Ralph Miller, Ralph Miller: Spanning the Game, (Champaign, IL: Sagamore Publishing, 1990), 7
3   Chanute Tribune, December 15, 1934, 6
4   Ibid, December 6, 1934, 3B
5   Topeka Daily Capital, March 22, 1935, 10
6   Ibid, March 23, 1935, 12
7   Ibid
8   Ibid, March 24, 1935, 11B
9   Chanute Tribune, March 26, 1935, 3
10 H. L. Hart, "What They Say", Winfield Daily Courier, march 25, 1935
11 Chanute Tribune, March 27, 1935, 8
12 Salina Journal, March 25, 1935, 10