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
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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. 2
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. 6 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. 9 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. 1
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