Kansas Prep Basketball History Part 5 Revised January 18, 2014 Kansas High School Basketball History
Part Five: Kansas High School Association Tournament:
1925-1940 * Overtime ! Forfeit
by Patrick Macfee test
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Chapter One:
1926-1930 Chapter
Two: 1931-1935
Chapter Three: 1936-1940
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Ralph Miller tosses one high off the board against Leavenworth at the Topeka High gym -- 1937 State Tournament.
Topeka State Journal, March 18, 1937 - Miller's
number was 13 (only the 3 shows in this photo). Official is Gene Kemper
who was also a noted sports columnist in Kansas.
1936 CLASS A State Tournament March 19-21 Topeka High School Gym Topeka
Team Coach League
1st: Newton 33 Arkansas
City
24
1 Newton
(22-2)
Lindley/Hunt
ARK VALLEY
3rd: KC-Wyandotte 37 Winfield
26
2 Arkansas City (20-3) Everett
Nicholson ARK VALLEY
SF: Arkansas City 30 KC-Wyandotte
22
3 KC-Wyandotte (24-3) Percy
Parks
NEKL
SF: Newton 36 Winfield
26
4 Winfield
(13-8)
Ollie
Thomas
ARK VALLEY
QF: Arkansas City 39 Parsons 21
QF: KC-Wyandotte 31 Lindsborg 17
QF: Newton 33 Emporia 30 *
QF: Winfield 31 Chanute 21
1R: Arkansas City 39 Osborne 17
1R: Parsons 26 Lawrence 22
1R: KC-Wyandotte 39 Kingman 26
1R: Lindsborg 29 Topeka 20
1R: Emporia 40 Marysville 29
1R: Newton 38 Colby 11
1R: Chanute 48 Abilene 29
1R: Winfield 35 KC-Argentine
33
Officials: Ab Hinshaw, George Gardner, Gene Kemper, Floyd
Smith
INVITED TEAMS: TOPEKA, LINDSBORG, WINFIELD, KC-ARGENTINE
Consolation Bracket
1st: KC-Argentine 30
Lawrence 16
SF: Lawrence 33 Topeka 24
SF: KC-Argentine 32 Colby 23
QF: Lawrence 32 Osborne 19
QF: Topeka 29 Kingman 24
QF: Colby 29 Marysville 27
QF: KC-Argentine 32 Abilene 24
Score Source: One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011)
TOPEKA DAILY CAPITAL ALL TOURNEY
FIRST TEAM: Bill Ravenscroft, Gene Grove, NEWTON Jim
Baker KC-WYANDOTTE Bruce Reid ARKANSAS CITY Jack Buckman KC-=ARGENTINE
SECOND TEAM: Marvin Tucker (x) WINFIELD Ralph Miller CHANUTE Howard
Englemen ARKANSAS CITY Vernon Hall PARSONS Dean Watson EMPORIA
KSHSAA HONOR ROLL
GUARDS: Gene Grove, Harry Bafus NEWTON, Lowell Long
PARSONS, Morrell WINFIELD, Robert Wilson ARKANSAS CITY, Joe Kasinec
KC-WYANDOTTE, Albert Metz KC-ARGENTINE, Bob Allen LAWRENCE
FORWARDS: Bill Ravenscroft, Leason McLoud NEWTON, Howard Englemen, Paul
Quinn ARKANSAS CITY, James Baker KC-WYANDOTTE, Jack Buckman KC-ARGENTINE, Don
Conroy EMPORIA
Marvin Tucker (x) WINFIELD
CENTERS: Bruce Reid KC-WYANDOTTE Ralph Miller CHANUTE James
Maupin LINDSBORG Bob Nodler KC-WYANDOTTE
(x) Marvin Tucker is often listed erroneously as Olin Tucker
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1936 CLASS B State Tournament March 19-21 Memorial Hall Salina
Team Coach League
1st: Pretty Prairie 33
Levant
23
1 Pretty Prairie (30-3) Walter
Graber INDEPENDENT
3rd: Garrison 27 Inman
21
2 Levant
(27-1)
Earl Morrison INDEPENDENT
SF: Levant 34 Garrison
27
3 Garrison
(25-2)
R. W.
Lewis
INDEPENDENT
SF: Pretty Prairie 38 Inman
25
4 Inman
(25-5)
Louis
Koch
INDEPENDENT
QF: Levant 44 Virgil 18
QF: Garrison 38 Downs 11
QF: Pretty Prairie 35 Salina-Sacred Heart 17
QF: Inman 28 Hoyt 26
1R: Levant 36 Oxford 15
1R: Virgil 34 Palco 30
1R: Garrison 40 Kinsley 30
1R: Downs 50 Fontana 14
1R: Pretty Prairie 53 Lebanon 25
1R: Salina-Sacred Heart 46 Eskridge 23
1R: Hoyt 44 Erie 24
1R: Inman 27 Hamilton
18
OFFICIALS: Rudolph Uhrlaub, Leroy Sandberg, Percy
Fossey
INVITED TEAMS: DOWNS, SALINA-SACRED HEART, HAMILTON
Consolation Bracket
1st: Erie 31 Kinsley 28
SF: Erie 40 Lebanon 13
SF: Kinsley 36 Oxford 29
QF: Erie 33 Hamilton 17
QF: Lebanon 32 Eskridge 24
QF: Kinsley 37 Fontana 26
QF: Oxford 29 Palco 24
Score Source: One Hundred Years of
Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011) except for
Levant-Oxford: Salina Journal, March 19, 1936, 1
Kinsley-Fontana/Inman-Hamilton: Salina Journal, March 20, 1936, 1
Garrison-Downs/Erie-Hailmton: Salina Journal, March 21, 1936, 10
SALINA JOURNAL'S ALL-STAR TEAM
FIRST TEAM: Elmer Johnson, Garrett
LEVANT Bruce Voran, Roy Robinson PRETTY PRAIRIE Daniel Howe GARRISON
SECOND TEAM: Swan ERIE, Ike Friesen, Edd Buller, Dan Thiessen
INMAN Chester Unruh PRETTY PRAIRIE
KSHSAA HONOR ROLL
GUARDS: Roy Robinson, Chester Unruh
PRETTY PRAIRIE Wilbur Garrett, Ernest Touslee LEVANT Dan Thiessen
INMAN Sands ERIE Cartwright FONTANA Herschel Giles OXFORD
FORWARDS: Willard Pierce GARRISON Calvin Jones, Victor Unruh PRETTY
PRAIRIE Ike Friesen INMAN Max Joy HOYT Bert Gagnon SALINA-SACRED HEART
Swan ERIE F Harner LEVANT
CENTERS: Daniel Howe GARRISON Elmer Johnson LEVANT Bruce Voran
PRETTY PRAIRIE Ed Buller INMAN
Chanute returned to Topeka to defend their title but without the sterling aides that supported Ralph Miller in 1935. The 1936 team was still very good, but a late season elbow injury to Miller was followed by three straight losses that ended a forty game win streak. Miller played with a shin guard protection over the infected elbow. He was regaining form as they entered the tourney, but writers concluded that even though they had crowned him as a phenomenon in 1935, he was still just a boy after all. Columnist Gene Kemper added in his defense, "just because he is human, that doesn't keep Miller from being the finest basketball player this state has produced since DeBernardi." 1
Ark Valley dominance returned in tournament play. Arkansas City won the conference championship with two stars , Bruce Reid and Howard Englemen, finishing first and second in league scoring. Newton made great strides during the season and claimed a second place league finish. 2
Newton rode the hot shooting of Bill Ravenscroft and Gene Grove on the way to the school's sixth state championship. They continued a long standing strength - dominance of the center jump - that Coach Lindley stressed to survive a very tough overtime game against Emporia. They won comfortably over Winfield and Arkansas City. 3
Coach Frank Lindley was credited with his sixth championship even though his assistant Harold Hunt handled the team starting with the Emporia game. Coach Lindley was called away from the tourney due to the grave illness of his father in Oklahoma. 4 The Topeka Daily Capital reviewed his career that started with his athletic accomplishments as a player for Southwestern College in the very early days of collegiate basketball. Gene Kemper noted Lindley's introduction of the five-man defense (zone) to the high school game at Newton and how he used guards in the offensive play to heavily dominate teams in the first years of the tournament. Gene Kemper explained how he influenced the people of Newton.
Lindley's success made the town of Newton basket ball conscious and the kids started playing the game as soon as they were able to walk. As most of the populace is connected with the Santa Fe railroad, the punsters used to say : "Newton babies are born with a lantern in one hand and a basket ball in the other." Opposing squads gradually copied Lindley's system and the cry of "Beat Newton" became a by-word around the Valley and also around the state. Fear of Newton teams has gradually subsided, with the advancement of the game, but every team respects the Railroaders. 5
Reports circulated after the tournament that Lindley might finally retire from the high school game and accept a job in the college ranks or just rest on his accomplishments. 6 But Lindley would continue - with the exception of 1938 - as coach of Newton basketball until his protege John Ravenscroft took over in the mid-1940s.
The Topeka High Gym continued to gain praise as the home of the Class A tournament. The event was setting attendance records each year. The seating had been increased from the original estimate of 3,500 during construction in 1931 to several reports of 5,000 by state newspapers covering the semi-finals and finals. 7 There were some complaints that came from officials like Phog Allen and E. A. Thomas that criticized the Topeka crowds "booing" of basketball referees and some teams. City crowds brought the increased reveuue that tournament directors wanted and the association countered the offensive behavior by establishing a strong campaign to maintain sportsmanship between the schools. Thomas strongly cautioned the Topeka fans and sponsors as early as 1935 to educate the younger fans in the principals of true sportsmanship. He noted, "I am told they get some of their training as members of 'knot hole clubs' attending contests where they are admitted for a small fee and attempt to repay their benefactors by joining in unsavory demonstrations against visiting teams and officials. We are not going to sacrifice decent sportsmanship in return for large crowds ... if we can help it." 8
For the third consecutive year Memorial Hall in Salina hosted the Class B meet. Stu Dunbar provided excellent reviews of each team in the Salina Journal's sports pages. He noted four schools as favorites in the upcoming tournament. Garrison of Pottawatomie County had a town population of 125 and a 22-1 record. Levant was undefeated at 24-0 and the town population was only slightly larger at 150. Coach Zamrzla liked the home advantage that his Sacred Heart team might enjoy at Memorial Hall. Pretty Prairie (29-3) came from the highly competitive Reno-McPherson-Harvey County area that provided most of the early Class B champions. 9 (These teams would join to form the legendary Mid-Kansas league in 1937) 10
Sacred Heart was happy to see Garrison^ eliminate Smolan in the Junction City regional. as their Saline County neighbor had defeated the Knights three times that year. Unfortunately for the Knights, Garrison would also be too much for them in that tournament final. 11 The Knight's received one of the few invitations to compete in the State, but were eventually knocked out by the tough man to man defense and crisp passing of Pretty Prairie. 12
Elmer Johnson of Levant was the most valuable player in the tournament. He faced off against another great center in Daniel Howe of Garrison in a hard fought semi-final game. Johnson won the battle over Howe by contributing four goals in a big second half for Levant. Both had great college careers - Johnson at Fort Hays State and Howe at Kansas State. 13
The third great center playing in the Class B, Bruce Voran, was the leader of the Pretty Prairie Bulldogs. They jumped out to a lead on Levant and never let go of it. The boys were honored once they gathered back in the home town. As the Pretty Prairie Times described the dinner - " Crowd - you telling me; Eats - oh boy; Program - splendiferous! The crowd was immense; the eats were sufficient for a multitude, as they always are in Pretty Prairie, and the program was snappy and full of pep. " 14
1936 was the final year for consolation tournaments.
^ The town is now underwater due to the Tuttle Creek development in the early 1960s. 15
Rule Changes: No offensive player with or without the ball may stand in the free throw lane for more than three seconds. 16
1 Gene Kemper, "Kibitzing
on Sports", Topeka Daily Capital, March 23, 1936
2 Arkansas City Daily Traveler, February 29, 1936, 8
3 Curtis Buller, 319
4 Gene Kemper, "Kibitzing on Sports", Topeka Daily
Capital, March 23, 1936
5 Ibid, "Newton Vet May Quit After His 21st Year", Topeka
Daily Capital, March 18, 1936, 10
6 Ibid
7 Bryce Engle, "Rambling On Sports", Arkansas City Daily
Traveler, March 21, 1936
8 E. A. Thomas, "Secretary Thomas Raps Discourtesy",
Topeka Daily Capital March 25, 1935, 6
9 Salina Journal, March 18, 1936, 12
10 Stu Dunbar, "Sport Chaff", Salina Journal, March 15, 1937, "Buhler
& Inman...Pretty Prairie, Haven, Moundridge"
11 Salina Journal, March 18, 1936, 12
12 Ibid, March 21, 1936, 10
13 Ibid, March 23, 1936, 10
14 Pretty Prairie Times, April 2, 1936, 1
15 http://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/tc/History.cfm
16 http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2012/Rules.pdf
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1937 CLASS A State Tournament March 17-20 Topeka High School Gym Topeka
Team Coach League
1st: Newton 36
Chanute
22
1 Newton
(26-1)
Lindley/Hunt
ARK VALLEY
3rd: Arkansas City 35 Eureka
27
2 Chanute
(24-2) Tony
Lockyear
SEKL
SF: Newton 30 Eureka
25
3 Arkansas City (16-6) Everett Nicholson
ARK
VALLEY
SF: Chanute 38 Arkansas City
24
4 Eureka
(13-9)
Oren
Stoner
INDEPENDENT
QF: Newton 48 Pittsburg 22
QF: Eureka 31 Emporia 19
QF: Chanute 39 Winfield 29
QF: Arkansas City 43 Topeka High 38
1R: Newton 34 Dodge City 21
1R: Pittsburg 33 Manhattan 32 **
1R: Emporia 33 Norton 22
1R: Winfield 35 Hays 20
1R: Chanute 47 Leavenworth 19
1R: Topeka 42 Beloit 26
1R: Arkansas City 42 KC-Ward
34
OFFICIALS: Gene Kemper, George Gardner, Cliff Ogden,
Smith
INVITED TEAMS: MANHATTAN, EUREKA, WINFIELD, LEAVENWORTH
Score Source: One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011)
TOPEKA DAILY CAPITAL ALL-STAR
1st TEAM: Howard Englemen ARKANSAS
CITY Ralph Miller CHANUTE Leason McCloud NEWTON Paul Schmidt
NEWTON Bert Hayes CHANUTE
2nd TEAM: Jack Horacek TOPEKA Raymond Kite EUREKA Joe Showalter
CHANUTE Claude Spoon WINFIELD Herbert Hartman NEWTON
KSHSAA HONOR ROLL
GUARDS: Herbert Hartman NEWTON
Bert Hayes, Earl Ahring CHANUTE Robert Wilson ARKANSAS CITY Bradbury
EUREKA Griffith EMPORIA Simoncio PITTSBURG
FORWARDS: Ralph Miller CHANUTE Howard Englemen ARKANSAS CITY
Raymond Kite EUREKA Jack Horacek TOPEKA Hart WINFIELD
Baumgardner EMPORIA
Phillips, Flottman NEWTON
CENTERS: Leason McCloud NEWTON Joe Showalter CHANUTE Claude
Spoon WINFIELD Messner ARKANSAS CITY
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1937 CLASS B State Tournament March 17-20 Memorial Hall Salina
Team Coach League
1st: Salina-Sacred Heart
27
Downs
25
1 Salina-Sacred Heart (28-0) Anthony
Zamrzla
INDEPENDENT
3rd: Plains 31 Inman
23
2 Downs
(24-3)
Cade
Suran
INDEPENDENT
SF: Downs 41 Plains
22
3 Plains
(23-4)
Harold
Elliott
INDEPENDENT
SF: Salina-Sacred Heart 20 Inman
19
4 Inman
(19-11)
Virgil
Baer
MID-KANSAS
QF: Plains 32 Gem 29 *
QF: Downs 23 Cullison 16
QF: Salina-Sacred Heart 40 Winchester 26
QF: Inman 31 Morrill 29
1R: Plains 48 Frontenac 24
1R: Gem 31 Buhler 30
1R: Cullison 25 Argonia 21
1R: Downs 23 Stanley 21
1R: Winchester 32 Hamilton 23
1R: Salina-Sacred Heart 45 Allen 18
1R: Morrill 34 Oxford 32
1R: Inman 30 Jamestown
23
OFFICIALS: Rudolph Uhrlaub, Darrell Hinkhouse, Percy
Fossey, Stuart Dunbar
INVITED TEAMS: PLAINS ARGONIA INMAN JAMESTOWN
Score Source: One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011)
SALINA JOURNAL ALL-STATE TOURNEY TEAM
1st TEAM: Ed Hawthorne SALINA-SACRED
HEART Ivan Carrell PLAINS James Arnold DOWNS John Bredengerd
SALINA-SACRED HEART Dan Thiesen INMAN
2nd TEAM: Bett Gagnon SALINA-SACRED HEART Don Dougherty
DOWNS Lawrence McPherson GEM Chester Garland DOWNS Don Wiegand
INMAN
The state organization running the tournament changed their official name to the Kansas State High School Activities Association in 1937. This new group was a consolidation of the Kansas State High School Athletic Association and other groups like the Debate League and the Music Educators Association. There were 661 high schools in the association for this school year. Schools with 200 or more students competed in Class A. Schools with enrollments of 150 to 200 could choose between Class A and Class B competition. Schools with a population under 150 could only compete in Class B. 1
The basketball tournament in Topeka continued to increase in profit for the association each year. The group cleared $720.00 in 1933 - $1341 in 1935 - $1765 in 1936. All of this success in the middle of the depression solidified Topeka as the home of the Class A tourney. With four days of play and elimination of the consolation tournament, directors were hopeful of even better crowds with less expense. Team expense money provided by the association ended with a tournament loss in any round. The move to four days of competition was a concession to the exhaustion factor of semi-final winners playing two games in one day. 2
The championship crown seemed possible for any of the top three Ark Valley teams - Newton, Winfield and Arkansas City. No one could rule out Chanute who possessed the best player in the state in Ralph Miller and an improved supporting cast. Newton was the number one seed with only one loss prior to the tournament start. 3 Chanute did travel to Newton during the regular season where they lost their only game of the season. Newton offered the Chanute school a $100.00 to add the game to their schedule. The Chanute press reminded critics of this move that the challenge gave valuable experience to the Blue Comet team. Stu Dunbar of Salina wrote "that the powers as-be there do not rate as financial wizards ... the Chanutes are going to play at Newton February 13 for a paltry $100." The Chanute Tribune responded, "(Stu), we've had a depression down here in Southeast Kansas and $100 seems like a lot of dough to us." 4
Eureka was the surprise team of the meet. E. A. Thomas saw the regional final game where Eureka nearly upset Chanute. That game was enough evidence for Thomas to invite the Eureka boys to the tourney. 5 Jack Baumgardner, Ray Kite and Junior Hamilton were the stars that guided Eureka to a shocking first round win over KC-Wyandotte. They followed that low-scoring victory with another upset. Emporia had defeated the Oren Stoner coached boys twice during the season. 6 The Eureka boys were well trained in the art of passing the ball to gain the best possible shot and were close to knotting the score with Newton in the final quarter of the semi-finals. With Newton only up three, Leason McLoud stepped forward to hit charity shots that closed out the 30-25 victory over the dark horse challenger. 7
Arkansas City featured future All-American KU player Howard Englemen and Chanute had returning high school legend Ralph Miller when they met for the right to play Newton for the championship. Miller had help from his brother Dick and Richard Cloke who kicked in with offensive support when the Comet star was double teamed by Bulldog defenders. Miller showed he was also a star on defense as he held Englemen to nine points. 8 A dejected Englemen admitted, "That Miller could deflect my shots when he was six feet away from me." 9
The finals matched Newton's best player in years, Leason McCloud, against the tournament scoring leader Miller (68 points) from Chanute. McLoud won the scoring battle and the Newton team made sure that Miller never had easy looks at the goal holding him to ten points. 10 Coach Lindley called the squad his "most balanced team in our history." 11 Most other observers just claimed they were the best Lindley coached team ever. Gene Kemper, now a Topeka Daily Capital columnist in 1938, commented, "The best team ? Last year's champions from Newton. It was the strongest club at all positions this tournament has ever known." 12
The All-Tournament 1st Team was the best to that date ever honored in Kansas. Howard Englemen was a consensus All-American at Kansas in 1941. Ralph Miller was a star in basketball and football at Kansas University and he might have joined Englemen as an All-American if not for serious football injuries that hampered his play. Leason McCloud and Paul Schmidt went on to start for Colorado teams coached by Forrest Cox. McCloud was named to several All-American teams in 1942. Bert Hayes was a starting guard for Wichita University and running back on the football team.
Advance ticket sales were at an all-time high for the Class B tourney in Salina. Salina-Sacred Heart was a big favorite as they entered the tournament with an undefeated record. 13 The Salina Journal warned that there were many talented teams in the field that would give the Knights a stiff challenge. 14 That fact became obvious in the semi-final game between Inman and Sacred Heart. The Teutons had maintained a lead through most of the game. They had a one point lead with about a minute left in the contest. Several furious scrambles and jump balls eventually led to Bert Gagnon recovering the ball for the Kinghts near their own goal. He turned and jumped and with a two-handed toss banked the ball through the goal. Time expired as the official recovered the ball when it cleared the net. 15
An Inman student reporter described the heart-breaking scene. "Inman lost by a one-half a second. Impossible? No, because they did. This reporter was on the floor, in the last few minutes of the exciting play, and didn't see that perfect shot that entered the basket just as the gong was sounded. All eyes turned to the time keeper, who was shaking his head. The goal counted ! The Inman boys walked dazedly from the court (while) Sacred Heart was in a hysterical mood." 16 Coach Zamrzla told Inman's Virgil Baer that, after winning 140 games over the last six years, this game was the only one he was ashamed to take. He congratulated Baer and told him, "Your boys deserved to win." 17
The final against Downs featured a near repeat of the exciting finish Sacred Heart experienced against Inman. The lead changed hands several times during the game and the score was tied at the end of the first half and the 3rd quarter. With less than forty seconds remaining, Gagnon recovered a loose ball that had been tapped away from a Downs player by Willie Beffort. Gagnon grabbed the ball in stride for a game winning set-up. 18
Chet Garland of Downs became the first black player to ever participate in a state championship basketball final. He was also named to the Salina Journal All-Star 2nd team. 19
RULE CHANGE: The state high school association ruled after the 1936 season that new age rules would be in effect. The maximum age of a player was 21 for the 1935-36 season but the maximum age was changed to 20 for the 1936-37 season. 20
1 Topeka Daily State Journal,
March 16, 1937, 3
2 Ibid
3 Topeka Daily Capital, March 16, 1937, 11
4 Chanute Tribune, January 28, 1937, 8
5 Eureka Herald, March 18, 1937, 1
6 Ibid, March 25, 1937, 1
7 Topeka Daily Capital, March 20, 1937, 10
8 Ibid
9 Dick Hall, "Sports Critique", Arkansas City Daily
Traveler, March 22, 1937
10 Topeka Daily Capital, March 21, 1937, 11B
11 Curtis Buller, 338
12 Gene Kemper, "Kibitzing on Sports with Gene Kemper", Topeka Daily
Capital, March 16, 1938
13 Salina Journal, March 15, 1937, 10
14 Ibid, March 17, 1937, 10
15 Ibid, March 20, 1937, 8
16 Inman Review, March 26, 1937, 2
17 Stu Dunbar, "Sport Chaff", Salina Journal, March 23, 1937
18 Ibid, March 22, 1937
19 Salina Journal, March 22, 1937, 8
20
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1938 CLASS A State Tournament March 16-19 Topeka High School Gym Topeka
Team Coach League
1st: KC-Ward 33
KC-Wyandotte
30
1 KC-Ward
(23-3) Tom
Dorney
INDEPENDENT
3rd: Winfield 37 Newton
25
2 KC-Wyandotte (21-5) Percy
Parks
NEKL
SF; KC-Ward 22 Winfield
20
3 Winfield
(16-7)
Ollie
Thomas ARK VALLEY
SF: KC-Wyandotte 35 Newton
34
4 Newton
(20-5)
Harold Hunt
ARK
VALLEY
QF: Winfield 42 Columbus 15
QF: KC-Ward 35 Topeka 18
QF: Newton 34 Coffeyville
25
QF: KC-Wyandotte 46 Emporia 24
1R: Winfield 28 Chapman 21
1R: Columbus 27 Kingman 25
1R: KC-Ward 39 Independence 29
1R: Topeka 20 Hutchinson 16
1R: Newton 40 Pratt 19
1R: Coffeyville 23 Norton 22
1R: KC-Wyandotte 26 Hays 24
1R: Emporia 27 Wellington
25
OFFICIALS: Cliff Ogden, John Lance, Ab Hinshaw, Darell
Hinkhouse
INVITED TEAMS: INDEPENDENCE HUTCHINSON KC-WYANDOTTE EMPORIA WELLINGTON
Score Source: One Hundred Years of
Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011) except for
Newton-Coffeyville: Topeka Daily Capital, March 18, 1938, 10
TOPEKA DAILY CAPITAL ALL-STARS
Paul Schmidt, Leason McCloud, Bill McCloud NEWTON George Conklin, Francis Lynch, Bill Young KC-WARD Pete Dye, Bill Hahn KC-WYANDOTTE Olin Tucker, Geral Tucker WINFIELD
KSHSAA HONOR ROLL
GUARDS: Bill Hahn KC-WYANDOTTE,
George Conklin, Tom Ronan KC-WARD, Paul Schmidt, Kyrle Boylan NEWTON, Bob O'Neil
TOPEKA
FORWARDS: Pete Dye, Maurice Parker KC-WYANDOTTE, Dick Nolan, Bill Young
KC-WARD, Gerald Tucker, Olin Tucker WINFIELD, Alfred Anaya COFFEYVILLE
CENTERS: Francis Lynch KC-WARD, Leason McCloud NEWTON, Harold Dody
EMPORIA, Lou Steinmeir
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1938 CLASS B State Tournament March 16-19 Memorial Hall Salina
Team Coach League
1st: Downs 19 Corning
17
1 Downs
(26-2)
Cade
Suran
INDEPENDENT
3rd: Cullison 21 Salina-Sacred Heart
17
2 Corning
(27-1)
E. W.
Stewart
M & N
SF: Corning 33 Salina-Sacred Heart
22
3 Cullison
(26-3)
Elmer Crumpacker PRATT
COUNTY
SF: Downs 24 Cullison
23
4 Salina-Sacred Heart (23-9) Anthony
Zamrzla
INDEPENDENT
QF: Corning 36 Plains 28
QF: Salina-Sacred Heart 33 Nickerson 26
QF: Downs 27 Stanley 19
QF: Cullison 33 Bison 27
1R: Corning 27 Olivet 25
1R: Plains 40 Rexford 31
1R: Nickerson 23 Frontenac 21
1R: Salina-Sacred Heart 38 Admire 36
1R: Stanley 38 Midian 19
1R: Downs 43 Clearwater 28
1R: Cullison 58 Toronto 17
1R: Bison 53 Linn 51
*
OFFICIALS: Carl Kopelk, Rudolph Uhrlaub, Ron
McClain, Stuart Dunbar
INVITED TEAMS: NICKERSON, ADMIRE, LINN
Score Source: One Hundred Years of
Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011) except for
Bison-Linn: Salina Journal, March 17, 1938, 14
SALINA JOURNAL ALL-STARS
1st TEAM: Bert Gagnon SALINA-SACRED
HEART Don Bryant CULLISON Ralph Allen CORNING Walter Allen
CORNING Don Hansen DOWNS
2nd TEAM: Vance Hall DOWNS Ivan Carroll PLAINS Lyle Sullivan
SALINA-SACRED HEART Bob Eshnaur CULLISON Russell Granger STANLEY
KSHSAA HONOR ROLL
GUARDS: Walter Allen, Ralph Allen
CORNING Bob Eshnaur , Homer Hainline CULLISON Chet Garland
DOWNS Glenn Martin ADMIRE Church SALIN-SACRED HEART
FORWARDS: Bert Gagnon SALINA-SACRED HEART Don Bryant CULLISON
Vancve Hall, Don Dougherty DOWNS J Peterson CLEARWATER Mac McCabe
CORNING Louis Chappell PLAINS
Bill Engelland NICKERSON
CENTERS: Lyle Sullivan SALINA-SACRED HEART Ervin Smrcka BISON
Don Hansen DOWNS Marvin Ryden STANLEY
In this year, one hundred and ten teams competed in the Class A that started with eleven regional tournaments. The thirteen Class B Regionals were composed of the winners and runner-ups from forty-five district tourneys held in early March. The winner of a regional automatically qualified for the state tournament. Then the KSHSAA picked the best of the runner-ups to fill out the sixteen team state tourney brackets. 1 Secretary Thomas invited Independence, Emporia, Wellington, Hutchinson and KC-Wyandotte to the Topeka meet. Class B invitees were Linn, Nickerson and Admire. 2
Topeka had settled in as the home of the Class A tourney. Record crowds jammed into the Topeka High gym every year. The college coaches were in attendance to judge the talents of the players from all over the state. The sports columnists were known to gather at the two large downtown hotels ( The Jayhawk and the Kansan) to trade insults and stories and enjoy an overall "convention" atmosphere. Local fans had become accustomed to the entertainment value of the four day basketball show. 3 The NAIB (later known as NAIA) was in its infancy in Kansas City (started in 1937). There was no NCAA tournament around to siphon off basketball interest and the AAU National had moved to Denver in 1935. 4 An indication of the popularity of the tournament was the call by some in the business community to dramatically increase the seating for the new Municipal Auditorium under discussion to as many as 10,000 seats. 5
There was a major change in the rules of the game in the 1937-38 season. The elimination of the center jump after every made field goal had been proposed many times over the years and the college and high school coaches decided to experiment for one year with the new rule. 6
There was a change in the basketball coaching ranks as Harold Hunt took over all coaching duties at Newton. Coach Hunt politely requested that he would not need assistance from Frank Lindley. Lindley agreed but retained his post as Principal of the high school. 7
The final four group was among the strongest ever gathered together in tournament history. Newton had two first team all-stars returning from the 1937 championship team. Winfield's huge 6' 7" center, Dick Dolloff, was joined by Gerald & Olin Tucker as a challenger for the title. KC-Ward brought their best team in history to the tourney with only three losses and KC-Wyandotte hoped to avenge their previous losses to the Cyclones with one of Coach Percy Parks best teams. 8
Jim Reed of the Topeka Daily Capital said of the Newton-Wyandotte semi-final, "Never in the history of the tournament has there been a more thrilling game. The crowd was wild, cheers echoed back and forth in the big gymnasium until the officials' whistles could hardly be heard, and both teams played their hearts out." The flashy play of Bill Hahn, Bulldog guard, was cited by the press as equal to stars of previous tourneys (DeBernardi, Miller). Paul Schmidt, exhausted from the furious pace of the game, missed some key free throws near the end of the game. Newton as a team was awful from the line missing eleven tosses. 9
Ward and Winfield played a low-scoring contest in the other semi-final. Both teams played a very patient game that was accompanied by a constant roar from the 4,500 fans in attendance. Two late free throws by Francis Lynch gave the game to Ward. This insured the first final since 1932 that did not include an Ark Valley League team. 10
The final was sold-out despite an increase in ticket prices. A huge crowd of out-of-towners gathered for the first final between high schools from the same city. The always colorful reporter Jim Reed described the scene. "From the thundering ovation that shook the rafters, every Kansas Citian except the night watchman must have been on hand. The two quintets broke like ten harvest hands at the dinner bell, executed snappy passes and shot with bulls-eye accuracy." 11 The return of an injured Maurice Parker allowed Wyandotte to maintain a lead for most of the game. Parker was able to score over Ward's famous zone for eighteen points. A determined team effort by Ward in the 4th quarter ultimately was the difference. Francis Lynch's defense and the scoring punch of Tom Ronan contributed greatly to Ward's third win of the year over their public school rival. Wyandotte was set back when Pete Dye fouled out of the game just as the third quarter ended. 12
No clear cut favorite could be picked in the Class B event held again at Memorial Hall in Salina. Corning, Bison and Stanley all entered with undefeated records. Salina-Sacred Heart always seemed to have a contender and they did have the advantage of playing in front of their hometown fans. Some opponents even suggested that Sacred Heart's schedule should have been preparation for the Catholics to compete in Class A. 13 Coach Cade Suran's Downs five were considered a threat as well with many returning veterans from a runner-up finish in 1937.
Corning players impressed tournament crowds early with the accurate shooting of Ralph and Walter Allen. The boys came out for their warm-ups clad in bib overalls and stocking feet. Chuck Lear - future Salina High star - was a ball boy for the Class B event. He witnessed the unusual basketball skills and uniforms of the Corning team. "They had regular undershirts for jerseys with hand painted numbers." The standard shot of the time was a two-handed set thrown from about chest high. Lear said that the Corning players used scoop shots from below the waist and off the hip and could connect from long range to the amazement of the fans. 14
Downs eliminated the undefeated eastern team, Stanley, in a quarter-final game. Stanley was hurt by the loss of their best player, Harry Gray, who was forced out due to a raging fever. Small schools simply did not have the deeper benches of Class A teams that could overcome a loss of a star player. 15 Corning maintained their spotless record as they advanced to the final against Downs. The Topeka Daily Capital said that Corning's record was as clean as pockets were in 1929. The Corning Gazette replied, "It (the TDC) might have used 1938 instead of 1929 and still included most of us." 16
The final between Corning and Downs was played without substitution. Corning relied on their solid zone defense to check any break away by the potent Dragon offense. It was not until the fourth quarter that Vance Hall's hot outside shooting turned the tide for Downs. Coach Suran claimed his only state championship trophy but would have more success at Wellington and a long career at Fort Hays State. 17
A history making note of this tournament was the participation of Chester "Chet" Garland for the Downs Dragons championship team. He became the first African-American to play for a Kansas High School basketball champion. When Downs honored their team with a dinner, no player received a more enthusiastic ovation. 18 It was Garland who sank the winning free throw against Cullison in the semi-final. 19
Stu Dunbar wrote in the Salina Journal that all final four teams in Class B appeared to be exhausted on Saturday. He noted the long tournament schedule for these last four teams. They had played through district and regional tournaments and three state tournament games on their way to to the Saturday trophy games. In addition, several were committed to playing County tourneys in the middle of February. He suggested that was too much basketball for these small town teams. "Precious few of these smaller schools have the man-power to capably replace their regulars", he said. "Add the mental strain (to) the physical strain of tournaments and the youngsters are asked to carry a terrific load." 20
The general good sportsmanship of the Class B tourney was recognized by the Downs News and Times. They revealed the letter that Stanley's Captain Marvin Ryden addressed to the Dragon Coach and players. He never mentioned the loss of their star player. He stressed, "We are proud to have played (Downs) and to have been beaten by your champions." The paper replied to Ryden by stating that the Stanley team proved you don't have to be a winner to be a champion. 21
RULE CHANGES: 1) This was the year
that elimination of the center jump after a field goal was granted a one year
experiment. In college, the Pacific Coast League had pushed for the change and
experimented with it for several years. 22
After the season, the old guard of
basketball (Dr. Naismith and Phog Allen among others) came up with a variety of
objections. They claimed that the quickened pace of the game caused undue player
exhaustion. They lamented that the end of the center jump play made the game too
predictable. 23
Most Kansas high school coaches approved the change - Ollie
Thomas and Harold Hunt were exceptions. The change allowed a faster game and
greater use of substitutes. The approval of the fans made the change permanent. 24
2) Overtime rules changed to make the first team that scored two points
the winner in the first overtime period. Previously the "sudden death"
feature would only apply after the first overtime period had not produced a
winner. This rule was in effect for all tournament play, but may have been
optional for regular season games. 25
1 Topeka Daily Capital,
March 6, 1938, 12B
2 Ibid, March 14, 1938, 6
3 Gene Kemper, "Kibitzing on Sports", Topeka Daily
Capital, March 19, 1937
4 Adolph H Grundman, 31
5 Topeka State Journal, March 24, 1937,
6 Curtis Buller, 340
7 Ibid, 13 Ernie
Unruh quotes about Coach Hunt
8 Jim Reed, "High School
Corner", Topeka Daily Capital, March 7, 1938
9 Topeka Daily Capital, March 19, 1938, 14
10 Ibid
11 Jim Reed, "High School Corner", Topeka Daily Capital, March
20, 1938
12 Kansas City Kansan, March 20, 1938, 6B
13 Stu Dunbar, "Sport Chaff", Salina Journal, March 27, 1937
14 Chuck Lear, interview by author in Topeka, Kansas, January 26, 2011
15 Downs News and Times, March 24, 1938, 4
16 Corning Gazette, March 10, 1938, 4
17 Downs News and Times, March 24, 1938, 4
18 Ibid, March 31, 1938, 4
19 Ibid, March 24, 1938, 4
20 Stu Dunbar, "Sport Chaff", Salina Journal, March 21, 1938
21 Downs News ans Times, March 31, 1938, 4
22 Oswald Tower, "The Basketball Rules for 1937-1938", ATHLETIC
JOURNAL, May 1937
23 Curtis Buller, 341
24 Jim Reed, "High School Corner", Topeka Daily Capital, March
15, 1938
25 Salina Journal, March 17, 1938, 14
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1939 CLASS A State Tournament March 15-18 Topeka High School Gym Topeka
Team Coach League
1st: Winfield 22 El Dorado
18
1 Winfield
(18-2)
Ollie
Thomas
ARK VALLEY
3rd: KC-Ward 38 Arkansas City 36
**
2 El Dorado
(19-4) Emmet
Breen
ARK VALLEY
SF: Winfield 28 KC-Ward
18
3 KC-Ward
(19-9) Tom
Dorney
INDEPENDENT
SF: El Dorado 25 Arkansas City 22
*
4 Arkansas City (15-10) Everett
Nicholson
ARK VALLEY
QF: Winfield 47 Leavenworth 14
QF: KC-Ward 32 Hutchinson 21
QF: El Dorado 20 KC-Wyandotte 15
QF: Arkansas City 32 Hays 29
1R: Winfield 35 Clay Center 15
1R: Leavenworth 22 Coffeyville 20
1R: Hutchinson 42 Scott City 25
1R: KC-Ward 28 Lawrence 27
1R: El Dorado 37 Salina 22
1R: KC-Wyandotte 63 Liberal 12
1R: Hays 31 Topeka 28
1R: Arkansas City 26 Pittsburg
24
OFFICIALS: Cliff Ogden, Ab Hinshaw, Darrell
Hinkhouse, Wayne Campbell
INVITED TEAMS: HUTCHINSON LAWRENCE ARKANSAS CITY KC-WYANDOTTE
Score Source: One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011)
TOPEKA DAILY CAPITAL ALL-STARS
1st TEAM: Larry McSpadden
EL DORADO Dick Nolan KC-WARD Gerald Tucker WINFIELD Dale
Covert EL DORADO Dan Sidener ARKANSAS CITY
2nd TEAM: Barney Oldham HAYS Jim Roberts WINFIELD Guy
Mitchell HUTCHINSON Jack Weddle WINFIELD Stanley
Cyhel KC-WARD
KSHSAA HONOR ROLL
GUARDS: Dale Covert, Paul Geyman
EL DORADO Jack Weddle, Lawrence Klein WINFIELD Stan Cyhel
KC-WARD Malone LEAVENWORTH Dan Sidener ARKANSAS CITY
FORWARDS: Larry McSpadden, Bob Kebt EL DORADO Barney
Oldham HAYS Vestie White, Dick Hatfield ARKANSAS CITY
Jim Roberts, Clifford Sickles WINFIELD Guy Mitchell HUTCHINSON
CENTERS: Gerald Tucker WINFIELD Dick Nolan KC-WARD Lou
Steinmeir KC-WYANDOTTE W. Settles SCOTT CITY
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1939 CLASS B State Tournament March 15-18 Convention Hall Hutchinson
Team Coach League
1st: Nickerson 41 Bison
36
1 Nickerson
(24-4)
Morris
Deeter
MID-KANSAS
3rd: Inman 32 Lebo
19
2 Bison
(26-1)
Lou
Odle
R.E.N.
SF: Bison 29 Inman
27
3 Inman
(22-4)
John
Krehbiel
MID-KANSAS
SF: Nickerson 43 Lebo
25
4 Lebo
(23-5)
Clarence Wood COFFEY
COUNTY
QF: Inman 40 Clearwater 25
QF: Bison 58 St. Mary's 27
QF: Nickerson 49 Peabody 33
QF: Lebo 24 Page City 19
1R: Clearwater 33 Haddam 23
1R: Inman 45 Virgil 35
1R: St. Mary's 40 Glendale 34
1R: Bison 43 Prescott 23
1R: Nickerson 49 Powhattan 40
1R: Peabody 38 Mankato 34
1R: Page City 37 Benedict 23
1R: Lebo 27 Sublette
20
OFFICIALS: Percy Fossey, Barney Forker, LeRoy Sandberg, Carl Kopelk
INVITED TEAMS: HADDAM, PEABODY, BENEDICT
Score Source: One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011)
KSHSAA HONOR ROLL
GUARDS: Schuerman, C. Pivonka
BISON Gibbons ST. MARY'S Walt Buller INMAN Burkhardt
VIRGIL Hawks, Risley NICKERSON John Keller PAGE CITY
FORWARDS: Bill Engelland, Jeffrey NICKERSON Harry Voth INMAN Glick
ST. MARY'S McQuillen CLEARWATER Baker PEABODY Olin Smrcka
BISON Long LEBO
CENTERS: Standifer LEBO Ervin Smrcka BISON Henry Doerksen
INMAN Bozeman NICKERSON
The Ark Valley returned with a load of contenders for the 1939 tournament. Coach Lindley returned as head man for Newton, but the Railroaders suffered through their worst season since 1913 and did not qualify for the tournament. Instead, Winfield, El Dorado, Arkansas City and Hutchinson played under the banner of the state's best basketball league. 1
The only real surprise in the early contests was the 31-28 win by Hays over Topeka. The western team out-hustled the Trojans and Topeka also had one of their worst shooting nights of the season. 2 Topeka writer Jim Reed liked to quote the odds he obtained from local bookies. He said that Topeka had been favored 4-1 over the Hays team. The many references to gambling indicated that there was a market for betting on basketball - at least in Topeka. Some others around the state took notice. The Winfield Courier asked the question, "When did they start this bookmaking on high school meets, any way, Mr. Commissioner ?" 3
No answer about high school gambling appeared in print from Commissioner Thomas - he was probably busy answering criticism for the selection process used for inviting teams. Colby and Emporia were left out - but Thomas did receive plenty of support for the teams he did select. The solution for this annual problem was suggested by schools and the press. The idea of a Class AA for schools over 500-600 in population was gathering support. The remaining schools, many of them expressing the complaint that "we don't have a chance" for the finals even when they did qualify for the tourney, would remain in Class A. First round dominating wins by Winfield, Wyandotte and Hutchinson over Clay Center, Liberal and Scott City supported these complaints. 4
El Dorado made their first semi-final since 1927. It took a sudden death overtime for the Wildcats to advance to the championship game. Dale Covert scored a lay-up to secure the win after scoring a free throw earlier in the first period. The victory was especially sweet for Coach Breen as Arkansas City upset his team twice during the league season preventing a Wildcat Ark Valley championship. 5 Fans for both teams were so into it and noisy that the official timer fired the gun in order to get a substitute entered during the overtime period. 6
Winfield had an easier time of it as they defeated defending champion Ward of Kansas City. Gerald Tucker established the Winfield five as the favorites to win it all with another fine performance in this game. He was the Ark Valley scoring leader as a Junior. He was famous for his rebounding and defense and he was as good as anybody scoring the ball inside. 7
The title game was a duel between Dale Covert and Tucker. Covert was able to limit Tucker to only three field goals, but Tucker directed the offense out on the court and "formed a defense in himself", according to writer Gene Kemper. "Tucker's play stamps him as one of the greatest tourney players in history." Winfield's rigid zone defense prevented the Wildcats from ever taking the lead. Tucker ordered a stall with less than three minutes left and the Vikings ahead by two. Then, with time running out, he saw an opening and drove for the final score of the game leaving El Dorado with only three seconds to reply. 8
Hutchison grabbed the hosting duties for the Class B tourney away from Salina in 1939. The games were played at Convention Hall that had an advertised seating capacity of 2,000. The Hutchinson management increased ticket prices and with two local teams (Nickerson and Inman) in the final four, the tournament broke the box office record set in 1937 at Salina. 9
With over five hundred schools in Class B, predicting a winner was nearly impossible. Nickerson with returning star Bill Engelland was tabbed the slight favorite. 10 Engelland was the difference as he scored twenty-one in the title game with Bison. He scored 82 total points in the tourney. Mid-Kansas League fans had hoped for an Inman-Nickerson final, but Bison broke the heart of the Inman team in the semi-final. 11
RULE CHANGE: The rules committee cleaned up the rule regarding the center jump. The team shooting a technical foul would be given possession at half-court after the free throw. Previously the ball was put in play by a center jump after a technical. 12
1 Topeka State Journal, March
4, 1939, 2
2 Topeka Daily Capital, March 16, 1939, 6
3 Winfield Daily Courier, March 17, 1939, 6
4 Jim Reed, "Off the Sports Cuff", Topeka Daily Capital,
March 19, 1939
5 Topeka Daily Capital, March 18, 1939, 12
6 Gene Kemper, "Kibitzing on Sports with Gene Kemper",
Topeka Daily Capital, March 19, 1939
7 Topeka Daily Capital, March 18, 1939, 12
8 Ibid, March 19, 1939, 14B
9 Stu Dunbar, "Sport Chaff", Salina Journal, March 22,
1939
10 Hutchinson Herals, March 13, 1939, 2
11 Ibid, March 19, 1939, 2
12 http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2012/Rules.pdf
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1940 CLASS A State Tournament March 12-15 Topeka High School Gym Topeka
Team Coach League
1st: Winfield 29
KC-Wyandotte 27
*
1 Winfield
(17-4)
Ollie
Thomas
ARK
VALLEY
3rd: Newton 25 Hutchinson
24
2 KC-Wyandotte (30-2) Ashley
Elbl
INDEPENDENT
SF: Winfield 31 Newton
20
3 Newton
(19-8)
Frank
Lindley ARK
VALLEY
SF: KC-Wyandotte 31 Hutchinson
14
4 Hutchinson (18-4)
Edmund
Cairns ARK VALLEY
QF: Newton 26 KC-Ward 22
QF: Winfield 23 Emporia 19
QF: Hutchinson 39 Parsons 17
QF: KC-Wyandotte 30 Arkansas City 13
1R: Newton 30 Chanute 17
1R: KC-Ward 37 Salina 34
1R: Winfield 29 Shawnee Mission 23
1R: Emporia 24 Hays-St. Joseph 18
1R: Hutchinson 38 Belleville 27
1R: Parsons 32 Dodge City 14
1R: KC-Wyandotte 33 Colby 26
1R: Arkansas City 33 McPherson
27
OFFICIALS: Ab Hinshaw, Bob Moffat, Darrell Hinkhouse,
H. M. Anderson
INVITED TEAMS: NEWTON SHAWNEE MISSION WINFIELD
Score Source: One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011)
TOPEKA DAILY CAPITAL ALL-STARS
1ST TEAM: Gerald Tucker, Clifford
Sickles WINFIELD Ray Evans, Bill Brill KC-WYANDOTTE Bill
Mcloud NEWTON
2ND TEAM: Jim Roberts, Jack Weddle WINFIELD Leo Headrick, John
Bortka KC-WYANDOTTE Stan Cyhel KC-WARD
3RD TEAM: Dale Hall PARSONS John Dewell NEWTON Alvin Billinger
HAYS-ST. JOSEPH Guy Mitchell, Earl Harrison HUTCHINSON
KSHSAA HONOR ROLL
GUARDS: Jack Weddle, McDermott
WINFIELD Ray Evans, John Bortka, Bill Brill KC-WYANDOTTE Milsap
EMPORIA Clark Ullom BELLEVILLE Nibergall NEWTON Earl Harrison
HUTCHINSON
Alvin Billinger HAYS-ST JOSEPH
FORWARDS: Clifford Sickles, Jim Roberts WINFIELD Leo Headrick,
Johnny Noone KC-WYANDOTTE Bill McLoud NEWTON Dale Hall PARSONS
Slim Campbell EMPORIA Keith Harper COLBY
Paul Turner SHAWNEE MISSION Ken Love HUTCHINSON Dick Hatfield ARKANSAS
CITY
CENTERS: Gerald Tucker WINFIELD Stan Cyhel KC-WARD Guy
Mitchell HUTCHINSON Bill Cochrane SALINA Johnny Dewell NEWTON
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1940 CLASS B State Tournament March 12-15 Convention Hall Hutchinson
Team Coach League
1st: Buhler 24 Menlo
22
1 Buhler
(24-4)
Harold
Binford
MID-KANSAS
3rd: Emporia-Roosevelt 32 Powhattan 30
*
2 Menlo
(25-1)
Ray
Thurlow
INDEPENDENT
SF: Menlo 30 Emporia-Roosevelt
20
3 Emporia-Roosevelt (?-?) Gus
Fish
INDEPENDENT
SF: Buhler 33 Powhattan
31
4 Powhattan
(32-4)
Johnny Corrigan INDEPENDENT
QF: Menlo 30 Nickerson 29
QF: Emporia-Roosevelt 32 Sublette 29
QF: Powhattan 53 Almena 38
QF: Buhler 25 Erie 17
1R: Nickerson 44 Edgerton 27
1R: Menlo 23 Weir 22
1R: Sublette 48 Randall 33
1R: Powhattan 23 Mulvane 15
1R: Erie 35 Spring Township 29
1R: Buhler 44 Mayetta
34
OFFICIALS: Rice Brown, Earl Yoos, ______
INVITED TEAM: SPRING TOWNSHIP
Score Source: One Hundred Years of Hoops, Carol R Swenson, KSHSAA (2011)
KSHSAA HONOR ROLL
GUARDS: George Bailey MENLO
Wilmer Voth, John Martens BUHLER Singular, Wendell Link
EMPORIA-ROOSEVELT Volz POWHATTAN D. Bartlett ALMENA Sherwood
SUBLETTE
FORWARDS: Richard Siemens, Irvin Schroeder BUHLER Kyle ERIE
Elton Winter SUBLETTE Bruce Holman POWHATTAN Foster
EMPORIA-ROOSEVELT Jay Poage ALMENA Arvin Liester MENLO
CENTERS: Bill Engellend NICKERSON Otto Schnellbacher SUBLETTE
LaVerne Unruh BUHLER Steve Frazier SPRING TOWNSHIP
Hutchinson fans were proud of the job Coach "Chop" Cairns had done in 1940 - taking a team that had been an Ark Valley cellar dweller to an undisputed league championship. Many observers tabbed the Salt Hawks as title favorites and the best Hutchinson team since the 1923 State runner-up squad that lost in overtime to the famous national champions from Wyandotte. 1
Topeka was absent from the tourney, so the opening round attendance was
slightly
reduced. But, the usual group of interested college basketball
instructors
increased in size. Reports circulated in sports columns that Bruce
Drake
(Oklahoma) had contacted the Mitchell brothers from Hutchinson. Phog
Allen
innocently told writers that he hoped to see Ray Evans enroll at KU next term.
2
Gene Kemper reported in his column that Kansas "offered to do everything
anyone else will for Ray Evans. And a friend of the school has promised him a
job with an oil company upon graduation." 3 Ray Evans was the "wanted
man" sought by not only basketball coaches, but by football leaders as
well.
The Wyandotte boys came into the tourney with only one loss. Bulldog fans excused the season opening loss to Winfield because it was thought that Winfield (they did not participate in the sport of football)^ had much more time to prepare for that first meeting. The twenty-seven straight wins after that early game convinced many KC fans that this team was in the discussion as the best ever Wyandotte team. 4 A late February foot injury to all-star Evans dampened that outlook, but Wyandotte was far from a one man team. Bill Brill, John Noone and Leo Headrick carried the team while Evans rested for the state tourney. 5
No one was overlooking the defending champion Winfield and their all-star center Gerald Tucker. He was called the "flat-footed floogie" by one writer. 6 The name referred to his flat foot condition that severely limited his jumping ability. He compensated for that defect by positioning his 6' 4" body to block out opposing team re-bounders and he also possessed a highly developed eye for the ball when battling under the boards. He could score, with either hand, a hook shot that was accurate from any position. 7
The championship season dream of Hutchinson was crushed by the Wyandotte team in the semi-final round. Jim Reed reported, "The Bulldogs started like five harvest hands at the sound of the dinner bell and ran up nine points before Hutchinson could score a field goal." By half-time the Wyandotte lead grew to 20-6. Ray Evans appeared to be completely recovered from the broken bone in his foot and the starters performed like an all-star team. 8
Frank Lindley was firmly in charge as Newton returned to final four competition against Winfield. He used everything in his defensive playbook but his players were unable to stop Gerald Tucker. "The Vikings passed the ball like a bullet and controlled the leather as if it had strings on it," reported Jim Reed. "Tucker did everything but sell popcorn."9
The championship game between Winfield and Wyandotte provided a thrilling finale to the end of one era in Kansas high school basketball. The score was tied seven times. Coach Ollie Thomas played his starters the entire game., while Wyandotte threw seven players into the fray. Evans and Tucker traded great plays against one another. Tucker in the middle of Winfield's zone posed a tremendous challenge to the usually smooth Wyandotte offense. The Bulldogs slowed their game down but were unable to take advantage of some openings in the final quarter. 10 Ray Evans scored a field goal from the corner that tied the game with less than ten seconds on the clock. Tucker was fouled with five seconds left but missed his free throw attempt. Neither team could gather possession and the contest moved to "sudden death" overtime. The flat footed Tucker was able to get the tip at the start of the extra period. After a few passes, Winfield's Jim Roberts found a path to the goal and pushed a one handed lay-up through the basket for the championship. 11
Reporters and fans were touched by the emotional ending to this Class A tournament. The Winfield players hoisted up their hero Jim Roberts and carried him off the floor. But for Wyandotte, the Kansas City Kansan reported, "Tears fell like raindrops on the Wyandotte bench. The players cried their hearts out. The five Wyandotte starters were seniors. They were playing their last game. They saw their 4-year dream of a state championship turn into a nightmare." 12 Gerald Tucker walked to the Wyandotte bench to congratulate and console the players who had given everything and lost. Stu Dunbar wrote, "(He) remained to cry on Bill Brill's shoulder. Brill, who had guarded Tucker, like all of the other Wyandotte players was openly in tears, and Tucker could not resist the urge to shed a tear, too." 13
The emotion displayed by the Wyandotte team was probably intensified by the loss of their Coach Percy Parks - he was killed in the summer of 1939 in a traffic accident with a Kansas City streetcar. (See Below) Coach Ashley Elbl was Parks assistant and took over head coaching duties. It is probable that the Wyandotte boys and Elbl drew inspiration from the memory of their beloved coach and friend.
Observers were united that the "sudden death" feature in the first overtime was flawed and should be dropped from future tourneys. The Topeka State Journal commented, "The only bad taste in the mouths of the large crowd was the sudden death plan used to decide the 27-27 tie. 14 Gene Kemper commented in his column, "Winfield, in this case, played smarter basketball and probably deserved to win. There is no way of telling that the Vikings wouldn't have taken a 3 or 5 minute playoff. But the sudden death arrangement is not a real test of two well matched teams. It is like putting two boxers who have (fought to a draw) back in the ring and awarding the fight to the first man who lands a blow." 15
Nickerson was favored at Hutchinson to repeat as Class B champion. They had scoring machine Bill Engelland for his senior season. Bill showed plenty of scoring with twenty-seven points in the opening round win over Edgerton. 16 Menlo of Thomas county had an enrollment of sixty-one students and they were undefeated on the season. Teams of northwest Kansas, large and small, knew that Nickerson would have trouble with the small school. It was still quite a shock to the tourney crowd when Menlo's Thomas connected with the game winning shot with thirty seconds left in the game. 17
Powhattan, coached by KU alumnus Johnny Corrigan, played a schedule that included many victories over Class A teams (Haskell, Atchison, Maur Hill and others). They brought a glossy 30-2 record to the tourney. 18 Roosevelt of Emporia was a private school in Emporia with ties to Emporia State. They also had a schedule that included several Class A teams and had access to the practice facilities of the college. They were coached by the excellent tournament veteran Gus Fish. 19
Class B dynasty Buhler prevailed in the final against Menlo. Coach Binford's team played a schedule as tough as any due to their membership in the Mid-Kansas league. All five of the starters made the tournament honor roll. Menlo never gave up - they were down 18-9 at the end of the half. They came back to tie the game early in the 4th quarter. Buhler's Unruh scored a go ahead goal with about four minutes left in the game. The taller Buhler boys were able to protect that two point lead the rest of the way and won their third Class B championship. The rule change in regard to retaining possession of the ball rather than shooting a free throw when fouled played a big part in the Buhler victory. The Crusaders were able to maintain possession as Menlo fought to get back in the game. 20
RULE CHANGE: Teams were given the option of taking a free throw or taking the ball out of bounds at mid-court. If two or more free throws were awarded, the option applied to the last throw. 21
WINFIELD FOOTBALL: Winfield schools did not play football during this era. This was the result of a reaction to the death of Southwestern College athlete Edison Ogrosky in 1924. The depression over the loss was so great that the high school and the college dropped football for many years. 22
PERCY PARKS: Percy Parks, Ashley Elbl, Ed Ash (KCK Junior College Head Coach), Alfred Kustra (Wyandotte Asst.) and Harold Reade (Shawnee Mission Head Coach) were traveling on US Hwy 50 when a Strang Line street car crashed into the left rear side of the automobile. All the coaches were injured to a certain degree - but Parks was nearest to the collision point. While he and the other coaches were being cared for at the hospital, the effects of a secondary brain hemorrhage took hold. Coach Parks lost consciousness and, despite the successful surgery to stop the bleeding and several blood transfusions, the young coach died several days later. Former students and current Wyandotte players had maintained a vigil for their popular mentor. It was a tragic loss for the Kansas City and Olathe (he coached there previously) area. He won two state basketball championships and compiled a 245-38 record at Wyandotte. He was also the head football coach and won 7 League championships. 23
1 Jim Reed, "Off the
Sports Cuff", Topeka Daily Capital, March 12, 1940
2 Ibid, March 15, 1940
3 Gene Kemper, "Gene Kemper's Column", Topeka Daily
Capital, March 18, 1940
4 Kansas City Kansan, February 27, 1940, 6
5 Ibid, February 24, 1940, 5
6 Jim Reed, "Off the Sports Cuff", Topeka Daily Capital,
March 11, 1940
7 Edgar L. Frost, "Tucker Made Most of Athletic Ability", Winfield Daily Courier, January 2, 2010
8 Jim Reed, "Bulldogs Win Under Wraps", Topeka Daily
Capital, March 16, 1940, 12
9 Ibid
10 Topeka Daily Capital, March 17, 1940, 16B
11 Ibid
12 Kansas City Kansan, March 17, 1940, 6B
13 Stu Dunbar, "Sport Chaff", Salina Journal, March 20, 1940
14 Topeka State Journal, March 18, 1940, 6
15 Gene Kemper, "Gene Kemper's Column", Topeka Daily Capital, March 18, 1940
16 Hutchinson News, March 14, 1940, 2
17 Ibid, March 15, 1940, 2
18 Ibid, March 14, 1940, 2
19 Hutchinson News-Herald, March 17, 1940, 3
20 Ibid, 2
21 http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2012/Rules.pdf
22 http://www.ausbcomp.com/~bbott/whviking/ogrosky.htm
23 VARIOUS: Kansas City Kansan: June 22-24-25, 1939 Olathe Mirror: June 29, 1939