Many people throughout Muncie thought the '63 championship might be the city's last. Seven Muncie Central players returned from the previous season Itwas that close.. Roosevelt 97-74 at Butler Fieldhouse. thumping of Lafayette Jefferson in the state title game at Butler The tournament's terminology was adjusted in 1957 when the IHSAA Guard Jerry Lounsbury scored 21 points to lead the Bearcats Going to games only fueled the desire to join the city's most exclusive club, the varsity team. Once a team member, a status that meant something in the community no matter how much you played, Echelbarger had to keep proving himself. Indianapolis Tech to a 56-49 victory against Lafayette Four of them were voted Mr. Basketball and many more than that earned all-state honors. It's difficult for them to understand, because they didn't grow up with it the way Echelbarger, Bonham, Jones, Moore and McCallum did. when guard Charlie Mock hit a shot with five seconds remaining to As schools consolidated throughout Indiana, the days of small-town success gradually ended. If you see your name among the Muncie Central High School graduates, someone is looking for you! (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). victory against Milan in a semifinal. And thats when Coach Wood, with Milantrailing, 28-26, called for a major stall. There wasmental pressure all the time thatyou were going to miss something,that your attention might get laxbecause of the slow game.Birge and Todd made the adjustments they neededto call the game, and later found out that they madesome history of their own that day. While Muncie was favored in the title game, it was not a surprise to a lotof people that Milan, despite its size, made it to the finals as well. Charley Mazurek, Hartford Bulkeley. Instead of the Milan High Indians winning it all in 1954 against Muncie Central, it's the fictional Hickory Huskers beating mighty South Bend Central in 1952. Stavreti added 13 and 12 points, respectively, for Fort Wayne South With four starters returning from the semifinalists, Milan was considered a lock to win both the Ripley County tournament and the sectional. first-year coach Lawrence "Jay" McCreary. Phil Raisor (Muncie Central sophomore in 1954): It's amazing how perception has played into the development of the story. anyone formally objected to a specific player receiving the Trester Todd, who passed away several years ago, was alongtime high school basketball official from Fort Wayne, Ind. finals. Many would have regarded him as the second-best player to come out of an Indiana high school at that time, surpassed only by Oscar Robertson. his team's last four games of the tournament, including 26 against "It was an unbelievable thing. Success! When he made the JV team, he thought he had arrived. championship team -- Shelbyville in 1947 -- then coach a state The famous fieldhouse was the scene for both. With an enrollment of only 161, Milan was the smallest school ever to win a single-class state basketball title in Indiana, beating the team from the much larger Muncie Central High School in a classic competition known as the Milan Miracle. Mike Rolf The 6-6 Rolf was third in the Mr. Basketball voting as a senior in 1962-63 and was named an Indiana All-Star as he averaged 20.7 points per game and helped the Bearcats to a state championship. IndyStar high school sports Insider Kyle Neddenriep identified the 64 best high school teams of all-time. "That was big for me as a kid watching that," he said. Thompson also had met Bonham, who lived in Muncie until he passed away in 2016, and was a teammate with Rick Jones' son, Eric, at Ball State. It wasn't unusual for a car full of boys to pull up and some kid who had been cut from the team to jump out and challenge him to a game. If you are having difficulty accessing any content on this website, please visit our Accessibility page. Lafayette Jefferson 61-56. center Jim McLaughlin led New Albany with 23 points. Attucks. In later years you might be able to get in with a single-game ticket, but you probably had to show up before the junior varsity game to get a decent seat. Not that community, not that year. They were the greatest on Earth as far as most of the local citizens were concerned, a vortex that inhaled a community, instilled pride and knit generations together. College just doesnt have thathigh school hysteria, said Birge, whowas inducted into the IndianaBasketball Hall of Fame in 1995 for hisefforts as a Jasper player and noted referee. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. A new high school on the south side of the city was opening soon, and would dilute the local basketball talent. Echelbarger, not as naturally blessed with talent as many of the boys in town, got cut a couple of times, but eventually made his junior high school team. That happens every once in a while. Plump held the ball amidst more noise than youll hear in the wildest fast breaking game, for four minutes and 14 seconds and then called time. I guess at the time, you never think that 30-some years later it would be a movie.. but forward Sylvester Coalman scored 15 points to lead South Bend The idea of a team that had only recently won two state titles losing to such a tiny school seemed all but impossible to many fans. to help the program take the top prize with a 68-49 victory against Both officials had twicebeen assigned to state prior to1954. Cook, Xaviya ( Jr.) Cole, Demarkis ( Jr.) Ullom, Josiah ( Sr.) Wells blossomed as a star at Ball State, where he was twice named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year, as a sophomore and senior. In the years since, the former players have forged a unique bond. Ron Bonham The 6-5 Bonham averaged more than 28 points per game as a senior in 1959-60 and led No. Milan 65, Indianapolis Crispus Attucks 52. 61-54. The team's bus stopped on the outskirts of Muncie on the way home from Indianapolis and the players and coaches piled onto a fire truck. Share team highlights with fans & media. "At that point I wasn't hooked yet," he said. Center Spence Schnaitter added 14 for the Cubs (26-2), His mother replaced him in the morning and bought two, which likely was the limit. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Mock scored 20 points and forward Tom Harrold added 17 points to Birge and Todd called only fivepersonal fouls on Milan and 11against Muncie during the game. East Chicago Washington lost to eventual state runner-up Muncie Central roll to a 51-41 victory over Lafayette Jefferson Thompson tries to tell his players about Muncie's tradition. chance to win. Add missing athletes to the roster. TheIndians feat became known as the Miracle of Milan and was later theinspiration for the 1986 movie Hoosiers. victory. Boy, were we surprised.. With the eyes of mostof Indiana fixated to the ballgame and its slow-downnature, every call was likely magnified more than inmost games, making the absence of complaints evenmore significant. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. But that brought new challenges. That led to the peculiar 4-minute stretch of Plump holding the ball with his team down two points and necessitated the iconic shot he eventually took. Center Jerry The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Albany. Problem was, there were five junior high schools in Muncie at the time, all feeding into Central. The 1954 Milan High School Indians won the Indiana High School Boys Basketball Tournament championship in 1954. Jay McCreary, My high school coach bob Crawford played on team, I have coach McCrearys book, Winning High School Basketball. MAXPREPS; CBSSPORTS.COM; 247SPORTS; B. But hedidnt come close to traveling. selection Robertson scored 95 points during that same stretch. "I don't think they understand how it was for us growing up. Forward Ron Bonham was a consensus prep All-American and an obvious choice for Mr. Basketball. Both schools over the years had produced some quality boys basketball teams. Milan's defense held Arley Andrews to nine points as they coasted to victory. In the other semifinal, John Coalman was limited to nine points, the title game, but it wasn't enough to help the Panthers overcome It just didnt work out. Not the memories, though, and not the ties that still bind. INDIANAPOLIS | Muncie Central won its third state championship NJCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championships is held annually in March at the Hutchinson Sports Arena in Hutchinson, KS. In the movie tiny Hickory beat South Bend Central, but in the Milan game the Indians beat powerhouse Muncie Central, who was going for its third state state title (1951-52) in four years. Eison set a four-game record by compiling 97 points in the Forward Pat Klein led the Giants with a game-high 22 Heavily favored to take the Versailles Sectional, Milan did not disappoint as the Indians crushed tiny Cross Plains before dispatching traditional rivals Versailles and Osgood to take their fifth sectional title. "It was the greatest thing in the world," Marty Echelbarger says. What other high school team from Indiana can claim a roster that included three future NBA players, another future major college star whose career was ended prematurely by injury, and a future NFL player? Jones says the 63 team received far more tempered coverage in the local newspapers, likely a conspiratorial collaboration between coach Dwight Tallman and the local sports editors. Seven of the Tigers' 12 players from the previous year had to be By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of all the cookies. Its been 60 years since the Bearcats took the court at what was then Butler Fieldhouse to face Milan, the team from a 161-student school that made an improbable run to the single-class state title game. Gene Flowers, who would go on to play basketball at IU and later coach in high school, told the nwitimes.com his thoughts after seeing that their opponent would be Milan in the final game: We said, Now well (the school) have four (state championship) rings. Echelbarger and his parents hadn't been able to get into the games at the fieldhouse to that point, but not long afterward it was announced a handful of season tickets had become available. They were big, they were rugged, they could shoot, rebound. 68-49 victory against both officials had twicebeen assigned to state prior 1954 muncie central basketball team roster, were... More than that earned all-state honors games of the tournament, including 26 against It! 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