Jack Moore The 5-9 Moore was a catalyst for Muncie Centrals 1978 state championship as a senior, averaging 21.7 points per game to earn first-team all-state and Indiana All-Star honors. He averaged a team-high 24.4 points and 6.0 rebounds as a senior and finished his career with 1,666 points. Then later on it mushroomed. fellow forward Jerry Trice had 13, guard Larry McIntyre and center When the Bearcats held a 40th anniversary celebration of the game, one year early. Center Jim Davis starred collegiately at Colorado and then played eight NBA seasons for St. Louis, Atlanta, Houston and Detroit. View. We just got dressed andwent home. He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. Print. 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. and finished the 1955-56 season with a record of 31-0. NJCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championships is held annually in March at the Hutchinson Sports Arena in Hutchinson, KS. Beck and Plump also teamed up to campaign against multi-class basketball in the late 1990s; the 1997 tournament was the last of the single-class format. Rivals that had fallen victim to the Bearcats successes wanted to see them slip, and the narrative of the little guy captured imaginations. against Roosevelt. Milan was the smallest I walked into his office and the secretary said Can I help you,? The school board spent 15 years paying off the debt from the massive fieldhouse that opened in December 1928. Michael McCoy, a 7-foot center, scored a game-high 24 points to When a tornado severely damaged the area in November 2017, flooding Central's basketball court, Beck again called Plump. Sexson was named the winner of the Trester Award for Mental Footage of the final seconds of the 1954 basketball state championship. In the same article Flowers told the nwitimes com: Yes, they slowed the ball on us and we were a running team. Bob Collins wrote in theIndianapolis Star on March 21, 1954, that the game"was one of the greatest this state tourney ever has seen and the ButlerFieldhousewas a madhouse as the final gun sounded.". He originally enrolled at Purdue, but changed course and went to Cincinnati. The 1963 team brought the school's fifth state championship, defeating South Bend Central in the final game. boys basketball, Indiana, national, Uncategorized, Way Back, 1954 IHSAA State Championship Milan vs Muncie Central. The first official NJCAA National Championship was in 1948 in Springfield, MO at the Southwest State College Fieldhouse. 1954 Milan High School Basketball Team Coach Marvin Wood had been hired two years earlier, at the age of 24, after a collegiate playing career at Butler University and a coaching stint in French Lick. Semistate. In the winter, that meant shoveling off the snow first. The Bearcats captured their first state title in 1928, courtesy of Charles Secrist's last-second heave from beyond mid-court to beat John Wooden's Martinsville team. four players named to the all-state team. They didnt even have time to throw it in. Another center, Bill Dinwiddie, a reserve underclassman on the team, attended college at New Mexico Highlands and played 220 games in the NBA for Cincinnati, Boston and Milwaukee. Jefferson in a semifinal of the Lafayette Semifinal. When he made the JV team, he thought he had arrived. Film from that gamehas beenrestored by IHSAA Champions Network. Oscar Robertson of Attucks and John Coalman of South Bend 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. A pair of memorable point guards led those championships. Call them Goliath, call them a team from South Bend in the film Hoosiers, or call them what they were: the Muncie Central Bearcats, immortalized in arguably the greatest sports story to come out of Indiana. It was a great line and it was absolutely the truth.". Just as Birgewont forget those final seconds in 1954 when Plumpheld the ball at the top of the key, made his move and hitthe shot heard round the world, giving the state titleto the underdog Milan Indians. With the score tied 30-30, Milan guard Bobby Plump hit a The depth of Muncie's basketball talent pool, which made it so difficult for a kid like Echelbarger to earn a spot on even the junior varsity team, was evident by what happened the following year. About 6,000 fans migrated to the fieldhouse for a pep rally later that Saturday evening. Back in the day - before the factories were shut down, single-class basketball was assassinated and gaming and social media took their grip on the interests of young boys the basketball games at Central High School's fieldhouse galvanized Muncie. sent a telegram to the IHSAA commissioner. Final: Milan 32, Muncie Central 30. He was the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year in 1980 after averaging 16.5 points. Milan led, 23-17, at halftime, but Muncie came backand tied the game, 26-26, by the end of the third quarter. The Bearcats' second title in a row was perhaps even more A special screening of the contest will appear onIHSAAtv.org this Sunday at 5:05 p.m. following the 2020 boys pairings show, which begins at 3 p.m. RELATED: Play-by-play from the 1954 Indiana high school basketball state championship. Charley Mazurek, Hartford Bulkeley. Use of this website (including any and all parts and components) constitutes your acceptance of these, New England bishop takes tongue-in-cheek shot at Tom Brady. and his twin brother, Arley, added 16 to guide Terre Haute Rick Jones, who led the scoring in the two "final four" games, was later voted Mr. Basketball, although many Jones included thought the honor would go to teammate Mike Rolf, who had been the leading scorer during the regular season. Bonzi Wells, Central High class of 1994, lasted the longest, playing 10 seasons. They could do things that youre supposed to do to win games, and they almost did.. South Bend Central committed a turnover with 15 seconds Forward Stanford Patton added 19 points for Crispus Hes been talking about the shot, the team, that season since then. Attucks. McCallum was a role player as a junior, but took advantage of his chance as a senior to average 12.3 points and 2.6 assists per game and shooting 59 percent from the floor on a 24-5 team. Hours. Similar Items. Ray McCallum The 5-9 McCallum was a part of back-to-back Muncie Central state championship teams as a junior in 1977-78 and senior in 1978-79. With four starters returning from the semifinalists, Milan was considered a lock to win both the Ripley County tournament and the sectional. Attitude. Center Spence Schnaitter added 14 for the Cubs (26-2), undefeated record. Ron Bonham The 6-5 Bonham averaged more than 28 points per game as a senior in 1959-60 and led No. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. I walked past her and I just stood there in front of him. remaining in the fourth quarter, allowing Terre Haute Gerstmeyer a Plump's shot with three seconds left cemented the Milan Indians' place in Indiana basketball history. For the Milan-Muncie championship match-up, HoosierHysteria was at an all-time high as 14,000-plus fans packed into ButlerFieldhouse, and tickets were being scalped for up to $50. Both teams scored oncemore to knot the score at 30-30. Didn't care. The city could hardly have been more confident of winning another state championship in 1960, but its response to the crushing defeat of the championship game loss was telling. for individual scoring in the title game set by Dee Monroe of Register to let other graduates of Muncie Central High School find and . Share team highlights with fans & media. When the game was over, of course, we went straight to our dressing room,which was underneath Butler Fieldhouse (now Hinkle Fieldhouse), saidBirge, 88, from his home in Jasper, Ind. Crawfordsville, Indiana's first state champion in 1911, made its Rolf averaged 13.3 points and 5.8 rebounds as a senior in 1966-67. Central had become a basketball powerhouse by the 1950s. scored 17 in Lafayette Jefferson's loss against Crispus Great teams feature great players, of course, and Muncie has produced plenty of those. Few movie-goerswill forget those last 18 seconds when Jimmy Chitwoodhit that jumper to give the title to Hickory. In Muncie Central's 68-67 semifinal win over New Albany, Jim Gujarat Titans vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 40th Match - Live Cricket Score, Commentary Series: Indian Premier League 2022 Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai In October 2011, he got a D grade national contract from the BCCI. level, Crispus Attucks edged Madison 82-80 in overtime and Muncie Following the 1954 championship game, veteran referees Cyril Cy Birgeand Marvin Todd had no idea how significant the last-second upset they hadjust officiated was or would become to Indiana basketball and the state. Even in the Eighties, he and his father had to do what fathers and sons had been doing for decades: get to the game before the Bearkittens junior varsity team took the court so they could be sure of having a seat for the varsity game. "The Milan vs. Muncie Central 1954 State Championship is undoubtedly the most famous high school basketball gameever played," IHSAA director of broadcasting/executive producer Heath Shanahan told the Star Press in an email. In the other semifinal, John Coalman was limited to nine points, Milan then had the ball with less than a minuteremaining and Plump held the ball again, letting theclock wind down. I'd never heard anything like it. The Bearcats of Muncie Central were on a mission that season, in their first two sectional wins (Cowan and Daleville) they scored 89 and 94 points. Your email address will not be published. In 105 career games, he averaged 11.5 points and finished with 1,204 career points. "At that point I wasn't hooked yet," he said. And it was sincere.. Volunteer Roster last updated on Jan 13, 2023 @ 1:22pm (GMT) Print Roster Correction All-Time Roster He averaged 6.7 points and 5.2 rebounds for his NBA career. Milan's defense held Arley Andrews to nine points as they coasted to victory. Gary Froebel suffered a 50-49 defeat at the hands of Lafayette to the tournament's main event by rolling to a 63-34 victory in the There was an error submitting your subscription. The Central team listened to the end of that game on the radio on the bus ride home. Dinwiddie finished his high school career with 814 points (14.8 per game). Thompson is now the Bearcats' head coach, and in a unique position to appreciate the city's basketball history. Gerstmeyer to a 48-40 victory against Richmond. Guard Jimmy Nettles became an All-American defensive back at Wisconsin and played five seasons in the NFL. "It was an unbelievable thing. Thompson tries to tell his players about Muncie's tradition. It does not store any personal data. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Contact him via email atrgeneral@gannett.com,on Twitter @rgeneraljror by phone at 765-283-8864. Ball State was also the MAC champion in 1982. Panthers with 25 points against Fort Wayne North. Logansport behind Hazelwood's game-high 17 points. John Coalman's combined 106 points in his team's Thats when he took a couple ofdribbles over to the side and then shot. He said his Indians team could usually build a small lead and then lock down by holding the ball and playing keep-away for long stretches. Who wouldn't love a 161-student school having a team good enough to beat em all back when Indianas glorious single-class tournament erased all doubt about who really was the best? Please try again. Dinwiddie, a sophomore on the '60 team, was his mother's brother. One of them is that Bearcats fans can't stand going to a gym and looking at South Side's championship banner when they would have eight of their own in the gym in which they should be playing. Coach Ray Eddy must have impressed some people during his tenure Fieldhouse. Plump, the first player from a state championship team to win Five regular-season losses put that status in jeopardy but reaching the final had most thinking another title was likely. school to advance to the Final Four in consecutive seasons since Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. The restored footage features the cadence of Hilliard Gates. Milan, who had an enrollment of 162 students at the time, beat powerhouse Muncie Central 32-30 on a last-second shot by Bobby Plump. Over the years Milan and Muncie Central have played several games to celebrate that championship game. some of their fans. 1954 MILAN TEAM Season Record 28-2 Championship Game Played March 20, . Wood's coaching style was the opposite of Grinstead's in many ways. In his three seasons, Thompson averaged 12.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Sometimes portions of a community turn against a team or player that disappoints them. 3rd T20I. One Hall of Fame Court New Castle, Indiana 47362. info@hoopshall.com 765-529-1891. (28-2). There must have been enough to go around, though, because Central won titles again in 1978 and '79, becoming the first state school to win back-to-back titles twice. Sometimes a team finds itself on the wrong side of history. Indiana still possessed a large rural population well into the 1950s and rural school consolidation was still in its infancy. We won't send you spam. Forward Bruce Benbow added 10 points I told Bobby that the memorabilia room was completely untouched," Beck said. . He also first-year coach Lawrence "Jay" McCreary. The story of the 'Milan Miracle' and Bobby Plump's game winning shot will long be remembered in the Hoosier state. The narrative of the final seconds of the Year in 1980 after averaging 16.5 points and. 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