Becoming the Greyhounds: A History of Carmel Basketball By Andrew Wright

Transcription

1 Becoming the Greyhounds: A History of Carmel Basketball By Andrew Wright We believe basket ball is a game that will rapidly win favor in the school for two reasons. First it is a vigorous game, but much less dangerous than the foot ball and second it furnishes a chance for the less strong boys to do something in athletics. We do not blame the parents for not wishing their boys to play foot ball.... Our boys have a surplus of energy that must escape through a safety valve of some sort. Basket ball is an excellent escapement and should receive the endorsement of every boy loving parent. i The preceding review of the new sport of basketball was printed in the Sheridan Weekly Sun after the first interscholastic game took place in Hamilton County at 10am, Saturday, October 21, Boxley High School hosted Atlanta for the thirty minute game. After the first half, Atlanta was up 8 2. Boxley substituted its guards and was able to bring the score to 8 8 at the end of regulation. Overtime was played until the first score, which came when Atlanta made two foul shots and was declared the winner. The Sheridan Weekly Sun described the game as one of the most interesting and most excepting athletic event that ever took place in the county. ii Enthusiasm for the sport took root; Arcadia, Atlanta, Boxley, Carmel, Cicero and Sheridan fielded teams for the season. In contrast to the excitement of the first game, the remainder of the season was marred by contention and confusion. In a game disrupted by fouls, Carmel, led by Earl Hinshaw, Clifford Carey and James McShane, lost to Sheridan Eleven of Sheridan s points came from free throws. iii County newspapers were littered with reports of arguments between teams and officials. In a particularly heated game between Boxley and Arcadia, the latter s fans rushed the court several times before Boxley was declared the winner despite a contested final score. iv Basketball in 1903 was much slower and more physical than the modern game. Guards rarely crossed center court, center jumps followed every field goal, and more contact was allowed. Sam Purcell, a 1916 CHS graduate and a star for the Carmel Kelts, recalled, Back then you could do anything, so I d gouge em in the ribs or grab their pants so they couldn t move. One time we played against this big guy from Zionsville named Rosenthal, and every time we d have a center jump, I d step on his feet so he couldn t jump. Boy, he got mad at me for that. v The season ended with a controversial championship game between Sheridan and Atlanta. Not even the officiating crew consisting of Referee John Teter, who was Carmel s coach and superintendent, and Umpire John Shoemaker, were of the same mind and argued frequently throughout the game. The final score gave Atlanta the win 2 0, but Sheridan contended it won by a score of 4 0. The Sheridan Weekly Sun concluded, Such reports as this going out from each game indicate that there is something wrong. One can look over an occasional dispute but when every game is especially noted for its rag chewing, it is about time to quit. vi After Superintendent Teter left Carmel for Boxley High School in Adams Township the following year, Carmel only played interclass games until vii Enthusiasm for the sport picked up when the high school ended its

2 football program after the 1908 season. Track and Basketball were more accessible to small towns like Carmel, which had around 30 boys enrolled at the high school. viii Practices had to be held during the lunch hour with games on Friday night or Saturday morning because the students had responsibilities before and after school as Raymond Myers, a 1918 graduate, recalled. We d come outside at noon, and we d have one hour to eat our lunch and practice basketball at the same time. Our coach would blow the whistle a couple of times and make some suggestions, and that was about it. If he could get 12 to 14 players at one time, it was pretty good.... Noon was the only time we could practice because we d get up at six, do our chores, and then ride our bicycles or horses to Carmel and get there by eight. Then we d come home, do our chores again, and by that time the day was over. ix There were no gymnasiums in the county when basketball made its debut, so teams creatively fashioned courts. Carmel practiced in a 30 x30 room on the second floor of the high school that was so small the free throw circles touched, and the following season on an outdoor court. x Sheridan played in an opera house. Boxley players walked five miles to an old rented hall in Sheridan that they converted into a court. xi Westfield played in the basement of its high school. Every home court had its advantages. Carmel was nearly unbeatable on the two grass courts it constructed in xii We learned to pass the ball because our grass floor was too bumpy to dribble, Myers recalled. xiii Home games Carmel High School Courts, 1916 were limited to the fall and early spring. In winter months, Carmel practiced on the upper floor of the Carmel Garage, now the Carmel Old Town Antique Mall. xiv Though Carmel teams were competitive and even won a county title due in part to the exceptional abilities of Don Team Carey and Ivan Myers in 1912, the lack of a gymnasium was an impediment as Walnut Grove, Cicero, Sheridan and others were playing on real courts. xv xvi After losing nine out of fourteen games in 1916, The Pennant yearbook concluded, We can only conjecture what the good results might have been if Carmel High could only boast of a Gymnasium. And it is our silent prayer that she may have one before another year. xvii Carmel played in its first Sectional the following season. After defeating Summittsville, the team was eliminated by Lapel. The 1918 team was a serious contender for a county title. However,

3 two of Carmel s best players decided to kill time smoking in a pool hall after a game against Atlanta while waiting for the Interurban to take them home. Smoking was against regulations, but it was not until Carmel was suited up and ready to play in the Hamilton County Sectional that word spread of their transgression. Coach Earl Hinshaw walked into the locker room red with anger and informed the offenders that they were disqualified. xviii The rest of the team decided to withdraw from the tournament. Some of the Carmel players remained convinced for decades that Arcadia players they smoked with that night had snitched. xix However, Arcadia withdrew from the tournament after two their players were disqualified as well. xx Only one player, Lester Hinshaw, returned for the season as several of his teammates were ineligible due to poor grades. xxi xxii The inexperienced Carmel team lost to Noblesville and was unable to gain any momentum during the season as the high school closed for six weeks soon after the game due to the flu epidemic that infected more than a quarter of the U.S. population. xxiii xxiv When school reopened in January 1919, Carmel traveled to Westfield to play in the Rat Hole, the nickname of Westfield s basement gymnasium. The Rat Hole s low ceilings gave two feet of clearance above the basket, a feature the home team was able to exploit to great advantage. xxv A black mark on the ceiling above the basket told Westfield players where to place the ball for guaranteed points. In what is likely the most lopsided victory in county history, Westfield won xxvi Two more losses to Fishers and Sheridan followed. In February Westfield traveled to Carmel s new venue, the drive through of the legendary lumberyard, where Carmel would win its only games of the season. The dirt floor was 24 wide with stacks of lumber, the source of many scrapes and splinters, marking the sidelines. When balls bounced out of bounds, children with flashlights searched for them between the stacks in what must have been an amusing spectacle to visiting teams. Players also had to be cautious of the vertical posts that held the catwalks above the court. One of the baskets was affixed directly to the wall, so rough play under the net often resulted in bruises. xxvii Perhaps the biggest obstacle was the cold. There was no heating element in the drivethrough; players wore long johns under their uniforms. xxviii The temperature during one particularly frigid game reached negative three degrees. Lumberyard court (Indianapolis News Mar 13, 1920) Despite the cold and the dust kicked up during game, the lumberyard was packed with Carmel fans, cheering from their favorite lumber pile or from the stairways one either side of the court. It was not uncommon to have 250 people purchase $0.20 tickets to see the home team win. In the first three years at the lumberyard,

4 Carmel only lost three home games, including one to a strong Purdue team. Carmel adopted the unofficial nickname Lumberjacks, and the court was known throughout the region as the Igloo or the Refrigerator. xxix The cold weather Carmel team did not fare so well away from the lumberyard. In a game against Lapel, the temperature in the gym reached 80 degrees. The Lumberjacks struggled to stay upright, let alone play competitive ball. xxx In 1922 Carmel moved into the newly constructed high school building that would later be referred to as Old North. The school boasted modern amenities, including a gymnasium with lockers and showers. By adapting their style of play to suit their new hardwood court, Coach Hinshaw s team became a State contender. xxxi Carmel gymnasium (Indianapolis News Oct 21, 1922) Led by track stars Lowell Wade and team captain Fred Roeder, Carmel s team exemplified the fast break style of basketball for which Indiana was known. Roeder was Carmel s first ever State champion, winning the high jump in Wade was second in the long jump and third in the 220 yard dash in 1925 as well as the individual point winner in the 1924 and 1925 Sectionals. When Coach Hinshaw asked Roeder to come up with a nickname for the team, he drew his inspiration from its speed Team and stamina and suggested the Greyhounds. xxxii Though Carmel threatened to go far in the tournament series, four of the players came down with the mumps. xxxiii Carmel s reserves lost in the Sectional finals to Arcadia Many of the first Greyhounds were back for the season. Basketball was hot in Carmel; twenty three out of a total enrollment of one hundred fifteen students were on the basketball team. xxxiv It was an imposing force made up of players the Indianapolis News described as big and husky. xxxv Under the direction of new Coach and Principal John Pollard, the team put together a regular season record of 19 4, easily winning the county tournament. At Sectional the Greyhounds eliminated Noblesville and Cicero before beating Tipton in a close final to win the school s first championship. Coming off that win, Indianapolis newspapers were flooded with fan submissions from all over the county in support of the Greyhounds. The Indianapolis Star published the following poem from Donald Hobbs. Our town is small, but our hopes are high, we took the Sectional like a boy takes pie and we re bound for the Regionals, you d better go long, for we ll spring a surprise to that rooting throng. The basket writers don t give us

5 much space, but nothing at Anderson will alter our pace. So just put this down in your old ivory bean, Carmel will be one of the Big Sixteen. xxxvi Carmel defeated Stoney Creek and New Castle the following week to win the Anderson Regional championship and reach the Sweet Sixteen of the State tournament, two school firsts that elicited another Donald Hobbs poem. forward, Ralph Van Metre, who had surgery to remove an abscess the day before. Van Metre listened to radio reports of the game from his bed as Carmel s offense withered in the first half, taking wild shots in a desperate effort to close the gap on Washington s 20 5 lead. xxxviii In the second half, Carmel successfully built its attack around center Lowell Wade. Though Wade performed brilliantly, scoring fourteen points and earning the best stat line of the game, Carmel was eliminated by a final score of Carmel finished the sensational season Ad in the Indianapolis Star (Mar 13, 1925) Little Carmel the sport pages say sprung a surprise in the Regional play. Yes, we re in the race and bound to stay for we base our hopes in the following way: team courage is strong, and their aim is true. When they take a shot, you can register two. Their feet are speedy and the step they do, would make Dan Patch feel mighty blue. Hardwood, even if the roads are rough, if it rains or snows, or the breaks are tough, count on us to make noise enough while Pollard s Greyhounds do their stuff. xxxvii On Friday, March 20, 9,000 spectators packed the Exposition building at the state fairgrounds to watch Carmel play another dark horse team, the Washington Hatchets from Washington, IN. One notable absence was that of Carmel s star 1925 Greyhounds (Indianapolis Star, Mar 18, 1925) Qualifying for the State tournament was no small feat for the town of around 600. It would be forty one years before the school won another Sectional championship and forty five years before another Regional win, but from the 1966 to 1977, Carmel was excellent, winning eleven of twelve Sectional tournaments, a State championship in 1977 and a runner up in Carmel won two more State titles in 2012 and Carmel girls won State in 2008 and were runner up in 1995.

6 Many of Carmel s earliest stars continued to play basketball after graduation on the independent team organized by Carmel Dentist Albert B. Claypool in The Carmel Kelts were a powerhouse right out of the gate, outscoring their opponents in the first fifteen games. xxxix Like the speedy Greyhounds, the Kelts were celebrated for their fast game and were recognized as one of the best teams in the state. Their record from 1918 to 1925 was an impressive xl xli Many of Carmel's great athletes of the past played for the Kelts, including Edgar Cotton, who coached the Greyhounds for many years, Sam Purcell, Fred Roeder, Lowell Wade, and Wyatt Carey. The high school team often played curtainraisers before well attended Kelts games. Sam Purcell recalled a particularly raucous game against a Butler University team. Ol Bill Rayle was a clever little forward for us, and one of our fans thought he was getting roughed up too much, so the fan called one of those Butler players an S.O.B. and that s when it broke out. One of the Butler players got knocked out cold, so a couple of us dragged him into the dressing room. The old doctor took one look at him, kicked him in the ribs and said, Wake up, you. About that time, they dragged in another one of their players. And when I looked outside, it was just a free for all. After that, we could count on about eight people coming to our games. xlii The Kelts continued to play basketball until at least 1944, but they were their best in the first seven seasons. xliii i Sheridan Weekly Sun 22 Oct 1903 ii Ibid. iii Sheridan Weekly Sun 18 Feb 1904 iv Boxley vs. Arcadia Basketball. Sheridan News 20 Nov 1903 v 80 Years of Memories Live on for Sam Pursel. Carmel News Journal 18 Jun 1968: 5. vi Sheridan Weekly Sun 25 Feb 1904 vii Hinshaw, Phil. The Heritage of Carmel. Rowland, 1987: 100. viii Carmel High School Alumni Directory. Alumni Research, ix Boxell, Bob. Carmel Lumberjacks: Better Watch Out. The Hamiltonian 10 Feb 1979: 13. x Hinshaw, Phil. xi Tournament Disadvantages. The Call Leader (Elwood, IN) 30 Mar 1938: 6. xii The Pennant 1916 xiii Boxell, Bob. Carmel Lumberjacks: Better Watch Out. The Hamiltonian Feb 10, 1979: 9. xiv Hinshaw, Phil. xv The Pennant xvi Hinshaw, Phil. xvii The Pennant xviii Smith, Dorothy. Westfield Topped Hounds by 100 Points. Carmel Topics n.d. Print. Collection of Carmel Clay Historical Society, Carmel, IN. xix Smith, Dorothy. xx Westfield Quintet Wins the Hamilton County Title. Indianapolis News Feb xxi Smith, Dorothy. xxii Basketball. Carmel Standard 30 May 1919: 6 xxiii Flu Epidemic Becomes Serious Here Again. Noblesville Daily Ledger 19 Nov 1918: 1. xxiv Flu Ban has been Lifted in Carmel. Noblesville Daily Ledger 21 Dec 1918: 1. xxv Hendricks, Thomas A. Basketballitis Epidemic Now Sweeping Indiana a Manifestation of the American Fighting Spirit that Won in the Argonne Forest. Indianapolis News 13 Mar 1920: 15. xxvi Smith, Dorothy. xxvii Boxell, Bob. xxviii Ibid. xxix Hendricks, Thomas A. xxx Ibid. xxxi William Herschell Levi Evans, Good Janitor, Whose Virtues are Extolled in Bronze, Not Forgotten

7 when Carmel Occupied its New $175,000 High School. Indianapolis News 10 Oct 1922: 21. xxxii Hinshaw, Phil. xxxiii Long Time Between Titles n.d. Print. Collection of Carmel Clay Historical Society, Carmel, IN. xxxiv Indianapolis Star 24 Dec xxxv Dark Horse vs. Dark Horse Indianapolis News 17 Mar xxxvi Indianapolis Star 13 Mar 1925 xxxvii Little Carmel. Indianapolis Star 17 Mar 1925: 13. xxxviii Noblesville Daily Ledger 21 Mar 1925: 1. xxxix Carmel Five Playing Fast Game. Indianapolis Star 16 Feb xl Carmel Kelts Coming. Indianapolis News 25 Feb xli Turners Win Final Game. Indianapolis News 2 Mar 1925 xlii 80 Years of Memories Live on for Sam Pursel. xliii Kokomo Tribune (Kokomo, IN) 2 Dec 1944.