Gnadenhutten High School as seen in 1943. This year it is the home of the Gnadenhutten Indians (17-4) winners of the Tuscarawas County Class B Basketball Champions. In fact, it is the 2nd straight year for the Champions and the 3rd since 1923, the beginning of the tournments.
The 1943 Tuscarawas County Tourament Champions. TOP ROW: Bill Drumm - Bill Kilchenman and Bob Long. MIDDLE ROW: Head Coach Ken Gartrell - Manager Chuck Miller - Walter Gutensoho - Ray Huebner - Manager Bill Vansickle and Faculty Manager Mr. Johnson. FRONT ROW: Co-Captain Ken Kohl - George Schupp - Chuck Glauser - Ralph Long - Bill Martin and Co-Captain Bill Lockett.
Gnadenhutten Indians Cheerleading Squad: Jane Miller - Donna Rice and Jean Kohl.
Gnadenhutten Indians Sophomore Forward Bill Martin who's 10 points led the Indians to a close 24-23 victory over the Bolivar Cardinals in their Championship contest. Martin has scored 28 points in 3 games for an average of 9.3 points per game.
DOVER - The banner emblematic of the Tuscarawas County Class B Basketball Championship flew proudly today over the Gnadenhutten High School for the 2nd consecutive year as a result of Head Coach Ken Gartrell's Indians (3-0) (33-23) (17-4) thrilling 33-32 triumph over the Bolivar Cardinals (2-1) (33-24) (13-9) in the tournament final at Memorial Hall on Saturday night. One of the 2 pre-tournament favorites with the Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates who they eliminated on Friday night, the Redskins were expected to dispose of Head Coach John Major's Cardinals without too much trouble, but they rammed head-on into an alert, scrappy club that played so much Grade A basketball that the Indians victory wasn't clinched until the timer's buzzer called off hostilities in a game that could have gone to Bolivar just as easily as to Gnaden.
The victory gave to Gnaden the coveted Daily Reporter Trophy for the tournament winner. The individual members of the squad each received sterling silver minature basketballs on which is engraved the word "Champions." Bolivar carried home the runner-up trophy given by the Sanitary Milk Company of Dover and bronze individual miniature balls. The individual trophies were donated by the E. Fienberg Company, the Marsh Wall Products, Inc. and the S. Toomey Company. The ball used during the tournament also went to the victors as a trophy. It was donated by the Godfrey Electric Company. A crowd of only about 700, smallest to witness a Championship final in many years, was in the gym when the 2 teams collided. Total paid admissions for the entire tournament hit 3,104 as compared with 5,479 last year which set the all-time record, according to County Supt. W.E. Laws, who was Tournament Manager.
Bolivar might well blame its defeat on inaccuracy at the free throw line where the Cardinals hit a .500 percent mark, but lost out on 12 chances. Gnaden outscored the losers from the field 15 to 10, but had only 12 cracks at the hoop from the charity stripe against 24 given the Red Birds. The game see-sawed throughout the 1st three quarters and was tied once in the final before the Redskins gained a slight advantage and then clung to it like mad until the game had ended.
Senior foward Warren Klink, 4-year All-County Star and winner of All-State renown, paced the Red Birds and copped individual honors with 18 points (8 field goals and 2 free throws), while Sophomore forward Bill Martin of Gnaden headed up his team with 10 points. Klink's great work all over the floor and his big scoring job, plus an almost super-human presence under the basket by his teammate, center Russ Ross, kept the Cardinals in the running. Klink sank the 1st three field goals he tossed at the hoop and was able to hit with better-than-average percentage throughout the game.
Under the impetus of his 3 baskets, the Cardinals all but matched the Indians scoring in the 1st period, but a pair of baskets by Senior center Ralph Long, single shots by Martin and Senior guard Ken Kohl and a basket and free throw by Senior forward Bill Lockett gave the Redskins an 11-10 bulge in the opening stanza. Bolivar went up 13-11 on a free throw by guard Keene Lebold and a basket by Klink, but Gnaden tied the count there and went on ahead 15-13 with Martin and Long getting action shots. Klink tied it at 15 with a shot from the middle of the foul circle and then Kohl sank a long heave to give Gnadenhutten a 17-15 edge at halftime.
Bolivar outscored Gnaden 8 to 5 in the 3rd period on 2 field goals and a free throw by Klink and a single free throw each by Lebold, Ross and guard Bill Zutavern. Martin contributed 2 field goals and Junior forward Bill Kilchenman a free throw for the Redskins as the Cardinals forged into a 23-22 lead at the end of the period.
A steady parade of players to the bench, banished on personal fouls and a number of misunderstandings over the whistle blowing of the referees slowed up action considerably in the final quarter, but early in the period Gnaden jumped to a 24-23 edge when Martin missed a free throw, but followed up with a bucket. Guard Jim Augsburger tallied a free throw and tied it, but seconds later Ross fouled Senior forward Chuck Glauser and the latter sank the shot to give the Indians the lead they never lost. The foul sent Ross to the showers.
Gnaden led 27-24, 29-25, 31-26 and 33-27 before the time ran down to 3 minutes. There Bolivar rallied and in a half a minute boostered their score to 32. Thus both teams finished the last 2 and a half minutes of the game without scoring; although, the situation remained tense up to the final second. Gnaden missed a free throw and then Bolivar missed 3 in a row and then with barely a second remaining a foul was called on Klink, his 1st of the game and Kohl elected to take the ball out of bounds in preference to the free throw. The buzzer sounded almost as the receiver took the ball from his hands.
The Gnadenhutten Indians, defending Eastern Ohio District Champions, by the victory had marked up its 3rd tournament championship and had won its way to the Sectional meeting for the 4th consecutive year. Redskins ruled the tourney roust in 1942 and 1930 before this new triumph. Last year they defeated the Tuscarawas Broncos 56-39 in the finals.
GNADENHUTTEN INDIANS - 33
Bill Lockett F 3-1-7
Bill Martin F 5-0-10
Ralph Long C 4-0-8
George Schupp G 1-0-2
Ken Kohl G 2-0-4
Bill Kilchenman G 0-1-1
Chuck Clauser G 0-1-1
H. Long C 0-0-0
BOLIVAR CARDINALS - 32
Warren Klink F 8-2-18
Keene Lebold F 1-5-7
Russ Ross C 1-1-3
Bill Zutavern G 0-2-2
Jim Augsberger G 0-1-1
Homer Class C 0-0-0
Paul Lab C 0-1-1
Monday, March 1, 1943
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio
ALL-COUNTY TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1ST TEAM
FORWARD - Warren Klink (Bolivar Cardinals)
FORWARD - Bill Lockett (Gnadenhutten Indians)
CENTER - Russ Ross (Bolivar Cardinals)
GUARD - Ken Kohl (Gnadenhutten Indians)
GUARD - Junior Trachsel (Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates)
2ND TEAM
FORWARD - Bob Roush (Strasburg Tigers)
FORWARD - Bill Martin (Gnadenhutten Indians)
CENTER - Ralph Long (Gnadenhutten Indians)
GUARD - Bill Ridenour (Stone Creek Golden Panthers)
GUARD - Jim Neff (Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates)
EASTERN OHIO SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT
FRIDAY 3-5-43
Augusta Blue Devils vs Bolivar Cardinals 7PM
Gnadenhutten Indians vs Berlin Blue Jays 8PM
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