DOVER - The basketball tournament season bursts on Tuscarawas County in full bloom Thursday night when the 11 teams of the county's Class B League begin the competition which ultimately leads down the glory road to District and State Championship contests. Opening at Memorial Hall here with a program of 4 games Thursday night, the county event will continue through this weekend and wind up the following week with the qualification of 3 teams...winner, runner-up and Consolation victor...for the Sectional meeting which will be held at Memorial Hall the 1st weekend in March.
The Midvale Blue Devils, winner of the Eastern Ohio District title for 2 straight years, is given little chance to withstand the gruelling competition of the county event, much less survive Sectional and later District play to successfully defend its title. The Blue Devils last season won the county tournament and went through the Sectional and District meets to annex its 2nd straight title. Second-year Head Coach Pete Wolfe's crew defeated the Dundee Bulldogs 29-24 in last year's county Championship game, while the Gnadenhutten Indians...leading Champion this season...went into the Sectional meeting by virtue of a 22-20 triumph over the Strasburg Tigers in the Consolation final.
Gnaden, with its League title and record of 20-1, is accorded the unwanted role of favorite with the Bolivar Cardinals, the only team to reverse the Indians during the season, picked as the number 2 combination. But it's a long and rocky road leading to tournament laurels and especially when the contestants must be continually facing such opposition as the Stone Creek Golden Panthers, Strasburg, the Tuscarawas Broncos and the Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates, all capable of upsetting even the strongest of the quints in the county and thus throw the race wide open for all comers.
Thursday night's opening show in the tournament puts the Mineral City Tigers and Stone Creek on the floor to raise the curtain at 6PM with the other 3, Bolivar vs Baltic, the Port Washington Purple Riders vs Tusky and Dundee vs Sugarcreek-Shanesville. Friday night Gnaden and Midvale open the program at 7PM with a regular tournament game followed by Strasburg against the winner of the Mineral City-Stone Creek tilt at 8PM. The Consolation Division begins action at 9PM with the loser of the Mineral City-Stone Creek contest facing the loser of the Baltic-Bolivar tangle.
The teams continue the elimination Saturday and return next week for the semi-finals and finals. Edward Adams of Akron and John Gabor of Alliance will referee all tournament games.
Tuesday, February 17, 1942
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio
FINAL LEAGUE STANDINGS (1941-42)
1. Gnadenhutten Indians (Ralph W. Gartrell-1) 10-0 1.000 (1st Title)
2. Bolivar Cardinals (John A Major-2) 8-2 .800
3. Tuscarawas Broncos (Charmis Davis-14) 8-2 .800
4. Dundee Bulldogs (Ken Gartrell-3) 6-4 .600
5. Stone Creek Golden Panthers (M.R. Helwick-1) 6-4 .600
6. Strasburg Tigers (Clayton Kessler-1) 6-4 .600
7. Midvale Blue Devils (Pete Wolfe-2) 4-6 .400
8. Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates (Sylvester Harmon-3) 4-6 .400
9. Port Washington Purple Riders (Walter J. Meade-7) 2-8 .200
10. Baltic Eagles (Armand M. Falace-1) 1-9 .100
11. Mineral City Tigers (Leo M. Thomas-1) 0-10 .000
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