47 - Right Down The Line

RIGHT DOWN THE LINE
With Harry Yockey
Wednesday, February 12, 1947
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

FIRST NIGHTER:  Writers and scorekeepers were more than ready to call it a full evening when Junior forward Floyd Blackwell, substitute Tuscarawas cager, dropped in a free throw to wind up the scoring for the initial round of the Class B Tournament last night.  His toss made the 411th point that was tallied in the 4 games.  Headed by the 92 points meshed by Tusky and the 70 scored by Strasburg, the winning teams amassed a total of 250 with the losers aggregating 164.

Only a handful of the 1,600 fans were on hand for the finish.  Even many of the Broncos' followers departed at halftime after Tuscarawas had soared into a 42-19 lead.  And, 3 minutes after the last shot had been fired Custodian Bill Berndt and his helpers were busy cleaning up the large amount of popcorn boxes and similar debris left by the fans.  Needless to say, the refreshment stand did a land office business inasmuch as many of the fans were on hand before 6PM.  The hungry late-stayers found only ice cream and pop available, a big supply of hot dogs had gone with the crowd.

I thought Referees Nick Fraszella of Akron and Vally Dirodis of Cuyahoga Falls did an exceptionally fine job in handling the 4 games.  They called a total of 141 personals with the least number 29 being assessed in the Port Washington-Baltic battle.  Some minutes after Blackwell entered the game for Tusky, the officials charged him with a technical for failing to report to the official scorekeeper the fact that he had traded jerseys with Junior center George Kopp, who was wearing No. 11.  Several of Blackwell's 10 points were credited to Kopp before the officials discovered the error.  Head Coach Pete Wolfe of Midvale was scouting from the press box and called our attention to the change when Blackwell went into the contest.

Benny (Whitey) Cox of Tuscarawas was the only boy cheerleader in action last night.  He was flanked by Helen Wilson and Edith Wertenberger.  Although they didn't have too much to cheer about, Dundee's 3 yell leaders...Jane Zurcher, Grace Wright and Dorothy Deetz...drew applause for their snappy performances.  When the crowd smilingly booed Strasburg's Champions when they took the floor the Tiger cheerleaders...Beverly Bixler, Mary Hensel, Sally Snyder and Joan Humman...went into action and let the team know it had plenty of supporters in the stands.  The Stone Creek trio of Virginia Pfeiffer, Patsy Metzger and Sally Raber had the least excuse of all to cheer as their Golden Panthers were humbled by Tusky, but they never gave up in the face of defeat and still were coaxing a few cheers at the finish.

Leading the Baltic aggregation were Virginia Westover, Wilma Rausenbach and Patsy Zinkon, while Donna Bates, Shirley Peters and Norma Hammersley performed for Port Washington.  Gnaden cheers were led by Harriet Hamilton, Helen Huebner and Ruth Jean Crouse, while Jackie Koontz, Teresa Huth and Pauline Heid did the honors for Bolivar.

Guards Junior Lundenberger and Dick Mase of Bolivar appeared to be the best long-range shooters on the court last night.  Lundenberger, along with teammates forward Dallas Seward and center Lee Lundenberger had drawn 4 personals each before the 3rd quarter was over.  Both Lundenbergers, who are not brothers, drew their 5th personals in the last 2 minutes and their departure "robbed" Bolivar of any chance for victory.

Head Coach Jim Rogers of Tuscarawas, dean of the tournament coaches, still is using a cane as the result of an injury sustained in an auto crash several weeks ago...Recorded music kept the fans entertained at all quarters...Firemen and policemen were on hand in the tournament management's compliance with a request by city and State officials...At 5:30PM spectators were standing in line from Memorial Hall to 4th Street and down 4th to Schwindt Court...Supt. W.E. Laws is the tourney manager, while J.F. Zack is chairman of the official timers who included Jerry Baird (Port Washington High School Principal), M.R. Helwick, P.O. Cochran and R. M. Virtue.  The official scorers, headed by G.E. Schumacher, are Karl Bodenbender, G.W. Jeandrevin, T.U. White and N.R. Ogg.  Harold Everett has charge of the public address system.

47 - Tusky Strong-Arms Stone Creek 92-43 (2-11-47)

George Gopp of Tuscarawas leaps above Stone Creek's Duane Arbogast to register oneof the 41 baskets the Broncos tallied in rolling to a 92-53 victory over the Golden Panthers in last night's Class B tournament action.  Also in the picture are joe Kerris (7) of Tuscarawas and Dick Gasser (8) and Dick Kugler (5) of the Golden Panthers.  At the right is referee Nick Frascella.

Tuscarawas Broncos 1947 Basketball Team.  FRONT:  George Mourodzis - Floyd Blackwell - George Kopp - Joe Kerns - Loyal Bishop - Dale McDonald - Andy Steve and Ralph Lahm.  BACK:  Head Coach Jim Rogers - Howard Tharp - Ray Vesco - Rich Klein - Harold Crites - Joe Roth - Don Wertenberger - Jim Riley - Steve Pasquinelli and William Dessecken (Manager).

Stone Creek Golden Panthers 1947 Basketball Team.  FRONT:  Dick Kugler - Verle Buehler - Duane Arbogast - Dick Gasser and Bob Buehler.  BACK:  Head Coach Bill Arbogast - Bob Shaw - Harold Ridenour - Roger Reifensnyder - Bill Huffman - Jim Pfeiffer and Dale Kilchenman (Manager).


DOVER - Marked by one of the greatest opening-night barrages the Tuscarawas County Class B Tournament has ever witnessed, the Annual Classic got under way Tuesday night at Memorial Hall as the Strasburg Tigers and Tuscarawas Broncos rolled to easy victories with the Port Washington Purple Riders and Gnadenhutten Indians capturing hard-fought battles before a crowd of 1,600 fans, including 1,245 who paid.

The Tigers, Champions of the Class B League and defending tourney titlists, captured their 21st triumph in 22 games by turning back the Dundee Bulldogs 70-30.  But, the Broncos uncorked the heaviest bombardment as it roared to a 92-53 rout of the hapless Stone Creek Golden Panthers to gain the semi-finals of the upper bracket.  The Purple Riders, showing little ill effects from an epidemic of mumps, dropped the Baltic Eagles into the Consolation Division with a 43-37 win, while the Indians surprised the Bolivar Cardinals 45-41 in the best game on the program.

The Tuscarawas Broncos (1-0) (17-4) (30-28) mangled the Stone Creek Golden Panthers (0-1) (0-17) (11-27) by a whopping score of 92-43.  During the season, the Broncos clobbered the Golden Panthers 68-36.

Tusky rode to a commanding 20-11 nine-point lead in the 1st quarter.  The 2nd quarter mirror pretty much the 1st quarter with Broncos hitting 22 points and Stone Creek getting 8 as the half ended 42-19.  The Panthers actually led the scoring in the 3rd stanza with 18 points and the Blue Riders getting 16...Tusky 58-37.  The Reserves of both teams ruled the 4th quarter with Tusky hitting 34 and the Golden Panthers popping another 16 points.

Tuscarawas center Loyal Bishop gained game honors and flooded the hoops for 23 points, while his teammates Junior center George Kopp, Junior forward Joe Kerns, Senior forward Andy Steve, Senior forward Ralph Lahm and Junior forward Floyd Blackwell hit the baskets for 16, 13, 11, 10, and 10 points, respectively.  Stone Creek was led by forward Verle Buehler's 18 points, while his fellow team cagers center Duane Arbogast and forward Harold Ridenour picked up 15 and 10 points, respectively.

TUSCARAWAS BRONCOS - 70

Joe Kerns F 6-1-13
Andy Steve F 4-3-11
Loyal Bishop C 11-1-23
Steve Pasquinelli G 1-0-2
Dale McDonald G 1-1-3
George Kopp C 7-2-16
Howard Tharp G 2-0-4
George Mourodzis G 0-0-0
Ralph Lahm F 5-0-10
Floyd Blackwell F 4-2-10

STONE CREEK GOLDEN PANTHERS - 30

Harold Ridenour F 3-4-10
Verle Buehler F 6-6-18
Duane Arbogast C 4-7-15
Dick Gasser G 1-0-2
Dick Kugler G 3-0-6
Jim Pfeiffer G 1-0-2
Luther G 0-0-0


Wednesday, February 12, 1947
Harry Yockey, Right Down The Line
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

THURSDAY 2-13-47

Midvale vs Sugarcreek-Shanesville 7PM
Mineral City vs Port 8PM
Baltic vs Dundee 9PM (C)

47 - Gnaden Upsets Bolivar 45-41 (2-11-47)

BACKBOARD SCRAMBLE.  Members of the Gnadenhutten and Bolivar teams fight for a rebound in the best game of the opening night program.  Gnaden won the duel 45-41) in the last 2 minutes.  Players in the scramble are Jim Lindon (8) of Gnadenhutten, Vorrus Stumborg (33) and Junior Murray (29) of Bolivar.  Facing the camera is lanky Al Reiser of the winners.

Gnadenhutten Indians 1947 Basketball Team.  FRONT:  Dale Brick - Jim Lindon - Al Reiser - Gene Montague and Wayne Gallagher.  BACK:  Tom Coolidge - Jerry Virtue - Lloyd Kail - Dick Frey - Fred Crouse and Bob Peter (Manager).

Gnadenhutten Indians 1947 Basketball Cheerleaders.  Junior (Top) Harriet Hamilton - Senior (Bottom Right) Helen Huebner -  Freshman (Bottom Left) Ruth Jean Crouse.

Bollivar Cardinals 1947 Basketball Team.  FRONT:  Vorrus Stumborg - Bill Haueter - Junior Lundenberger - Lee Lundenberger and Dick Mase.  BACK:  Head Coach Ray Blickensderfer - Dal Seward - Delmar Lewis - Hubert Ackerman - Junior Murray - Charles Swonger and Sam Seward (Manager).


DOVER - The Gnadenhutten Indians (1-0) (11-10) (38-29) upset the hard charging Bolivar Cardinals (0-1) (13-6) (36-31) 45-41 last night in the confines of  Memorial Hall.  The 2 cager teams met twice during regular season play.  The 1st time they met, Gnaden won 40-31, but lost the 2nd contest 59-40.

The Indians captured its thriller with the Cardinals in the last 2 minutes of the game after Bolivar had waged an uphill battle to knot the score at 41-all.  Loss of center Lee and guard Junior Lundenbarger (no relation) on personals with less than 2 minutes left blasted the Cardinal hopes.

A free throw by Sophomore forward Gene Montague put Gnaden in front 42-41 and then Sophomore forward Jim Lindon caged a sucker shot with a half-minute left to ice the verdict; although, Montague netted another free throw before the final buzzer.  Montague paced the winning attack with 14 points, while forward Junior Murry gathered 16 markers and game honors for Bolivar.

The Tribe took a 3-0 lead in the opening minute on a rebound by Montague and a free throw by Senior guard Bob Hearing and stayed ahead until the closing seconds of the 3rd stanza.  Gnaden then held margins of 11-5 and 26-19 in the 1st half of play, but the Red Birds outscored the Indians 7 to 1 in the 1st 4 minutes of the 3rd period to trim Gnadenhutten's lead to 27-26.  Following Lindon's rebound, Murray scored 6 straight points to put the Cardinals in front 32-29 with Montague sinking a pivot toss as the quarter ended.

The 1st four minutes of the final frame saw Gnaden outpoint Bolivar 8 to 2 for a 39-34 edge, but Murray and Junior Lundenberger caged action shots and then repeated following a field goal by Montague to knot the count at 41-all.  Then came the exciting finish.

GNADENHUTTEN INDIANS - 45

Gene Montague F 6-2-14
Jim Lindon F 4-0-8
Al Reiser C 4-0-8
Bob Hearing G 4-1-9
Jerry Virtue G 1-4-6
Fred Crouse G 0-0-0

BOLIVAR CARDINALS - 41

Dal Seward F 1-0-2
Junior Murray F 5-6-16
Lee Lundenberger C 5-0-10
Dick Mase G 2-0-4
Junior Lundenberger G 4-0-8
Chuck Swonger F 0-1-1
Vorrus Stumborg G 0-0-0
Bill Haueter G 0-0-0
Delmar Lewis G 0-0-0


Wednesday, February 12, 1947
Harry Yockey, Right Down The Line
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

47 - Strasburg Slams Dundee 70-30 (2-11-47)

Strasburg Tigers 1947 Basketball Team.  FRONT:  John Haswell - Jim Weber - John Reiger - Rich Froman and Tom Miller.  BACK:  Head Coach Emmet Riley - Dean Beitzel - Marvin Jeffers - Clarence "Junior" Yackey - Tom Haswell and Roland Mulcuit.

Dundee Bulldogs 1947 Basketball Team.  FRONT:  Warren Snyder - Bud Walter - Bob Gardner - Ken Seam - Paul Kate and Dean Landis.  BACK:  Head Coach Paul Baker - Stanley Immel - Ralph King - Ken Jones - Bob Gerber and Quentin Schwartz.


DOVER - The Strasburg Tigers (1-0) (21-1) (66-17) rolled over the Dundee Bulldogs (0-1) (5-8) (19-35) last night at Memorial Hall 70-30.  The Tigers had entirely too much height and finesse for the Bulldogs with Junior center Clarence "Junior" Yackey, 6-5 and Senior guard Marvin Jeffers, 6-1, controlling both bankboards.  Strasburg handed Dundee a 58-21 loss in their only game during the season.

Ahead only 12-6 at the close of the opening quarter, Strasburg widened its advantage to 28-10 at halftime by outscoring Dundee 16 to 4.  The Tigers continued the mauling by outscoring the Bulldogs 22 to 2 as the scoreboard read 59-12  and icing the contest in the 3rd stanza.

Yackey accounted for 19 points and game honors, while his teammate Tom Haswell collected 16 markers as 9 of the 10 Strasburg cagers broke into the scoring column.  The rangy center made 12 of his total in the 1st half as Haswell tallied 8 in the 3rd quarter.  The Tigers held guard Paul Kate, the League's leading scorer, to just 7 points with forward Bud Walter gaining a like number for Dundee.

STRASBURG TIGERS - 70

Roland Malcuit F 2-0-4
Dean Beitzel F 3-1-7
Clarence Yackey C 7-5-19
Marvin Jeffers G 4-1-9
Jim Weber F 2-1-5
Lewin Vermillion C 3-0-6
Tom Miller G 0-1-1
John Haswell G 1-1-3
John Riger F 0-0-0

DUNDEE BULLDOGS

Ken Seam F 1-3-5
Bud Walter F 3-1-7
Bob Gardner C 2-2-6
Ralph King G 1-3-5
Paul Kate G 3-1-7
Warren Snyder F 0-0-0
Bob Gerber G 0-0-0
Stanley Immel F 0-0-0
Dean Landis G 0-0-0
Ken Jones G 0-0-0


Wednesday, February 12, 1947
Harry Yockey, Right Down The Line
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

47 - Port Washington Drops Baltic 43-37 (2-11-47)

Port Washington Purple Riders 1947 Basketball Team.  FRONT:  Jack Davies - Harold Huston - Vernon Furbay - Dick Corbett and Harold Gallion.  BACK:  Head Coach Bray Toot - Bob Jones - Paul Day - Ken Steinbach - Bob Frank - Harold Weber and Bill Shepard (Manager).

Baltic Eagles 1947 Basketball Team.  FRONT:  Bill Snyder - Don Zinkon - Marvin Dietz - Bill Brown and Bob Stauffer.  BACK:  Head Coach George Graff - Dean Gerber - Willie Gardner and Myron Pepper.


DOVER - The Port Washington Purple Riders (1-0) (10-6) (10-32) knocked off the favored Baltic Eagles (0-1) (7-11) (23-35) in the 1st game of the Tuscarawas County 25th Annual Class B Basketball Tournament 43-37 at Memorial Hall last night.

The Purple Riders rode to an opening quarter 17-11 score for a 6 point advantage as Port started the period 3-0 and was never headed.  The Eagles out scored the Riders 9 to 8 in the 2nd period and was looking at a 25-20 five-point deficent at halftime intermission.  Port was outscored again in the 3rd stanza 10-9, but continued command a 34-30 four-point lead going into the 4th and final quarter.  The Eagles managed to tied the Purple Riders late in the 1st half of the contest 20-20 and was to tied them again in the last period with less than 4 minutes remaining at 35-35.

Port Washington's one handed action shot by Sophomore guard Dick Corbett and a jump shot by Junior forward Harold Gallion pushed the Purple Riders forward with a 4-point lead 39-35.  Baltic's Senior forward Dean Gerber dropped in a 2-pointer before Corbett caged a free throw and Gallion followed him with a bunny to end the Eagle's chances of a victory at 42-37.  A free throw by Junior Jack Davies after the final buzzer completed the scoring 43-37.

Another well-balenced attack with Corbett snatching up game honors leading Port Washington with 11 points, while his teammate Gallion tossed in another 10 points to lead their team to victory.  Baltic was led by Gerber who dropped in 10 markers for his cagers.

Port Washington had won their one and only game during the season against Baltic 42-33.

PORT WASHINGTON PURPLE RIDERS - 43

Harold Gallion F 5-0-10
Paul Day F 1-2-4
Harold Huston C 1-4-6
Dick Corbett G 5-1-11
Jack Davies G 3-2-8
Vernon Furbay G 1-2-4

BALTIC EAGLES - 37

Dean Gerber F 4-2-10
Willis Gardner F 3-2-8
Marvin Dietz C 2-1-5
Don Zinkon G 1-0-2
Bill Brown G 2-0-4
Myron Pepper G 2-0-4
Bob Stauffer G 1-2-4
Eiler G 0-0-0


Wednesday, February 12, 1947
Harry Yockey, Right Down The Line
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

47 - 25th Annual Tuscarawas County Class B Basketball Tournament 1947

 
                                                                           

DOVER - Memorial Hall will echo with the cheers of a capacity throng tonight as a band of basketeers from the County Class B League, braving odds of 1,000 to 1, open the bids of their respective schools for the elusive Ohio Championship.  The fact that Tuscarawas County has never won the Buckey bunting in Class B competition will not deter the 11 quintets, 8 of which will see action tonight in 4 contests.  The closest the county has come to snaring the crown was years back when Frank Baumholtz led the Midvale Blue Devils into the semi-finals at Columbus before the Blue Devils were stopped.

Tonight's opening game at 6PM will pit the Baltic Eagles (7-10) against the Port Washington Purple Riders (9-6) with the Strasburg Tigers (20-1), League and defending Champion for the 2nd straight season, engaging the Dundee Bulldogs (5-7) at 7PM.  The Gnadenhutten Indians (10-10) and the Bolivar Cardinals (13-5) will clash at 8PM with the Tuscarawas Broncos (16-4) meeting the Stone Creek Golden Panthers (0-16) at 9PM.  Warfare will resume on Thursday night when the Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates (17-4) and the Midvale Blue Devils (10-11) collide at 7PM.  The Mineral City Tigers (4-12), which drew a bye, will meet the Baltic-Port victor at 8PM with the Dundee-Strasburg loser playing the Baltic-Port loser at 9PM.

Strasburg, on the strength of its League record of 10 wins without a loss, is favored to retain the Championship with Sugarcreek-Shanesville and Tuscarawas rated as the No. 1 and 2 threats to the Tigers' supremacy.  The latter 2 clubs tied for 2nd place in the loop chase with 8-2 records.  Baltic gets a slight nod over Port Washington in tonight's opener.  The Eagles pinned a 42-33 loss on the Purple Riders during the regular season and while Port has a better record , its squad was hit 2 weeks ago by an epidemic of the mumps and naturally will be at a disadvantage.

Paced by Willie Gardner, who meshed 88 points in League competition, Baltic averaged 40.5 points per game.  The Eagles' foes averaged 35.7.  Port, sparked by Jack Davies and Harold Huston, who meshed 99 and 87 points, respectively in the League, averaged 42.6 points per duel, while permitting 39.5.  The Purple Riders finished 5th in the circuit and Baltic tied Mineral City for 9th.

Strasburg isn't expected to have too much trouble in knocking Dundee into the Consolation Division.  The Tigers toppled the Bulldogs 58-21 on January 31st and will enter the fray with a season offensive average of 46.7 against a defensive mark of 27.8.  Clarence "Junior" Yackey, 6-5 center, notched 155 points for Strasburg in 10 loop games, while Tom Haswell tallied 108.  Dundee, which garnered 7th place in the League, boasts the League's hottest individual pointmaker in Paul Kate, who meshed 187, while Bud Walter gathered 119.  The Bulldogs, over the season, averaged 42.6 per contest, while allowing 45.8.

Bolivar's 4th place Cardinals, rated by some as the tournament darkhorse, should get past 6th place Gnadenhutten.  The Cardinals are led by Junior Murray and Junior Lundenberger, who netted 150 and 127 points, respectively, while Jim Linden and Gene Montague paced the Indians with 88 and 84.  Playing 18 games, Bolivar owns the best offensive average in the circuit with 48.2 per contest, allowing the opposition 39.2.  The Indians meshed 39.2 per contest and permitted 42.0 in the regular campaign.

Tuscarawas also is favored to turn back Stone Creek, having defeated the Golden Panthers 68-36 in their lone loop duel.  The Broncos have 3 dangerous scoring threats in Loyal Bishop, Andy Steve and Dale McDonald, who harvested 155, 92 and 84 in 20 games as the Broncos hit a 45.8 pace against 37.1 for its rivals.  The Panthers, who didn't win a contest in 16 tries, will be primed for an upset, but the odds are against them.  With Duane Arbogast hitting 111 points and Verle Bushler 110 for the season, Stone Creek compiled an offensive mark of 35.1, but yielded on an average of 58.1 to its opponents.

Officials for the tournament will be Valy Dirodis of Cuyahoga Falls and Nick Frascella of Akron.


Tuesday, February 11, 1947
Harry Yockey, Right Down The Line
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

TUSCARAWAS COUNTY CLASS B BASKETBALL LEAGUE (1946-47)

1.  Strasburg Tigers (Emmet Riley-4) 10-0 1.000 (13th Title)
2.  Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates (Bill Ott-1) 8-2 .800
3.  Tuscarawas Broncos (Jim Rogers-4) 8-2 .800
4.  Bolivar Cardinals (Ray Blickenderfer-1) 7-3 .700
5.  Port Washington Purple Riders (Bray Toot-1) 5-4 .555
6.  Gnadenhutten Indians (Tom Coolidge-1) 5-5 .500
7.  Dundee Bulldogs (Paul Baker-2) 4-6 .400
8.  Midvale Blue Devils (Pete Wolfe-4) 3-6 .333
9.  Baltic Eagles (George Graff-1) 2-8 .200
10. Mineral City Tigers (Bob Tawzer-1) 2-8 .200
11. Stone Creek Golden Panthers (Bill Arbogast-1) 0-10 .000

TUSCARAWAS COUNTY CLASS B BASKETBALL SEASON (1946-47)

1.  Strasburg Tigers 20-1 .952
2.  Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates 17-4 .810
3.  Tuscarawas Broncos 16-4 .800
4.  Bolivar Cardinals 13-5 .722
5.  Port Washington Purple Riders 9-6 .600
6.  Gnadenhutten Indians 10-10 .500
7.  Midvale Blue Devils 10-11 .476
8.  Dundee Bulldogs 5-7 .416
9.  Baltic Eagles 7-10 .412
10. Mineral City Tigers 4-12 .250
11. Stone Creek Golden Panthers 0-16 .000

46 - Jim Rogers To Turn Job Back To Davis

TUSCARAWAS - James L. Rogers, 67, Tuscarawas High School's "duration" athletic coach, announced today that he will turn his coaching position back to Charmis Davis, the school's former mentor, at the close of the present school term in accordance with an agreement with school officials when Davis enlisted in the armed forces.  Davis, the oldest coach in point of service in the County Class B League was discharged from the service last fall and returned to the faculty at Tuscarawas.

During his 3 years as Head Coach in Davis' absence, Coach Rogers produced highly successful teams.  In 3 season, his 6-man grid teams lost only one game.  He organized the school's first 11-man grid team last fall and the club won 2 of 4 games.  Rogers' basketball team the past season won 25 of 29 games, losing all 4 tilts to Strasburg's Tigers and the preceding year won 25 of 31 games.

Mr. Rogers will handle the Broncos' track team which is scheduled to participate in the county B meet next month.


Tuesday, April 9, 1946
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

NOTE:  Having the ability to look into the future at this point, I can say that Davis will hand back the basketball team coaching job to Jim Rogers for the 1947 season.

46 - Gene Mast Captain Navy Champions

 

SUGARCREEK - Gene (lefty) Mast, son of Mr. and Mrs. A.H. Mast of Sugarcreek, is making quite a name for himself in naval athletic circles in Hawaii.  Most, one of the classiest passers ever to show at Hawaii, is Captain of the Submarine base basketball team which won the Base Championship when it defeated the Camp Catlin Bulldogs.

During his 18 months in Hawaii, Mast has led the basketball team to the Championship, qualified in the Base Golf Tournament and has been taking tennis lessions from Bobby Riggs, former National Champion.  The former Sugarcreek-Shanesville star will be discharged from the Navy on or about June 1st.  At present he is a Seaman First Class and is handling athletic equipment.


Wednesday, April 3, 1946
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

46 - Strasburg By A Point - Not! 32-31 (3-16-46)

ATHENS - The Strasburg Tigers (9-1) (28-1), winners of 28 straight games and one of the greatest teams in the records of the school, today had packed away their basketball uniforms and returned to scholastic work after losing out by a single-point margin in the Regional Class B Tournament on Saturday night 32-31 to the Worthington Cardinals (29-4).  The Tigers took its 1st defeat when the Cardinals turned the trick in the final moments of a great ball game.

Strasburg, who compiled the best tournament and season record of any club in the history of the Strasburg school, fell short, just one step away from the State semi-finals when they played a slow 1st half and the final whistle caught them behind for the 1st time this year.  Although they lost out only 2 games away from a State Class B Championship, Head Coach Emmet Riley's club is holder of 3 Championships...the Tuscarawas County Class B League, the Tuscarawas County Tournament and the Eastern District Class B title.

The defeat of Strasburg left the State with only one undefeated Class B school, Waynesburg, which edged Akron Ellet 41-39 Saturday night at Youngstown for the right to enter the State finals weekend at Springfield.  A late start in the Worthington game, plus a bit of bad luck in the final 20 seconds of the contest spelled defeat for the Tigers after they had overcome a 9-point deficit and were apparently destined to snatch the game out of the fire.

Worthington drew 1st blood in the opening quarter when center Tom Hartman sank a shot from the pivot and countered again with a free throw.  It was the 2nd time he had been fouled by Sophomore Clarence "Junior" Yackey, big Tiger center, in the 1st few minutes.  Yackey tipped in a 2-pointer, but forward Earl Nash hit a field goal and a free throw to give the Cards a 6-2 lead before Sophomore forward Tom Haswell connected with an action shot.  Bill Hamilton hit a bucket before Haswell counted again and forward Joe Neds scored another before Senior forward John Garver cut the margin to 9-8 with a basket.  Hamilton hit 2 more buckets to give the Cardinals a 13-8 lead at the end of the quarter.  Haswell counted another field goal early in the 2nd quarter to reduce the lead to 13-10, but Strasburg failed to click for some time, while Hamilton, Nash and Hartman hit baskets to give Worthington a 19-10 lead.  Garver and Senior guard Joe Diebel slipped in field goals shortly before the half ended and Strasburg was behind 19-14.

Starting out the 3rd stanza, Strasburg sparked back into its old form and outscored Worthington 8 to 5 to cut the lead to 24-22 at the quarter end.  Junior forward Marvin Jeffers, who turned in a fast game during the 2nd half, opened the rally by hitting 2 free throw shots before Nash scored a bucket, but Haswell came back with a 2-pointer and a free toss to cut the lead to 21-19.  Nash counted a free throw, Yackey matched it and then Garver dropped in a field goal to knot the count at 22-all before Hartman hit a field goal to give Worthington the 24-22 nod at the end of the stanza.

Neds got away for a field goal at the start of the 4th quarter to give the Cards a 4-point lead, but Senior guard Fred Aul started hitting with an action shot, Jeffers added another and with a brilliant bit of passwork, Aul scored a lay-up with 4 minutes and 47 seconds to go to give the Tigers a 28-26 lead.  Kayner hit a field goal to tie the count and Jeffers counted a free throw and Strasburg was leading 29-28 with a little more than 3 minutes to go.  Jim Sheaf, substitute Cardinal forward, hooked a jump shot which rolled around the hoop and fell in and then Neds hurled a jump shot which bounded off the bankboard and plopped in to give Worthington a 32-29 lead with 3 minutes and 13 seconds left.

Aul hit another bucket for Strasburg and Worthington started to stall, doing it successfully until Hamilton tried to dribble through Garver and knocked him down, giving Garver a free throw with ony 20 seconds left and the count at 32-31.  Garver shot the ball striking the left side of the hoop and making one complete circle around before it dropped into a scramble of players.  Yackey was in the No. 1 position on the other side of the bucket, but couldn't get to it and the final whistle sounded before the Tigers got another chance.

In the final analysis, Worthington's 13-8 lead inthe 1st quarter of play paid off for the Cardinals for that wasw the only period during which they outscored the Tigers.  Strasburg made only 5 of 13 of their free throws, while the Red Birds were scoring 4 of 7 chances.  The Tigers had 8 personals and the Cardinals 11.

Haswell led Strasburg with 9 points,while Garver and Aul each got 6 and Jeffers turned in a neat 5, while Yackey was hitting 3 and Deibel 2.  Hamilton scored 4 field goals in the 1st half to lead Worthington with 8 points, while Hartman and Nash each got 7.  Worthington would go on to lose the State Championship game to Farmer 36-32.

The preliminary game saw Glenford defeat Wheelersburg 59-47 for the Consolation Trophy.

WORTHINGTON CARDINALS - 32

Joe Neds F 3-0-6
Earl Nash F 2-3-7
Tom Hartman C 3-1-7
Bill Hamilton G 4-0-8
Kayner G 1-0-2
Jim Sheaf G 1-0-2
Arthur F 0-0-0

STRASBURG TIGERS - 31

John Garver F 3-0-6
Tom Haswell F 4-1-9
Junior Yackey C 1-1-3
Fred Aul G 3-0-6
Joe Deibel G 1-0-2
Marvin Jeffers G 1-3-5
Ed Gasser G 0-0-0


Monday, March 18, 1946
John Stratton, Editorial Staff
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

NOTE:

STRASBURG GIVEN BEST WISHES BY BIGGEST RIVALS

The Strasburg Tigers weren't only representing Strasburg, but Tuscarawas County and the Eastern District when they played in the Athens Regional Tournament and their biggest rivals let them know it in a fine gesture of sportsmanship.

Tuscarawas High School, beaten 4 times by the Tigers and in games that were hard to lose, sent Strasburg a letter wishing them good luck and Head Coach Jim Rogers called Saturday night to wish the team the best of luck.

Zanesville St. Thomas, eliminated by Strasburg in the Eastern District meet at Zanesville, sent a letter signed by all members of the team.

To top it off Friday morning the Strasburg High School received a letter from the Sugarcreek-Shanesville High School Student Council congratulating the Tigers on their undefeated season and wishing them luck in the tournament.  Strasburg broke the Pirates' record of 26 consecutive wins.

NOTE:

TIGERS LOSE BUT CITIZENS FIX BIG WELCOME ANYWAY

When the Strasburg Tigers came home from Athens at 3:30 yesterday afternoon after their 1st defeat, they were a little gloomy and not expecting such a welcome...but they were wrong.  At the corporation line they found the village fire truck, 40 automobiles and several hundred people waiting for them and a welcome, which couldn't have been any better even if they'd won the Regional title.

The players were placed on the fire truck, which bore a large sign "WELCOME TIGERS" and the school banner and away they went through the town, the siren blowing and automobile horns sounding.  Citizens who weren't in cars lined the streets and cheered as the team went by.  At the high school several cheers were given outside and the team was taken in for a short program.

Supt. G.W.Jeandrevin contratulated the team on its fine work and congratulated the citizens for their fine support before turning the meeting over to John B. Garver who also congratulated the Tigers and Head Coach Emmet Riley, who introduced the players.  Captain John Garver, Fred Aul and Joe Deibel, all Seniors, were 1st to speak and were followed by Ed Gasser and Marvin Jeffers, Juniors, Clarence "Junior" Yackey, Tom Haswell, Roland Malcuit and Dean Beitzel, all Sophomores and JimWeber, a Freshman.

The Cheerleaders, Norma Lee Lullett, Doris Haswell, Joan Huffman and Lillith Ball, led several more cheers before Mr. Garver took over and called on the boy's parents to stand.  A final cheer was given as Coach Riley led the Tigers out.

46 - Strasburg Squeezes Out #28 33-30 (3-15-46)

Senior Guard Fred Aul (Fritz) hit the nets for 10 points in leading his team to a 33-30 ousting of the Wheelersburg Pirates.  Aul has a 7.9 point per game average and a total of 70 markers during the tournaments.

ATHENS - The Strasburg Tigers (9-0) (28-0) were ready to bid for State Tournament Honors tonight after squeezing their 28th straight victory out of the Wheelersburg Pirates (32-3) of Scioto County by a score of 33-30 in an old fashioned zone defense battle here at the Ohio University Gymnasium last night before a crowd of 2,000 fans.  The Tigers, which needs only one more win to reach the State Class B finals at Springfield next weekend, meeting the Worthington Cardinals tonight in the Regional Championship game.

Worthington, which has a record of 28-4, qualified to oppose Strasburg last night by opening the Regional Tournament with a 34-32 victory over the highly touted and high scoring Glenford team, staving off a last period Glenford rally.  Preliminary game tonight will be a Consolation Division contest between last night's losers, Wheelersburg and Glenford.  The Tigers are highly favored to take the Championship from the Cardinals as a result of last night's win.

Strasburg wasn't on by a long ways as they battled through 3 gruelling quarters with Wheelersburg.  But, they staged a final period rally twin, after the lead changed hands 9 times.  Strictly a battle between zone defenses, the 2 teams made each other pay for every error, misplays standing out like a sore thumb.  Neither club took too many shots at the bucket and seldom was able to regain the rebounds off the backboard when they did shoot.  Guards brought the ball up slowly and in some instances they paused to say a few words to each other on the floor, while the game was in progress.

Wheelersburg, which was scouted as a fast breaking team, did try fast breaks in the 1st period, but saw that Head Coach Emmet Riley was holding either Senior forward John Garver or Sophomore forward Tom Haswell back to stop it, so the Pirates also went into a tight zone and from then on it was a question of who was going to capitalize on the other's mistakes.  Starting out in good form, the Tigers piled up a 12-6 lead before Wheelersburg was able to shove its zone defense back close enough to the basket to keep Senior guard Fred Aul, Tigerman, away and to keep Sophomore Junior Yackey covered.

Garver opened the scoring for Strasburg with a free throw shot and Yackey soon followed with a charity toss, but guard Ray Conley and forward Gene Bennet slipped in field goals and Wheelersburg led 4-2.  Senior guard Joe Diebel scored an action shot and a free throw toss and Aul hit his 1st fielder before Bennet scored a basket to give Strasburg a 7-6 lead.

The 2nd quarter saw the Tigers begin with Yackey getting a free throw and Garver a field goal to give them a 15-6 lead, but they lost it, failing to score any more during the period, while the Cardinals started looping in jump shots from around the free throw circle.  Conley hit a basket and a free throw and forward Lowell Staker opened with 2 field goals and a free throw, while guard Dave Craycraft added the other 2 points and Wheelersburg was ahead 16-15 at halftime.

With the old fashioned zone defense battle beginning in earnest, the 2 teams went through the 3rd stanza with each scoring 6 points, all on field goals and the lead changing hands every time a basket was scored.  Aul put Strasburg in the lead, Conley took it away, Yackey got it back.  Staker took it away, Haswell grabbed it again with a long shot and Staker gave it back to Wheelersburg 22-21 as the final period started.

Neither team released its zone, but Strasburg swept into the lead, this time to stay,  when Haswell dropped in another long shot.  Yackey and Garver scored field goals and 5 minutes of the game was left when Conley nailed a sucker shot to cut the lead to 27-24.  Garver scored again and guard Wilbur Mauk sank a bucket to give the Tigers a 29-26 lead with 4 minutes remaining.  Forward Craycraft got in another free throw, but Aul popped one in and Mauk came back with a fielder and Strasburg was ahead 31-29 with 2 minutes to go.

Conley stole the ball and got 2 free throws with only one minute and 7 seconds remaining, but he missed the 1st shot and made the 2nd, cutting Strasburg's lead to 31-30 with about one minute remaining.  Garver iced it with an action shot and theTigers stalled away the final seconds.  Referees LeRoy Boyd and C.W. Jones called only 5 personal fouls on Strasburg and 13 on Wheelersburg during the contest.  The Tigers being off on their free throw shooting and made only 5 of 14, while Wheelersburg sank 4 of eight.

.Aul had his field goal eye during most of the game and scored high for Strasburg with 10 points on 5 field goals, while Garver had 9 and Yackey with 7 was next.  Haswell and Deibel had 4 and 3, respectively.  Conley led Wheelersburg with 10 points sharing game honors with Aul of Strasburg.

STRASBURG TIGERS 33

John Garver F 4-1-9
Tom Haswell F 2-0-4
Junior Yackey C 2-3-7
Fred Aul G 5-0-10
Joe Deibel G 1-1-3
Ed Gasser F 0-0-0
Marvin Jeffers G 0-0-0

WHEELERSBURG PIRATES - 30

Gene Bennet F 2-0-4
Lowell Staker F 4-1-9
Cramer C 0-0-0
Ray Conley G 4-2-10
Wilbur Mauk G 2-0-4
Dave Craycraft F 1-1-3


Saturday, March 16, 1946
John Stratton, Editorial Staff
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

REGIONAL SATURDAY 3-16-46

Glenford vs Wheelersburg (CC)
Strasburg vs Worthington (TC)

46 - Local Man On 10,000 Mile United Nations Relief Cause

The first session of the United Nations Organization's General Assembly took place at Central Hall on Parliament Square in London on January 10, 1946.

Mr. Ernie Raber, 18 years old of Sugarcreek, Ohio, was on a United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration 10,000 mile trip.

SUGARCREEK - Ernie  Raber, 18, son of Mrs. Tracy Raber, Route 1, Sugarcreek and an All-County and District Guard on last year's Sugarcreek-Shanesville High School Basketball Team, has just returned after a 10,000-mile, 2-month trip on a United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) boat that delivered cattle and horses to war-ravaged Poland.

Raber volunteered to be a cattle tender on a cattle boat to Poland when UNRRA issued an appeal for workers to help get the cattle to Poland.  He sailed from Baltimore on December 27th on the Victory ship Park Victory and anchored in the Straits of Dover January 7 after a stormy crossing during which 17 horses and 13 head of cattle were lost.  Incidentally, Raber said that he suffered from mal de mare himself during the trip.

They then sailed to Germany, crossed the Kiel Canal into the Baltic Sea and docked in the Polish port of Danzig where the cattle and horses were unloaded.  The ship carried 835 horses and cattle and 2,500 tons of phosphate.  The cattle and horses were supplied with a month's feed and would be fatttened up before being turned over to the Polish farmers.

Ernie's impression of Poland during the week he stayed there was that the mature people seem to be fairly well fed, but the children are all undernourished and in a bad state of health and that the people do not have adequate cflothing for the severe Europenan winter.  Thirty cattle men made the trip including Paul Hershberger of Walnut Creek.  Several of the men were injured and bitten by the horses which were unbroken.

Raber left Danzig January 17th and sailed through the North Sea and then around Scotland after stopping at Copenhagen for a day.  The ship was supposed to dock in New York, but due to the tug boat strike, was forced to sail down the Atlantic Coast around Florida, through the Gulf of Mexico and finally landed at Houston, Texas on February 1.  The trip totaled over 10,000 miles, 4,300 of which were traveled during the trip to Poland.

Raber, who is 6-2, was a member of the Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirate Team that won 26 games in a row in 1944 and then won the District Class B Title last year.  He would like to make another trip to Europe and intends to attend college in the near future.


Friday, March 15, 1946
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

46 - Strasburg Foe Wins 93 of 99 in 3 Years

DOVER - When the Strasburg Tigers, unbeaten in 27 starts, drew the Wheelersburg Pirates (26-2) for Friday night at Athens in the Class B Regional Tournament, they drew a club which has played a lot of basketball.  Not only that, but the Wheelersburg cagers have played all together, every man on the Scioto County entry is a letterman and most of them have been playing together for the past 4 years.  They start in October too.

Word from Portsmouth, which is 17 miles from Wheelersburg, reveals that the Scioto County club has won 93 out of 99 basketball games in the past 3 years...quite an achievement for any school.  Head Coach Art Preston's team averages about 5-11 and has no particularly tall players who can reach theTigers, Junior (Clarence) Yackey who is 6-5.  The Pirates play a fast breaking offense and depends on a fast passing attack.

Wheelersburg compiled a season record of 28-2 and then went on through the tournaments to build the record up to 32-2.  Head Coach Emmet Riley of Strasburg, who drove the 10 miles to Athens on Sunday for the drawings after getting home from the Zanesville District meet at 4AM, said today he expected to take his team to the Berry Hotel in Athens Thursday and perhaps take a practice session on the Ohio University floor.  The gym is 88x50 just a bit larger than the Tigers' 80x45 foot floor so Strasburg should feel pretty well at home on it.

As an aftermath of Wheelersburg's 36-28 victory over New Boston at Waverly last Saturday night, Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Kiser of New Boston, were arrested and pleaded not quilty to charges of inciting a riot and to assault and battery on Pike County Sheriff J.R. Foster.  An after-game melee with some 600 of the 1,800 spectators taking part broke out around Referee R.C. Stratton of Wilminton and order was restored only after Waverly School Supt. John R. Reichert announced that trophies would be mailed to winning teams.  The Kisers had a song playing on the New Boston team.  They were released under $1,800 bond.


Tuesday, March 12, 1946
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio