Like a kid in a candy store I walked around and simply gazed into wide wonder: Oscar Robertson, Hallie Bryant, and George McGinnis. As a basketball junkie, I was truly walking on sacred ground. There could be no doubt the evening was both overdue and historic and for those in attendance it was indeed a night that nobody will ever forget.
For almost 20 years, Crispus Attucks and Washington High Schools dominated the landscape of Indiana high school basketball like no other programs probably ever will. At long last, many of the stars from that era have had their jerseys retired and banners in their honor will be raised at the newly reopened Crispus Attucks and Washington High Schools in which they achieved greatness as players and helped change the way Indiana looked at race relations through their incredible personal accomplishments.
This era of greatness began in 1950 when a giant of a man named Ray Crowe was hired to coach basketball at Attucks. What happened after that produced profound change, not only in terms of how dominant they were in basketball, but also how the team facilitated change in a society that in large did not want them to succeed.
There would be no denying the Tigers in 1954 and 1955 as behind Oscar Robertson, Willie Merriweather, William Hampton and a healthy Sheddrick Williams, Crispus Attucks compiled a gaudy 61-1 record in capturing two consecutive titles becoming the first team to achieve an undefeated season in the process. More importantly, they were the first all African-American team to win a state title, an accomplishment that many people today still do not recognize in terms of the significant social impact. Attucks would go on to be a state runner up in 1956 and then capture the title again in 1959 under coach Bill Garrett who enjoyed a storied career at Shelbyville High School, leading the Golden Bears to a state title in 1947 while being named Mr. Basketball. Garrett would go on to play at Indiana University where he was the first African-American to play regularly in the Big Ten Conference.
While their accomplishments on the basketball court are well appreciated, their trials and tribulations stemming from racial inequality were never truly documented, and certainly make their unbelievable run more remarkable.
“Coach Crowe would not allow us to be distracted by those who looked at us as less than equal.” said a dapperly attired and polite Oscar Robertson at the ceremony honoring the legends.
Indiana’ 1953 Mr. Basketball Hallie Bryant dismissed the fact that these exceptional men are truly groundbreaking pioneers.
“Heck, we were just doing our thing on the basketball court,” stated the upbeat Bryant who went on to star at Indiana University and a remarkable career with the Harlem Globetrotters.
While Crowe passed away in 2003, his spirit and presence was represented by his wife Betty who was both charming and dignified in her comments about this monumental era of basketball. “In those days, coaching did not pay much, so Ray would work a second job in the evenings, and it was my job to call the player’s homes each evening to insure everybody was in bed at a proper hour,” said Crowe who graduated from Crispus Attucks. “I cherished the opportunity to be part of those young men’s lives as they were like sons to me, and still are today.”
The evening also honored the rich basketball tradition of Washington High School. Three straight city titles would be amassed from 1963 to 1965. In 1965 the Continentals cruised to the state title behind the efforts of future Purdue star Billy Keller, who had great support from Marvin Winkler and Ralph Taylor. Jerry Oliver coached the team to a 29-2 record that year as they defeated Fort Wayne North for all the marbles in the state tournament. But as great as that squad was in 1965, many feel it pales in comparison to the 1969 championship team that featured the legendary George McGinnis and Steve Downing that was led by Coach Bill Green to an undefeated season. Considered by many to be the greatest player in Indiana history after Oscar Robertson, McGinnis went on to great success at Indiana University as well a storied professional career with the Indiana Pacers and the Philadelphia 76ers. McGinnis was the quintessential power forward blending power and speed with incredible overall athleticism.
The evening also included paying tribute to one of the best players Indiana women’s basketball has ever seen in Washington High School’s Cheryl Cook. Cook averaged nearly 30 points a game for the Lady Continentals while being named Ms. Basketball in Indiana in 1981. She would go on to be one of the most prolific scorers in NCAA history by scoring 2,367 points as a member of the Lady Bearcats at the University of Cincinnati.
While this special evening rekindled the fabulous memories of several Hoosier hoops legends, it also made me stop and think long and hard about the personal experiences that these talented individuals must have faced head-on in an era of unspeakable racial inequality. Their ability to overcome this and distinguish themselves is nothing less than amazing and is precisely why I felt both privileged and honored to be in their presence.
Notes: Washington defeated Attucks and both schools displayed great sportsmanship. Both look forward to competing in the state tournament. Let’s hope the return to glory for these schools is a journey that enriches the lives of these young people as much as their famous predecessors have for me and thousands of other basketball fans.
Danny Bridges can be reached at (317) 578-1780or Bridgeshd@aol.com.
