Ladoga Canners vs. Crispus Attucks Flying Tigers
Back in the early 50’s when Jim Crow was alive and well in Indiana basketball, Crispus Attucks, an all-black high school named in honor of the first person killed at the Boston Massacre which was the beginning of the Revolutionary War, was having trouble getting a full schedule of 18 games. The coaches and principals of Ladoga High School and Crispus Attucks got their heads together and signed a three-year contract to play basketball just before the sectional firing began. Jack Hester was the basketball coach at Ladoga and Ray Crowe was the coach at Attucks. The principal at Ladoga was Olin Swinney and the principal at Crispus Attucks was Russell Lane. The two schools played two games at the Crawfordsville High School gymnasium and one game at the Tech gymnasium in Indianapolis.
I was a big Attucks fan in those days and was overwhelmed at the thought of playing against some of the best players in the history of Indiana basketball. The first game was at the end of the 1951-52 season when Ladoga was enjoying one of its best seasons ever. I was in the 8th grade at that time. The Canners ended the season with a 20-3 record which included a 17 game winning streak, losing only to Linden in the final game of the County Tourney 49-47 and the first game of the sectional 51-36 and to Crispus Attucks 64-35. The Attucks team that year had such stars as Wee Willie Gardner, Hallie Bryant, Bailey Robertson, and Hal Crenshaw. The Tigers were led by Robertson with 16 points, Leighman Covington with 15 and Gardner with 12. Mort Kimmel led the Canners with 10 points.
I was a freshman when we played Attucks at Tech HS. We took the floor first and began our warm-ups. When the Tigers came out, the entire Ladoga team turned around and watched in awe as every single one of the Flying Tigers dunked the ball during the layup drill. We were a little intimidated. The Tech gym was full and listening to the Tiger pep block and watching their cheerleaders perform was also quite an experience. I remember thinking that their cheerleaders could all jump higher and were more athletic than anybody on our team. I’m glad we didn’t play them. Attucks was led that year by Hallie Bryant who scored 45 points (43 in his basket and 2 in ours.) We should have gone home after the referees lined the teams up facing the wrong basket. Hallie got the tip and made a layup in our basket and we were ahead 2-0. That was our only lead of the night as we lost 79-36. Hallie was assisted in scoring by Bailey Robertson who had 14 points. The Tigers played 17 players that night and were good enough and deep enough that freshman Oscar Robertson didn’t play. The Canners were led in scoring that night by my older brother Danny Boone who had 13 points. I had two free throws so at least I contributed something.
We were much more competitive the next year at Crawfordsville. We were in the game all the way until they pulled away in the 4th quarter to win 68-51. The Tigers were led by sophomore sensation Oscar Robertson who scored 19 points before fouling out early in the third quarter. I think everybody on our team took turns guarding Oscar so we could brag about how we held him to 19 points. Shedrick Mitchell led the Tigers with 20 points (He was my man.) The Canners were led by Bill Kimmel who scored 13 points and Shedrick Mitchell’s man (me) who also had 13. After I scored my first basket, Shedrick said to me on the way back down the floor, “Little white boy, you ain’t gonna do that no more.” He was pretty close to right. It was a memorable experience. We ended our season at 17-5 and Attucks went on to lose to eventual State Champ Milan 65-52 in the Semi-State at Indianapolis. The Tigers ended up 23-5 for the season.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Bill Bays--A coaching legend at LHS
Freshman team at Perrysville
below and on the right, a B-team at Perrysville
below and on the right, a B-team at Perrysville
Bill Bays
It’s a good thing Bill Bays never married because his love affair with Ladoga High School, Ladoga athletics and Ladoga students in general took up all of his time and most of his life for 11 years from the time he arrived on the scene in 1960 until consolidation closed the doors of Ladoga High School in 1971. During those years, Bill Bays started a football program that had lain dormant for half a century, started a golf program and coached every sport at every level that fielded Ladoga Canner teams. Beginning in 1961 and ending in 1970, Bill was the only football coach that the Canners ever had. He started with an 8 man program in 1961 and ended with an 11 man team in 1970. His best teams were in 1962 when the Canners were 6-2-1, 1966 when they were 7-0-2, and 1968 when they were7-3. The Canners were always known for great speed in the backfield, an imaginative and creative offense (sometimes bordering on the razzle-dazzle) and a sophisticated passing attack. Bays came to Ladoga from Marshall, IL where he played all three major sports and Indiana State University where he quarterbacked the Sycamores his junior and senior years. He also coached football at Perrysville and North Putnam. He had a team at Perrysville that finished the season with a 7-3 record and tied for second in the very tough Wabash Valley Conference.
Altogether Bill Bays coached varsity football for 10 years, varsity golf for 6 years, varsity basketball for two years, varsity track for 4 years, and baseball at the varsity, Babe Ruth League, Pony League, and Little League level for 9 years. He won the County Championship in baseball in 1963 and the Conference Championship of the Wabash River Conference in 1965 with a record of 11-4. Nobody really knows how many years he coached younger basketball teams but a good guess is that the coached some basketball team every year that he was at Ladoga.
How many hours did Bill Bays spend on the sidelines at Ladoga High School coaching other people’s kids like they were his own? How could a person estimate the amount of time he spent nurturing and mentoring boys and girls wearing the Green and Gold? He certainly was one-of-a-kind. He loved athletics and he loved the people who played for him. Bill Carmichael who played football for Bays in the beginning years remarked that playing football for Bill Bays did more to prepare him for the Marine Corps than anything else he experienced in life. John Oliver played QB for the Canners in the first season. Ladoga lost to Perrysville that year 97-7. After a year of Bays tutoring, the Canners avenged that loss by a 14-13 count. That turnaround was written up in the Indianapolis Star.
John remembers one incident that showed the toughness and character of Bill Bays. John said, “One memorable moment was when I was having trouble getting the hand offs correctly and when I shoved the ball into their bellies, the backs were holding their hands too low and they would fumble. Bays told everybody to stop and watch how to do it. He took the running back position and when he came through for the handoff, I heard aloud crack. He didn’t fumble though. His face turned red and the veins were popping out. I broke his pinky finger. After practice, he went into the coach’s cage and set his finger and wrapped tape around it, soaked it in water and made his own cast. He was one tough son-of-a-gun.” In the 10 years of Canner football, Bays had a record of 50-37-5.
After consolidation, Bays was offered the golf coaching position at the new Southmont school, but wanted to continue coaching football. He traveled a few miles south to North Putnam and had the honor of coaching the first team to beat Southmont after South had run off a streak of 13 consecutive wins. The Cougars of North Put beat the Mounties 14-0 in one of the hardest hitting games seen by many observers in recent years. Bays also coached girls basketball at North Putnam and led the girls to an 8-8 record his first year.
Phil Seale shares this non-football memory of Bill Bays. " One of my memories of Bill was in 1963, when the announcement of President Kennedy's assassination came over the intercom and we were in Bill's history class. I remember him sitting there, stunned, and then tears streaming down his face. That will always be etched in my memory of Coach Bays." Along with Floyd “Doc” Neff and Harold “Jack” Hester, Bill Bays is one the coaching legends at Ladoga High School.
It’s a good thing Bill Bays never married because his love affair with Ladoga High School, Ladoga athletics and Ladoga students in general took up all of his time and most of his life for 11 years from the time he arrived on the scene in 1960 until consolidation closed the doors of Ladoga High School in 1971. During those years, Bill Bays started a football program that had lain dormant for half a century, started a golf program and coached every sport at every level that fielded Ladoga Canner teams. Beginning in 1961 and ending in 1970, Bill was the only football coach that the Canners ever had. He started with an 8 man program in 1961 and ended with an 11 man team in 1970. His best teams were in 1962 when the Canners were 6-2-1, 1966 when they were 7-0-2, and 1968 when they were7-3. The Canners were always known for great speed in the backfield, an imaginative and creative offense (sometimes bordering on the razzle-dazzle) and a sophisticated passing attack. Bays came to Ladoga from Marshall, IL where he played all three major sports and Indiana State University where he quarterbacked the Sycamores his junior and senior years. He also coached football at Perrysville and North Putnam. He had a team at Perrysville that finished the season with a 7-3 record and tied for second in the very tough Wabash Valley Conference.
Altogether Bill Bays coached varsity football for 10 years, varsity golf for 6 years, varsity basketball for two years, varsity track for 4 years, and baseball at the varsity, Babe Ruth League, Pony League, and Little League level for 9 years. He won the County Championship in baseball in 1963 and the Conference Championship of the Wabash River Conference in 1965 with a record of 11-4. Nobody really knows how many years he coached younger basketball teams but a good guess is that the coached some basketball team every year that he was at Ladoga.
How many hours did Bill Bays spend on the sidelines at Ladoga High School coaching other people’s kids like they were his own? How could a person estimate the amount of time he spent nurturing and mentoring boys and girls wearing the Green and Gold? He certainly was one-of-a-kind. He loved athletics and he loved the people who played for him. Bill Carmichael who played football for Bays in the beginning years remarked that playing football for Bill Bays did more to prepare him for the Marine Corps than anything else he experienced in life. John Oliver played QB for the Canners in the first season. Ladoga lost to Perrysville that year 97-7. After a year of Bays tutoring, the Canners avenged that loss by a 14-13 count. That turnaround was written up in the Indianapolis Star.
John remembers one incident that showed the toughness and character of Bill Bays. John said, “One memorable moment was when I was having trouble getting the hand offs correctly and when I shoved the ball into their bellies, the backs were holding their hands too low and they would fumble. Bays told everybody to stop and watch how to do it. He took the running back position and when he came through for the handoff, I heard aloud crack. He didn’t fumble though. His face turned red and the veins were popping out. I broke his pinky finger. After practice, he went into the coach’s cage and set his finger and wrapped tape around it, soaked it in water and made his own cast. He was one tough son-of-a-gun.” In the 10 years of Canner football, Bays had a record of 50-37-5.
After consolidation, Bays was offered the golf coaching position at the new Southmont school, but wanted to continue coaching football. He traveled a few miles south to North Putnam and had the honor of coaching the first team to beat Southmont after South had run off a streak of 13 consecutive wins. The Cougars of North Put beat the Mounties 14-0 in one of the hardest hitting games seen by many observers in recent years. Bays also coached girls basketball at North Putnam and led the girls to an 8-8 record his first year.
Phil Seale shares this non-football memory of Bill Bays. " One of my memories of Bill was in 1963, when the announcement of President Kennedy's assassination came over the intercom and we were in Bill's history class. I remember him sitting there, stunned, and then tears streaming down his face. That will always be etched in my memory of Coach Bays." Along with Floyd “Doc” Neff and Harold “Jack” Hester, Bill Bays is one the coaching legends at Ladoga High School.
Bill Bays and the history of Ladoga football
History of Football 1961-1970
The only record we can find of football before 1961 is a picture of a team in the 1907 annual. Bill Bays started the football program that lasted from 1961 to consolidation in 1970. Byron Cox recalls that Coach Bays used to go one-on-one with the linemen without pads just to toughen them up. That would probably explain why Bays suffered with bad knees after his coaching career. Ed Miller recalls that Bays offered to buy steak dinners for any football player who got straight A's on his report card. Miller was sure that came out of the Coach's pocket and not the footbal budget. The Canners started out with an 8 man team that year and progressed to a regular 11 man schedule in 1964. They were a part of the Wabash River Conference which included New Market, Covington, Perrysville, Cayuga, and
The only record we can find of football before 1961 is a picture of a team in the 1907 annual. Bill Bays started the football program that lasted from 1961 to consolidation in 1970. Byron Cox recalls that Coach Bays used to go one-on-one with the linemen without pads just to toughen them up. That would probably explain why Bays suffered with bad knees after his coaching career. Ed Miller recalls that Bays offered to buy steak dinners for any football player who got straight A's on his report card. Miller was sure that came out of the Coach's pocket and not the footbal budget. The Canners started out with an 8 man team that year and progressed to a regular 11 man schedule in 1964. They were a part of the Wabash River Conference which included New Market, Covington, Perrysville, Cayuga, and
Veedersburg. The first time they played Perrysville (where Coach Bays used to coach), they got thumped 97-7. According to Phil Seale, coach was so embarrassed, he spent the last part of the game in the bus. However, they got sweet revenge the next year when the two teams returned most of the same players and Ladoga won 14-13. That turnaround got witten up in the Indianapolis Star. Way to go, Canners! In ten years of football, Bays and his Canners put together a record of 50-37=5. The best years for the Canners were 1962 when they were 6-2-1, 1965 when they posted a record of 7-2-1, 1966 when they were undefeated with a record of 7-0-2, and 1968 when they were 7-3. The only losing season for the Canners under Bill Bays were the first when they were tryinmg to figure the game out and the last when they were playing a lot of youngsters, who went to Southmont the next year and formed the nucleus of an undefeated team. The 10 year record reads as follows:
1961 2-5
1962 6-2-1
1963 4-3
1964 5-3-1
1965 7-2-1
1966 7-0-2
1967 5-5
1968 7-3
1969 5-5
1970 1-9
Total 50-37-5
1961 2-5
1962 6-2-1
1963 4-3
1964 5-3-1
1965 7-2-1
1966 7-0-2
1967 5-5
1968 7-3
1969 5-5
1970 1-9
Total 50-37-5
1961 Football team
The 1961 football team was the first to wear the Green and Gold on a football field since 1907.
Football team 1963
Jim Foxworthy was a junior on the 1963 football team. That team won the first 11 manfootball game in school history against Turkey Run. Turkey Run was an hour behind that year so the Canners didn't get home until 11:30--they still went to school the next day. Jim Foxworthy played baseball, basketball, and football, and ran track. He finished his career with 10 letters when he graduated in 1965.
1969 football team
Coach reminds Dave Williamson, "David, we don't have that play in our playbook. You're going to get one of your wide outs killed."
1970 football team
Coach Bays has a heart-to-heart with Joe Jeffries during a game.
Paul Houston hauls one in.
Picture above shows speedy halfback Ernie Hauser on the move.
Football moves to Southmont
Canner football players comprised three fourths of the potent Mountie offense as Ernie Hauser was a record-breaking halfback, Jeff Davidson, the smooth, ball-handling quarterback, and Dan Wilson was as glue-fingered wide receiver. Other Canners who played were David Miller, David Kelly, Jerry Mitchell, and Larry Canada. Jody Cook and Debbie Cross were Ladoga girls who served as managers and statisticians for the team.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Track team 1963
1963 track team won Cayuga Relays
John Oliver wins again at the Ladoga track behind Bob Duncan's
The four members of the record breaking 1/2 mile relay team are show here after the 1963 Cayuga Relays. From left to right are David Madsen, Jim Foxworthy, John Oliver, and Phil Seale.
Dave Madsen is shown finishing where he always finished in the 440 yard dash--first.
The 1963 track team won the County Track Meet for the third consecutive year, making six track championships altogether for the Canners. John Oliver swept the 100 yard dash, the 220 yard dash and anchored the winning 1/2 mile relay team three years in a row. The track coach in 1963 was Ben Fugate.
The 1962 track team repeated as County Champs by winning the County Track Meet.
John Oliver wins again at the Ladoga track behind Bob Duncan's
John is shown below with his collection of track trophies.
The four members of the record breaking 1/2 mile relay team are show here after the 1963 Cayuga Relays. From left to right are David Madsen, Jim Foxworthy, John Oliver, and Phil Seale.Dave Madsen is shown finishing where he always finished in the 440 yard dash--first.
The 1963 track team won the County Track Meet for the third consecutive year, making six track championships altogether for the Canners. John Oliver swept the 100 yard dash, the 220 yard dash and anchored the winning 1/2 mile relay team three years in a row. The track coach in 1963 was Ben Fugate.
The 1962 track team repeated as County Champs by winning the County Track Meet.
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