xudash
05-02-2014, 01:21 PM
Brew has a thread going about the history of college basketball. I look forward to reading through it over the off-season. Since I'm "of age" I'll also be able to contribute some thoughts to the college basketball experience in the 70's, as Xavier students then had plenty of time to contemplate college basketball without the needless distraction of Xavier being involved in the NCAA Tournament in any way, shape or form.
But on to the Wonders. Brew got me going about the idea of sharing some additional fascinating history about basketball in Ohio. Frankly, this is much bigger than Hoosiers, so it intrigues me that this one hasn't made it to the silver screen yet. I'm working on that with a friend who's in the business, and it would involve the writer who wrote the screenplays for both Rudy and Hoosiers (Angelo Pizzo).
If you're aware of the story, good for you. If not, you're in for a treat.
The following is a treatment for it, followed by a link to an old SI article about them:
The “sophisticated” fans laughed when the Waterloo Wonders, hailing from a town which was 50 miles from nowhere, showed up in Columbus, Ohio for the 1934 Class B State Basketball Championship. Even the name of their coach, Magellan Hairston, was the butt of a few jokes. But what the fans didn’t know was that they were about to experience an unmatched display of basketball prowess put on by five boys who had learned to shoot baskets with a ball made of rags, using a peach crate as the hoop.
When the game began, the laughter ceased. An exhibition of crisp behind-the-back passes, bullet-like throws, dribbling between and around their legs and brilliant shooting, silenced the crowd. But that was nothing compared to their Harlem Globetrotter-like antics.
When an opponent missed a shot, a Wonder often grabbed the rebound, made a courtly bow and handed the ball to the player for a second try. They hit baskets by bouncing the ball on the floor, through the hoop and completing half court hook shots with near 100% accuracy. During timeouts they munched hotdogs and, after building a lead, two of the players would sit in the grandstand and eat popcorn while the other three put on a dazzling display of passing. These hijinks drove Magellan Hairston crazy because all he wanted to do was win. And that is what Wonders did. After an undefeated season, they soundly beat their opponent to win their first State Championship.
During their second season, the Ohio High School Athletic Association relaxed the rules to allow the Waterloo Wonders to play as many games as they could schedule. They traveled throughout the state in Hairston's car and easily defeated the best of the large schools, as well as many college teams. One night the car broke down and they didn't arrive for the game until two-thirty in the morning. The entire standing-room only crowd was still waiting to see them play. They would go on to win 99 consecutive games and take home a second State Championship trophy.
Amassing their astonishing record was not without conflict and controversy. During spring play of the first championship season, as fans around the three state region increased exponentially, money came rolling in to the team from home and away games. The team bought fancy new uniforms, flashy suits, were eating steak in big restaurants in big cities and sleeping and carousing in nice hotels around Ohio and the region. To the casual observer, the old idea of playing to develop character and team effort seemed to be tossed aside for a new brand of philosophy: colorful, profitable, flashy and worldly.
So the preachers and Waterloo town leaders began to openly complain causing the rumor mill to go into high gear. Claims were made that the boys’ education was being sacrificed and that Coach Hairston had embezzled money from the team’s treasury. The “Wonders” were now suspected of chicanery and letting glory, power and fame take the place of the original intention of athletics. They had gained too much worldly exposure and attention for a poverty-stricken area where modern conveniences were still not common. The conflict of philosophies was too much for the times.
When the pious complained to the Ohio Athletic Association, accusing Coach Hariston of the embezzlement, the wheels were put in motion to strip the Wonders of their first Championship trophy and disqualify them from playing in the second season Championship game.
Luckily, shortly before the last game of the state tournament, an article was published in the Columbus Dispatch which totally exonerated Hairston of the charges against him. The charges were trumped up. Apparently someone forgot to deduct the teams expenses while on the road, as well as the books, furniture and gym equipment that the gate receipts had purchased for the school. In the end, it appeared that Hairston had spent a substantial amount of his own money subsidizing the team.
The teams level of excellence on the court and the mythic proportions of their accomplishments, led legendary University of Kentucky basketball coach Adolph Rupp to try to recruit the whole Waterloo Wonders team. But as usual, they did it their way. After graduation they turned semi-pro and beat the best of the professionals, including the Original Celtics and the Harlem Globetrotters.
The world won't see the likes of the Waterloo Wonders again.
http://si.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1141547/index.htm
But on to the Wonders. Brew got me going about the idea of sharing some additional fascinating history about basketball in Ohio. Frankly, this is much bigger than Hoosiers, so it intrigues me that this one hasn't made it to the silver screen yet. I'm working on that with a friend who's in the business, and it would involve the writer who wrote the screenplays for both Rudy and Hoosiers (Angelo Pizzo).
If you're aware of the story, good for you. If not, you're in for a treat.
The following is a treatment for it, followed by a link to an old SI article about them:
The “sophisticated” fans laughed when the Waterloo Wonders, hailing from a town which was 50 miles from nowhere, showed up in Columbus, Ohio for the 1934 Class B State Basketball Championship. Even the name of their coach, Magellan Hairston, was the butt of a few jokes. But what the fans didn’t know was that they were about to experience an unmatched display of basketball prowess put on by five boys who had learned to shoot baskets with a ball made of rags, using a peach crate as the hoop.
When the game began, the laughter ceased. An exhibition of crisp behind-the-back passes, bullet-like throws, dribbling between and around their legs and brilliant shooting, silenced the crowd. But that was nothing compared to their Harlem Globetrotter-like antics.
When an opponent missed a shot, a Wonder often grabbed the rebound, made a courtly bow and handed the ball to the player for a second try. They hit baskets by bouncing the ball on the floor, through the hoop and completing half court hook shots with near 100% accuracy. During timeouts they munched hotdogs and, after building a lead, two of the players would sit in the grandstand and eat popcorn while the other three put on a dazzling display of passing. These hijinks drove Magellan Hairston crazy because all he wanted to do was win. And that is what Wonders did. After an undefeated season, they soundly beat their opponent to win their first State Championship.
During their second season, the Ohio High School Athletic Association relaxed the rules to allow the Waterloo Wonders to play as many games as they could schedule. They traveled throughout the state in Hairston's car and easily defeated the best of the large schools, as well as many college teams. One night the car broke down and they didn't arrive for the game until two-thirty in the morning. The entire standing-room only crowd was still waiting to see them play. They would go on to win 99 consecutive games and take home a second State Championship trophy.
Amassing their astonishing record was not without conflict and controversy. During spring play of the first championship season, as fans around the three state region increased exponentially, money came rolling in to the team from home and away games. The team bought fancy new uniforms, flashy suits, were eating steak in big restaurants in big cities and sleeping and carousing in nice hotels around Ohio and the region. To the casual observer, the old idea of playing to develop character and team effort seemed to be tossed aside for a new brand of philosophy: colorful, profitable, flashy and worldly.
So the preachers and Waterloo town leaders began to openly complain causing the rumor mill to go into high gear. Claims were made that the boys’ education was being sacrificed and that Coach Hairston had embezzled money from the team’s treasury. The “Wonders” were now suspected of chicanery and letting glory, power and fame take the place of the original intention of athletics. They had gained too much worldly exposure and attention for a poverty-stricken area where modern conveniences were still not common. The conflict of philosophies was too much for the times.
When the pious complained to the Ohio Athletic Association, accusing Coach Hariston of the embezzlement, the wheels were put in motion to strip the Wonders of their first Championship trophy and disqualify them from playing in the second season Championship game.
Luckily, shortly before the last game of the state tournament, an article was published in the Columbus Dispatch which totally exonerated Hairston of the charges against him. The charges were trumped up. Apparently someone forgot to deduct the teams expenses while on the road, as well as the books, furniture and gym equipment that the gate receipts had purchased for the school. In the end, it appeared that Hairston had spent a substantial amount of his own money subsidizing the team.
The teams level of excellence on the court and the mythic proportions of their accomplishments, led legendary University of Kentucky basketball coach Adolph Rupp to try to recruit the whole Waterloo Wonders team. But as usual, they did it their way. After graduation they turned semi-pro and beat the best of the professionals, including the Original Celtics and the Harlem Globetrotters.
The world won't see the likes of the Waterloo Wonders again.
http://si.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1141547/index.htm