THE GREATEST GAME IN THE WORLD - PART 1

Since I am a Hoosier, the game is obviously basketball.  And I am not talking about pro basketball [truly a perversion of the game] or even most of Division I basketball [where many of the players have unfounded dreams of playing in the NBA].  Rather, I am talking about the game where all 5 players work together as a team.  Occasionally this happens in the NBA, like when Carmelo gets tossed from a Nuggets game and the rest of the players actually have to work together if they hope to win.  It happens at the college level, a whole lot more in Division II and Division III where the players do not have their minds fixated on the pros but rather are playing for the love of the game.  It happens in high schools, again in places where the players are not focused on the next level but on winning at the HS level.  And it happens in the pick-up games where former high school and college players get together not to showcase their individual talents but rather to demonstrate their knowledge and skills of playing the game as a team.

Considering my current age and when I first remember playing b ball, I believe that I have been playing the game for over 55 years.  At New Paris Grade School [which was demolished to make way for apartments], the gym was a glorified chicken coop.  It had a nice sized wooden floor court with no room around the edges.  Right inside the main door was a huge coal/wood fired stove that would eventually heat the building, but in the wintertime, it was always frigid when you went out for first recess.  By noontime and afternoon recess, it was bearable.  Our fifth grade team won a county school tournament, with the celebration being able to have a cake during class time.  Our sixth grade team also won the tournament, and we got a little cocky.  We challenged the seveth graders to a game, and we won.  It went to our heads, and we challenged the eighth grade team - bad decision considering the developmental differences betweeen sixth grade boys and eighth grade boys - we got thumped.

On weekends during the winter, we were always looking for a place to play - sometimes it would be the upper level of the barn at Bobby Roth's farm where we had to sweep the hay off of the floor and play with gloves; sometimes it would be at the Goshen College gym where we had to sneak in because the gym was always locked up on Sundays; and sometimes it would be outdoors if the weather wasn't too bad.  In the summertime, the favored playing spot was Rogers Park in Goshen.  There were lights on the courts, so after a long day of work we would head to the park and play ball well into the night, often past midnight.  The A&W Root Beer stand and Bowers Drive-In stayed open late, so we could always get something to eat and drink after playing.

The New Paris High School Class of 1964 was a very talented group - from 5th grade through 12th grade, we probably didn't lose more than a dozen games.  We played in a cracker-box sized gym that was very reminiscent of the movie Hoosiers.  The seats came right down to the edge of the playing floor, and because there was screaming for most of the game, one's ears would ring for hours.  We won the county tourney twice, but seemed to not be able to make is past Elkhart's Blue Blazers in the sectional tourneys.  Of course, Elkhart High School had over 3000 in three grades, and our NPHS class had 44.  Our class also did well in band and chorus competitions, in 4H, and in most anything competitive.  Our class also sent an unprecedented percentage of graduates on to college.  Here's a pic from our 1964 Parisian yearbook and Goshen News:

The caption reads:  The 1963 New Paris Cubs were 21-3 for the best record in school history.  They also won the Elkhart County tourney.  In front, from left, are Fred Schrock, Lonnie Clem, head coach Jim Hettler, Phil Weybright, Keith Hummel, and Bob Lundy.  In back are manager Roger Hummel,  Stan Myers, Tom Mishler, Steve Hoffman, Dennis Caprarotta,  Doug Swartzendruber, manager Rich Kirkdorffer and assistant coach Terry Rickard.

During our sophmore year in high school, the varsity was 19 and 3 and our junior year we went 20 and 3.  So for the three years, we were 60 and 9.  I did not contribute a whole lot at the varsity level, although I did score 19 in one game.  The back row folks in the picture above were known as the "minute-men" because that is about how much we got to play in most games :-)

{To Be Continued}