Emerson High School - Emersonian Yearbook (Gary, IN)

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The Klugmen started the 1945-46 season in the “if” class according to Mr. Werry. With six major letter winners returning, things looked quite a bit better to most observers. The boys who had fought through last years sectionals and were back for another whirl were Tom Wilson, Jack Schaff, Dick Colley, Sam Ranzino, Lester Mayes, and Frances Gant. To round out the team such standouts as John Depanion, Dick Swan, Albert Gasper, and Bill Kane were in there for their first whirl at var¬ sity basketball. The Norse opened the season with a 47-33 victory over Hobart. Emerson showed plenty of point potency and an adequate defense to cope with the Brickies. The second game of the season found the boys traveling up to Benton Harbor. The Norse found the Harbor boys a little too tough on their own floor and took a 37-33 set-back. Emerson put up a great drive in the final quarter but just couldn’t pull this one out of the fire. £7 “he Smetson- tloehel Jlitiller Page Thirty-i

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Scoring Emerson Opponents Colley . ... 36 Touchdowns . . 22 9 Ortosky . ... 18 Extra Points. . 14 4 Schaff . ... 18 First downs . . 84 51 Kuck . ... 18 Yards rushing . ... 1555 660 Carnahan . .. 14 Yards passing. . 355 515 Yesh . ... 12 Own fumbles recovered . 13 16 Miller . ... 6 Opp. fumbles recovered ... . 12 12 Pangiotis . ... 6 Passes completed . . 21 33 Lesch . ... 6 Intercepted . . 11 13 Ranzino. ... 6 Passes incompleted. . 41 61 Minitti . ... 6 FOOTBALL TEAM Carl Carnahan —Tough lineman and conversion expert. Dom Cefali —Strong lineman, especially on defense. Dick Coi.ley —Pulled us through many tough spots with his smart signal calling and fine running. Bill Kane —One of the best pass receivers around. Louie Karras —Veteran tackle, was often in opponents backfield. Jim King —Saw plenty of action as a reserve guard. Don Kirksey —Accurate center, tough on defense. Steve Kokos —Mighty guard; rugged and aggressive. Merrit Lesch Excellent ball-handler on the T ; good passer. Joe Minitti —Fast and shifty; a hard man to bring down. Paul Ortosky —Small but powerful back with plenty of speed. Jack Sciiaff —Count on Jack for those needed yards. Bob Yesh —Tough on defensive, one of the better ends in the state. Page Thirty

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Coming back to good old Memorial seemed to do no good as Emerson took a good licking from Elkhart. Elkhart showed fine early season form as they won 44-33. On the road again, this time to Hammond Clark, Emerson got back on the victory trail. It was a hard fought battle with Wilson and Colley sparking Emersons all around play. It was just one of those nights that everything went through the hoop. This was the night Emerson beat Roosevelt of Gary 70-38. Every one hit, and the tall boys from Roosevelt were never in the game. Wilson and Gant led the scoring with 24-14 points respectively. With a strong second half, Emerson came through with a 53-34 win over Roosevelt of East Chicago. Ranzino and Depanion played brilliant ball and scored 22-12 points respectively. RESERVES We They We They 24 Hobart 16 18 Froebel 19 14 Roosevelt E. C. 21 71 Hammond 18 15 Hammond Clark 23 30 Horace Mann 31 36 Roosevelt 18 26 Tolleston 24 16 Horace Mann 18 17 Lew Wallace 45 20 Washington E. C. 32 27 Horace Mann 23 TOURNAMENT We They 12 Laporte 22 32 Lew Wallace 12 After an enjoyable but tiring trip down to Evansville, the Norse lost a tough decision to Reitz of Evansville. The boys made a gallant attempt but fell short of final victory. The next night the boys came back against a tough Memorial team and won impressively. Ranzino with sbme uncanny shooting led the attack. The boys had a wonderful time at Evansville, but but were glad to get back to Gary after a three day trip. The Norsemen hit their peak as the Holiday Tournament rolled around. Knocking off Lew Wallace 47-44, Froebel 37-30, and then Tolleston 49-23 in the final, the Norsemen again proved their tournament winning ability. Tom Wilson was the gun in the victories as he hit an amazing scoring streak. With the Holiday Tourney still fresh in their minds, the Norsemen traveled to Washington of East Chicago to wrestle the N. I. H. S. C. lead away from the Senators. Playing in a small gym be¬ fore a full house, the boys never found the range and consequently lost a 36-28 decision. Back on the home hardwood again, Emerson knocked over the big boys from Hammond Tech 44-30. With some brilliant defensive work in the second half, Emerson waltzed away with the victory. Gant sparked the attack with 16 points. Page Thirty-t