Hammond High School - Dunes Yearbook (Hammond, IN)

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THE STRATEGY BOARD The Basketball Strategy Board By Coach Bob King One night last spring, I was lying in bed thinking about a quicker method of conveying various offenses and defenses to the players during the time-out periods. An idea was con- ceived and I got up and wrote it down. The next morning, I was to work out the details of the gadget which was to be called The Basketball Strategy Boardf' A basketball court is imprinted on a sheet of galvanized tin. Little wooden men are held to the tin by imbedded mag- nets. The men can be moved to any position on the board. Mr. R. P. Schuler, of Inland Steel, constructed the board and is the technical adviser. Prelude By Jerry Foote Soon a contest will be decidedg soon the vanquished will tread disappointedly to the showers, where they will try to forget and prepare anew, and soon the victorious will parade on the shoulders of the shouting, cheering spectators, immor- talized by flashbulbs and glorified by songs of praise. This is tournament time. The game is about to start. Entire cheering sections are demanding the appearance of their loyal sons. Cheerleaders, clad in the hallowed colors of their respective schools, are the cen- ter of the crowd's attention. All eyes are upon these leaders upon whom the team's morale might depend. Now they are clappingg now jumping, and now they are performing acro- batics. Little can be ascertained of the real meaning of these gestures, but somehow the right spirit is being communicated to those in the stands, for even more are joining in the organ- ized displays of enthusiasm. The normally reserved, but now excited adults are con- tributing to the air of turbulence, as the players sprint onto the floor, one by one. Steadily, gradually the tumult rises. Each spectator is encouraging his choice of team, coach, or player. Clearly, all want to be heard. Now chaos prevails. The peanut vendor finds his task easier, for nearly all are seated in anticipation of the big event. The aisles are clear-the crowd waits. Now the referees appear on the floor. Suddenly silence prevails. A stillness blankets the huge auditorium with a new atmosphere. Everyone stands facing the Stars and Stripes. Some are even praying, while the organ sounds out the Star Spangled Banner. The feeling of respect and awe, which seems to overwhelm every person present, is reassurance that this is in every sense a true sporting event. Now the tumult is greater, fiercer, more turbulent than before-as if the walls were tumbling. The teams break their huddles and the centers take their positions. The referee tosses up the ball. BASEBALL Although hit hard by graduation, the baseball team got pitching and plenty of power from the six returning lettermen and the upperclassmen to get off to a flying start. Returning lettermen were Richard Harvey, Bill Schwin- gendorf, Gus Hartoonian, Don Linos, Tom Rosowicz, and Gib Blackmun. Upperclassmen making fine showings were Marvin Pruitt. Gib Blackmun, and Ed Scott. SCHEDULE H.H.S. 4, Gary Wallace 3. Marv Pruitt's relief pitching and Ron johnson's clutch hitting were the highlights as the Wild- cats got started on the winning path. H.H.S. 17, Hammond Tech 6. Ed Scott batted in six runs and Dick Harvey struck out six consecutive Tigers. H.H.S. 17, Gary Froebel 2. Hammond High again showed tremendous power. Tom Rosowitz banged a three-run homer while Marv Pruitt won his second game. H.H.S. 2, E.C. Washington 0. Dick Harvey held the top- ranked Senators to two hits. Gus Hartoonian, Bill Schwingen- dorf, and Gib Blackmun were demons on defense. H.H.S. 6, E. C. Roosevelt 3. Although held to only four hits the Wildcats made it five straight. Gib Blackmun went the distance to record his second win. H.H.S. 12, Hammond Clark 2. The cats again put on a power demonstration. Ron Johnson got two triples, and Gus Hartoonian cleared the sacks with his three-bagger. Marv Pruitt went the distance for his third win and Hammond'S sixth straight. H.H.S. 4, Horace Mann 3. Rich Harvey won his second game, but the big feature was a Kolb to Schwingendorf to Rosowicz triple play. H.H.S. 5, Gary Emerson l. Bill Schwingendorf's three run triple won the game as Dick Harvey hurled a two hitter. H.H.S. 5. Whiting 0. Dick Harvey won his fourth game and the Wildcats ninth straight game in the Western Division with a fine defense leading the way.

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BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTS The YVildcats entered the tourneys with .1 magic 10 on their minds. The 10 represented the 10 games win in order to cop their first state title. they had to SECTIONALS: H.H.S XVI-IITING 54 H.I-LS. GRIFFITH 45 H.I-LS. E. C. WASHINGTON 47 I-I.I-I.S CLARK 62 The Wildcats won their first four games of the magic 10 and in the process copped their 15th sectional title. Some of the tourney's highlights were the rout of highly favored Washington, the record shooting against Clark, and Frank Radovich's 77 points to pace all scorers. REGIONALS: H.H.S. 59 GARY ROOSEVELT S3 No. 5 came only after a hard fought game. The Cats Won this one with fine balance scoring with all five starters getting seven to ten points apiece. I-I.I-LS. 58 MICHIGAN CITY 49 For three quarters No. 6 was the Cat's toughest game, but a 25 point fourth-quarter splurge all but pitch-forked the Devils. Gib Blackmun, playing his greatest game, scored 30 points. SEMI-FINALS: H.H.S. SS LOGANSPORT 46 This was the big one for our Cat, for Coach King never had won a game at Lafayette. No. 7 proved to be lucky, for the Wildcats crushed the highly-favored Berries. Frank Rado- vich. Gib Blackmun and Bill Johnson paced the scoring. H.H.S. 53 Elkhart 63 As all good thing must come to an end, the Cats were finally stopped by .1 tall, strong Blazer team which rose to the occasion. But the never-say-die XY'ildeats fought to the end with Radovich and Blackmun again supplying the spark. Page One Hundred Twenty-eight REGIONAL CHAMPIONS Tournament Time By Ronald Burton The ball travels swiftly from one end of the floor to the other as it passes through one netted hoop and then the other. As the game is in its final seconds the crowd is on its feet. Fame and obscurity hang in the balance. The score is tied when the spectators start chanting. I:IVE-FOUR-TI-IREIL TVVO-SI-IOOT! SHOOT! The ball flies through the air! The gun barks as the ball flies through the ring. W'e don't have to look at the scoreboard to see who has won. Look at the players! For a second they stand paralyzed, dumbfounded! Some bend their heads down, dejected, and stride slowly off the floor, each feeling personally responsible for the loss of the game. Let us look at the other five boys on the floor. They are pummeled and lifted jubilantly above the shoulders of the happy crowd. They are carried away by the people they havenyt let down. They are carried past gloomy and dejected fans, too deep in their sorrows to care about anything at present. Yes, tournament time is a great time and a sad time. As game after game passes, hopes mount and new sorrows arrive. The tournaments are based upon what makes America the great and strong nation that it is today. This is competition!

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VARSITY BASEBALL First Row: Bill Johnson, Bob Krudup, Tom Rosowicz, Allen Kolb, Dick Hemingway, Bill Schwingendorf. Second Row: Ed Stoll, Marvin Pruitt, Gib Blackmun, Richard Harvey, Ron Johnson, Gus Harloonian. In Fronf: Mr. Gellenbeck. Don Linos nal piclured. B-TEAM Firsl Row: George Feldman, Jim Kucer, Jack Foudray, Leo Marlin, Bill Purbaugh, John Abbott, Bob Jurgenson. Second Row: Dick Kaye, Terry McMahon, Harry Pappas, Larry Fisher, Pele Milobar, Gene Blackman. In front: Mr. Gellenbeck. me The Triple Play By Tom Rosowicz Is is the first of the fifth inning on the Hammond High School diamond. With the score 4-1 in favor of the Cats, the invading Horsemen are up for their turn at bat. The first man up leads off with a smash hit single. The second Horseman up manages to draw a walk. With two men on and a chance to score a run, the opponent's bench tries to rattle the Cat pitcher. The Cat infield is a jumble of words which can be classified as baseball talk. The crowd is on the edge of their seats as the Cat pitcher fires the first pitch- Strike, yells the ump. That seems to soothe the excited crowd. On the second pitch the Horseman batter blasts a low line-drive heading for center fieldg but wait! The Cat second baseman makes a shoe string stop! The second baseman relays the ball to the shortstop who beats the Horseman runner back to second baseg that's two outsg but base. The wait, the runner on first base is ten feet from the shortstop fires the ball to first. There seems to be dead silence as the runner and ball make a headlong dash to- ward first base. The sounding pop in the first baseman's glove tells everyone that the ball has finished first-a triple play! OUTFIELD-Ed Stoll, Don Linos, Ron John- PITCHERS-Bill Schwingendorf, Richard INFIELD-Allen Kolb, Dick Hemingway, son, Gib Blackmun. Harvey, Gib Blackmun, Marvin Pruill. Bill Johnson, Bob Krudup, Tom Rosowicz, Page One Hundred Thirly Gus Hartoonian.