Page 34 - The History of Lafayette Area Boys Basketball

a. The Waveland Hornets win 25 consecutive games to start the 1950-51 season & are undefeated
entering post season play. Head Coach Cliff Davis’ crew will win the Crawfordsville Sectional
before losing to Covington in the Regional. The Hornets will finish 25-1.
b. Denny Blind (Lafayette Jeff) is named to the Indiana All-Star Team.
c. Jay McCreary (DePauw Head Coach & Frankfort ’36) is named Head Coach of the Indiana
All-Star Team.
1952: Fritz Franz (Lafayette Jeff) is named to the Indiana All-Star Team.
State Finals Appearance: Lafayette Jeff
1953: New Richmond & Wingate consolidate to form Coal Creek Central H.S.
1954: Round Grove Twp. H.S. consolidates into Wolcott.
Area Leading Scorer: Bill Greve (Waveland) 27.6 ppg

1955: Bill Greve (Waveland) leads the state in scoring w/ an average 29.7 ppg. He will also break the area career
scoring record, finishing his career w/ 1777 points. He will later play basketball at Purdue.
a. The Francesville Zebras, coached by Vernon Childs, have an undefeated regular season & finish
the season w/ a 25-1 record. They will win the Rensselaer Sectional, before losing to Monticello
in the Logansport Regional.
b. Carrollton Twp. H.S. consolidates into Burlington H.S.
c. Clarks Hill & Stockwell consolidate to form Lauramie Twp. H.S.
d. Bowers H.S. closes & the students attend Linden during the 1955-56 school year.
February 18 , 1955: Dick Blue (Romney) scores 52 points v. Stockwell to set the area’s single
th

game scoring record.
Area Leading Scorer: Bill Greve (Waveland) 29.7 ppg
1956: Lafayette Jeff losses in the State Championship game to Indpls. Crispus Attucks by the score of 79-57. The
Bronchos finished the season 26-3.
a. Glen Harper & his New Ross Blue Jays win their first 26 games before losing in the Lafayette
Semi-State to Gary Froebel. The Blue Jays will finish the season w/ a 26-1 record.
b. Jackson Twp., Romney, Shadeland, Wea, & West Point consolidate to form Southwestern H.S.

c. Students from Bowers begin attending Darlington H.S.
d. Ron Fisher (Lafayette Jeff) is named to the Indiana Star Team.
1957: Bob Perigo (Lafayette Jeff) wins the Arthur L. Trester Award for Mental Attitude, while also being named to
the Indiana All-Star Team.
State Finals Appearance: Lafayette Jeff
a. The Red Devils of Otterbein run the table in the regular season for Head Coach Dallas Sandifar.
They will win the Fowler Sectional before losing to Lafayette Jeff in the morning game of the
Lafayette Regional. They finished the season w/ a record of 23-1.
b. Elmer McCall (Frankfort ’34 & former Head Coach at Delphi) wins the State Championship @
South Bend Central w/ a 30-0 record.
Area Leading Scorer: Charlie Bowerman (Alamo) 26.3 ppg
1958: Crawfordsville finishes as State Runner-up to Fort Wayne South. The Athenians finished the season 24-6. Dick
Haslam wins the Arthur L. Trester Award for Mental Attitude & is named to the Indiana All-Star Team.
State Finals Appearance: Crawfordsville
a. Deer Creek Twp. H.S. consolidates into Flora & Cutler consolidates into Burlington.
b. Lafayette Central Catholic opens.
Area Leading Scorer: Tom Nelson (Brook) 25.0 ppg
1959: Clinton Central is formed by consolidating Forest, Kirklin, Michigantown, Scircleville, & Sugar Creek Twp.
Area Leading Scorer: Joe Metzger (Rossville) 21.4 ppg

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