| Fowlerville had a severe case of 'March Madness' 50 years ago |
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The 1960-61 Fowlerville Varsity Basketball Team, led by Coach Glenn Arnold, is shown here afer winning the Class C Regional at Bay City 50 years ago. By Steve Horton Fifty years ago this month Fowlerville had a severe case of ‘March Madness’. The varsity basketball team, which had won a co-championship with Okemos in the Ingham County League and won the Swartz Creek Christmas Tournament, reached the Class C quarterfinals on March 22 in a game with Grosse Pointe St. Paul. They fell to the eventual state champions by a 55-45 score. The team started its remarkable season with an opening 40-36 loss at Okemos. They then swept the rest of the regular schedule, including a 62-54 rematch win at home against the Chieftains. The starting ‘five’ for the team were center John Damman, forwards Ken Curtis and Dave Roberts, and guards Don ‘Butch’ Hauser and William ‘Pete’ Miller. The coach was Glenn Arnold. Other team members included Bob Cheney, Ed Helzerman, Ron Helzerman, Ernie Carlson, Gary Humrich, Jim Gruden, Owen Judd, Bill Onsted, Richard Roberts, and Jim Dean. The volunteer sports reporter for the ‘Fowlerville Review’ was Stirling “Doug” Douglass. Below are some excerpts from his game reports.
GLAD CAGERS LOSE ONE—BOUNCE BACK TO DEFEAT HASLETT The Fowlerville cagers playing their first game of the season were defeated by Okemos by a mere four points. Playing in the new Okemos gym, the Glads couldn’t go ahead and the final score was 40 to 36. Dave Roberts was high point man with 12. On Tuesday night the Glads made up somewhat for the football season as they defeated the Vikings from Haslett on the Fowlerville court 47-35. Butch Hauser was high for the Glads with 19 points. GLADS WIN AGAIN, STAY IN RUNNING Coach Glenn Arnold’s Gladiators won their second league game against one defeat to remain in contention for the Ingham County League title last Friday evening in defeating the Dansville Aggies to the tune of 52-43. Dave Roberts, pacing the team, racked up 16 points for the Glads as they led the Aggies 30-19 at halftime. * * * GLADS WIN OVER LESLIE Fowlerville’s Big Glads continued their winning ways Friday evening by beating Leslie there, 80-62. The game started out as a fairly even contest with the first quarter ending Fowlerville 22 and Leslie 19. The Glads added a little to their edge by leading at halftime, 41-32. The roof fell in on Leslie in the third quarter with Fowlerville scoring 29 points to Leslie’s 16. High scorer of the night was Hauser with 21 and John Damman only one point behind him with 20. ** * GLADS ON THIER WAY IN HOLIDAY TOURNEY The Glads had no trouble at all in their first game of the Christmas Tournament at Swartz Creek. They held Linden to no field goals at all in the first quarter, ending that period with a 21-1 lead. The local boys led at the half, 26-14, with the final score reading Fowlerville 57 to Linden’s 30. The Gladiators showed some fine pass work and again displayed a good defensive game, forcing Linden to shoot from farther out than they liked during most of the game. Butch Hauser was high scorer with 16 points, while Dave Roberts accounted for 13 and Kenny Curtis 11. Every boy on the team saw some action. * * * GLADIATORS WIN CHAMPIONSHIP AT CHRISTMAS TOURNAMENT The Gladiators won the Christmas Tournament by defeating Perry in the final game, 58-43. At the end of the first quarter the score stood at Fowlerville 20 and Perry 12. At halftime the Glads led by the score of 33 to 25. This marks the first time in quite a number of years that the Gladiators have participated in a holiday tournament, let alone winning the championship trophy. Coach Glenn Arnold’s team was so joyous that they hoisted their coach up on their shoulders and carted him off to the dressing room at one end of the beautiful gym at Swartz Creek. The entire team, although somewhat tired after playing a ball game for three straight days, still looked very good on the court, passing the ball around and jumping after and getting the rebounds that made the difference in the ball game. Ken Curtis led the scoring with 16, John Damman had 12, Butch Hauser 8, Dave Roberts 7, and Pete Miller 6. (Fowlerville reached the finals with a win over the winner of the Montrose-Flint Dye game. There’s nothing in that week’s game report on which one they played.) * * * GLAD CAGERS CONTINUE WINNING The Gladiators continued their winning ways last Friday in downing the Spartans of Webberville, 49-32. Ken Curtis was the big gun for the Glads with 12 points. Miller scored 11, Damman had 7, and Roberts and Ernie Carlson 6 each. During the first quarter the Glads could hardly buy a basket and the quarter ended with Fowlerville 9 and Webberville 6. By half they led 24-15 and after three quarters 37-22. * * * GLADS TAKE TWO GAMES Fowlerville’s Varsity Basketball Team gained undisputed possession of second place in the Ingham County League this week by winning two games. They played at Williamston last Tuesday and had no trouble winning by a score of 67-57. The local boys used a press to some degree some of the time and it seemed to upset Williamston’s style of play all evening. Pete Miller had his best night of the year and was high scorer with 23 points. Hauser was next with a total of 13. All of the boys got into the act. Friday evening the local boys played at Stockbridge, and Coach Arnold’s lads won handily by a score of 62-29. Hauser came up with a fine scoring effort of 25 points for the night. Damman, Miller and Curtis had 9 points each. * * * GLADS DEFEAT OKEMOS—TIE FOR FIRST PLACE On Friday evening, Jan. 20, the Gladiators defeated Okemos, 62-55. Undoubtedly one of the largest crowds ever to witness a basketball game in Fowlerville watched the Glads go out in front at the beginning of the ball game and were never headed as they roared into the fourth quarter way ahead of the opposition. They then seemed to slow down and only won by eight points. High point man for the Glads was Butch Hauser with 17, followed by Dave Roberts with 13, Ken Curtis with 11, Pete Miller with 10, John Damman with 9, and Ernie Carlson with 2. The team played an excellent ball game throughout the first three quarters, controlling the boards as well as sinking the counters from nearly everywhere on the floor. In the final period the team seemed to go cold and missed five one-and-one free throws, plus several layups. * ** GLADIATORS WIN AGAIN Fowlerville won at Dansville last Friday night and, in doing so, remains in a tied for first place in the league. The Glads were pretty well contested in the first quarter, with the Aggies leading 14-12. The local lads started doing better in the second period and left the floor at halftime ahead 36-26. Dansville came back and cut the difference in the third quarter, but Fowlerville caught fire in the fourth period to win 70-54. There was a very large crow of Fowlerville people at the game and that certainly gives the boys an added desire to win games. Dave Roberts led the scoring with 23 points, followed by Hauser with 17, Damman with 11, and Carlson with 8. * * * GLADS CONTINUE WINNING—RATED 6TH IN AP POLL Fowlerville won another game, beating Leslie 71-41. They have been rated sixth in the statewide poll by the Associated Press. The Glads put on a real fine demonstration of good passing and teamwork to practically run away with the ball game. Coach Glenn Arnold has educated these boys to play with each other, not individually. High scorer was Hauser with 17 points, Curtis right on his heels with 15, and next came Damman and Roberts with 13 points each. Miller scored 8, Bob Cheney 2, Ed Helzerman 2, and Owen Judd 1. * * * GLADS STILL GOING STRONG Coach Glenn Arnold’s Gladiators added another game to their victory string at Webberville Friday night, winning 61-35. The boys had a little trouble with Webberville at the very start of the game, but it wasn’t long and you could see the handwriting on the wall. Webberville, without three of its regular players, was no match for the Glads. Hauser was again high point man with 16 points. He had been high pointer for four out of the last five games, having rung up a total of 92 points in those five games. Dave Roberts had 12 and Damman 10. Everyone played: Richard Roberts, Gary Humrich, Bill Onsted, Jim Gruden, Ronald Helzerman, Ed Helzerman, Bob Cheny, Jim Dean, Owen Judd, and Ernie Carlson, along with the starting ‘five’. * * *
BASKETBALL TEAM ROLLS ON WITH WIN OVER STOCKBRIDGE Our Gladiators took another game, beating Stockbridge here Friday night 67-46. The senior Glads had no problems whatever and continued to build a more substantial lead as the game went on. They left the floor at halftime with a 33-21 lead. Coach Arnold was able to use all of his players, substituting freely in the fourth quarter. Kenny Curtis came up with a fine 22-point scoring effort, Dave Roberts following with 14, and Butch Hauser with 13. The first string of five boys made 21 out of 24 foul shots. Roberts did not miss a foul shot out of 8 tries. There was a fine crowd out, especially considering the foggy evening. Let’s go to the Williamston game here Friday night and give the boys a big boost. This is the last home game of the season and our last chance to see a fine basketball representative of Fowlerville Community Schools. And don’t forget that six of the first seven boys on this squad will graduate in June; this is their last game of basketball before the home crowd. Let’s jam the gym with basketball enthusiasts. * * * GLADS BEAT WILLAMSTON—RATED THIRD IN STATE The Glads had a little trouble getting up steam against Williamston here Friday night; the score was only 4-2 in Fowlerville’s favor with the first quarter already four minutes old. They slowly gained momentum and led by 10 points at the half with a 26-16 score. The local lads played their best ball of the evening in the third quarter, scoring 22 points to the Hornets 9. The game ended with a 60-45 win for the Glads. Dave Roberts led the scoring with 15 points, having made 9 of 11 four shots. He was followed by Hauser and Miller with 12 points each, Ken Curtis with 10, and John Damman with 7. The team plays at Haslett Friday night and they must win this game in order to secure a tie for the Ingham County League Championship. Let’s everyone go to Haslett and help support these boys. * * * GLADIATORS ARE LEAGUE CO-CHAMPS Coach Glenn Arnold’s Big Glads looked for awhile like they might get speared by Haslett last Friday, but they finally dulled the Viking’s weapon and came out with a big 63-50 win. This gave them the Ingham County League Championship with Okemos. It was very obvious at Haslett that the Vikings were after the Gladiator’s scalp, and I for one thought for awhile that they might get it. But poise and perseverance finally won out and the local lads came home with all their head pieces intact. The team had its main trouble in the second and third quarters when they just couldn’t seem to get the lid off the basket and the Vikings were hotter than the proverbial pistol. Our boys played a good team game, just as they have been doing for some time, and it eventually paid off. Dave Roberts had his best night of the year, scoring 26 points. Ken Curtis had 16 and John Damman had 12. * * * FOWLERVILLE CAGERS WIN DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP Coach Glenn Arnold’s Gladiators played Flint Dye Friday evening at Swartz Creek (after getting a first round bye) and came off the floor with a big 80-56 win. Flint Dye gave the boys a little trouble at the start of the game with the first quarter ending in their favor, 17-14, but by the end of the first half we had an eight-point lead with the score of 33-25. The team increased their lead at the end of the third period to 12 points with a 60-48 score. The Big Glads took off in the last period and the game ended with a substantial lead of 24 points. The Fowlerville lads played a fine, well balanced team ball game as is shown by the fact that all five of the starters scored in double figures. Dave Roberts was high point man with 18, followed by Pete Miller and John Damman with 17 each. At 7 o’clock Saturday night the Glads played Flint Utley for the District Championship. The Glads had a two point lead with a 15-13 score at the end of the first quarter. Utley was leading at halftime 31-30 and they also were ahead 44-42 at the end of the third period. The beautiful Swartz Creek Gymnasium was a bedlam during most of the last period as the lead changed hands several times. The outcome was decided by the fact that Hauser, Curtis and Roberts swished the net with two foul shots apiece for a game-deciding total of six needed points, and believe you me, the pressure was on these kids. The game ended with a 56-52 win, good for the first District Championship for Fowlerville in a long time. I would judge that there must have been in the vicinity of 1,000 people from Fowlerville and the noise they made would give support to any ball team. They had the building shuddering at game’s end. High scorer was John Damman with 18 points, Butch Hauser had 16, Ken Curtis 15, and Dave Roberts had 7, having sat out about half the game with four fouls. Pete Miller, Ernie Carlson, Bob Cheney and Owen Judd played in this game. All the lads played a fine defensive game. Coach Glenn Arnold was presented the championship trophy and to say that the look on his face was the happiest one in the house would be challenged by no one who was there. It might be said here that the tournament officials complimented our boys for their neat, clean appearance when they arrived each night to get ready for their games. This is something that the community itself, as well as the boys, can be justly proud of. This is a collection of good, clean-living kids who give their best to win and certainly they are a fine representative for Fowlerville to be sending to other towns for sports participation, just as has been the case in many years past, as long as I can remember. Fowlerville Community Schools has again been awarded the Good Sportsmanship Trophy in the Ingham County League and, if they can win it again next year, it will have a permanent home at 450 North Hibbard. The Glads go to the Bay City Regional Tournament this week. Fowlerville drew a bye, which automatically puts them in the semi-finals on Friday. They will play the winner of the Sebewaing-Montrose game. I sincerely hope that everyone who went to the game Saturday night in Swartz Creek will be at Bay City, along with some other people who didn’t go. Our Gladiators are going to need all the support we can muster because they now have advanced to a tournament where they will start sorting the men from the boys in competition. Fowlerville’s Glads will be on a film strip on television Channel 10 at 6:25 p.m. this week. * * * GLADS WIN REGIONAL OVER BAY CITY SCHOOL Coach Arnold’s Big Glads took all the marbles with a big 49-39 win at Bay City Saturday night and came home with a beautiful Regional Championship trophy to deck the halls of learning at 450 North Hibbard (the then high school and now Munn School). “This is the first time in Fowlerville School’s sports participation that a basketball team has won a Regional Tournament, and it was won from a very fine ball team in the final game. Bay City St. Joseph wasn’t about to give in if they could help it and our boys had to be satisfied with a 7 and 8 point lead throughout the game. Bay City had the lead for the first half of the first quarter, but once the Glads went ahead, they never again relinquished their advantage. Needless to say, the huge crowd of supporters for our team certainly must have given the boys some added incentive to win. I would judge that there were upwards to 1,500 people cheering for Fowlerville. We had fans from all over. Fowlerville had the lead 17-10 at the end of the first quarter, 25-20 at halftime, 38-29 at the end of the third period, and the final score was 49-39. Hauser, Curtis and Roberts had 13 points each, with Miller and Carlson getting 5 points each. John Damman played a last quarter and his bad ankle didn’t seem to hold him down too much (he’d sprained it). He should be in good shape for Wednesday night’s quarterfinals. The smiles on the faces of Glenn Arnold and his boys when they received the Regional Championship trophy would have brought a high dollar, had there been any toothpaste representatives in the crowd. They were really a happy group of ball players. Fowlerville plays Grosse Pointe St. Paul at Pontiac Northern at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday evening. Let’s everyone go to this game. The crowd support for our Glads has surely been great, but we are going to take a bigger crowd than any yet to this game and, regardless of the circumstances, cheer your lungs out when the cheerleaders ask for it. These cheerleaders work as hard as anyone at a game and it makes them feel pretty good when you help them make a noise. * * * GLADS LOSE IN QUARTERFINALS TO ST. PAUL, BUT WIN PRAISE OF ALL FOR SPORTSMANSHIP PROUD OF OUR KIDS? You bet we are. They lost their quarterfinal game to St. Paul of Grosse Pointe Wednesday night, but they went down fighting like champions. St. Paul went on to become Class C State Champions on Saturday afternoon. They had a real fine ball team and surely they deserved to take home the top crown in Michigan. I am not going to get on a ten-page dissertation about what we should or should not have done. Coach Glenn Arnold and his squad did the very best they could and all who were there (who wasn’t?) have no thought of offering any alibi’s. St. Paul got away with a 4, 5, and 6 point lead at times in the first quarter and the boys were never able to overcome this spread in the face of the phenomenal shooting percentage of St. Paul’s field goal attempts. High point man for the Glads was Dave Roberts with 18. He was followed by Ken Curtis with 12, Pete Miller with 5, John Damman with 4, and Butch Hauser and Ernie Carlson had 3 points each. St. Paul won by a score of 55-45. I am truly sure that this was probably the toughest game that St. Paul ran into all season, although I am not posted on all their games. I like to win just as well as all the rest, but the thing that makes your heart feel good in high school sports is the fact that the good sportsmanship of our Gladiators, their coaches and their fans means more than all the fancy trophies that money can buy. Compliments came from all sides, including the coach and followers of St. Paul. Plummer Mifflin of the “Lansing State Journal” told me that he had never seen so large a following as Fowlerville had for its size, nor a crowd that acted like true sportsmen, particularly when their opponents were shooting foul shots. May I add right here and now, I thought St. Paul’s boys and crowd acted the same. I would like to convey the heartiest CONGRATULATIONS on behalf of our coaches, our Glads, and our fans to the 1961 Michigan State Class C Championship Basketball Team—St. Paul of Grosse Pointe. I need say nothing more excepting that, as far as I am concerned, our Glads are the greatest Champs of all. Stirling ‘Doug’ Douglass |
