Ohio Basketball Topic
Topic: OT: Waterloo Wonders
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D.A.
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Posted: 3/17/2014 4:22 PM
A story that will warm the cockles of Borna's heart.
C Money
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Posted: 3/17/2014 4:53 PM
YES. One of the best sports stories that no one knows. There are a lot of great Wonders anecdotes. Two of my favorites: (1) The Wonders never dribbled, because the barnyard wasn't level enough to learn....so they just passed the ball up the court. (2) They once accidentally booked 2 games in a night. Instead of reschedule or forfeit one, they simply had the starters play the first half of one game, then put in subs while the starters trucked to the second school 45 minutes away. They won both games.

But my all-time favorite is a bit of a personal one: my mom went to elementary school at the old Waterloo school (by that time, Waterloo High had been consolidated into Symmes Valley School District, but the building was still used for an elementary). One of the original Wonders (Beryl Drummond, I think) was a janitor at the school. The kids at the elementary school would ask him (as a 65-70 year old man) to shoot hoops. And he would......he'd stand on the base line, shoot the ball through the rafters towards the opposite basket, and sink it every single time.
bornacatfan
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Posted: 3/17/2014 11:36 PM
D.A. wrote:expand_more
A story that will warm the cockles of Borna's heart.

Exquisite. Thanks for posting this. 

These are the things that I live to read. Makes my day. RIght up there with the Milan Mracle that became "Hoosiers" and the Hebron Giants in Illinois and a number of others I have run across in several states. THis is a gem worth investigating and experiencing. Kudos to the folk who put this together. The you tube teaser is fantastic. 

I remember Mr Hoskins as well. My dad coached against him while at Wayne HS and then followed his career as he did many of those players from Northmont, Meadowdale and similar in person and on TV.  I barely remember that gym with the blue and red banners at Belmont in the early 60's. I remember specifically a day when we went to watch my pops play pick up games  at the downtown Dayton Y and then went up the street to watch a game later that evening. Those were some of my earliest grade school memories with my pops watching Belmont, Patterson and Stivers as he scouted them.

You know that i am going to make plans to go to Lancaster to see that display. 

My own brush with an Olympic gold came from a patient that was very dear to me. I remember the day very clearly as I had this patient messing with me and playing coy asking me questons about hoops and who I liked and what teams I followed. . Turns out he knew a little about hoops. He had played on the 1948 NCAA champs and the London Olympic team, played pro ball and coached on many levels.  Originally from Yorktown iN he had started playing ball in the early 40's, when the war broke out he left his scholarship and was a navigator on a B29 that was shot down. He arranged intercamp POW basketball games where he honed his dribbling skills with a volleyball. They used the intercamp travel to pass communications between camps and keep morale high among ther POW's. WHen he returned post war he was offered his spot back and became one of the original FAB FIVE. We became pretty close and he asked if my boys would like to see his Olympic medal. I, of course, said yes and it was so.. I was happy to get him back to the point he could return for the weekend to his University and raise a banner in honor of the championship and the original Fab Five and then see those kids win their own championship. Treating him and sharing time was one of the great privileges of my life to date. 

I am very taken by this story and can't wait to watch this documentary. Thanks for putting this up. Can't wait to share this with my fellow Indiana hoops junkies. 
C Money
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Posted: 3/18/2014 9:24 AM
bornacatfan wrote:expand_more
I am very taken by this story and can't wait to watch this documentary. Thanks for putting this up. Can't wait to share this with my fellow Indiana hoops junkies. 



For some further reading, check out this book:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Waterloo-Wonders-Dick-Burdette/dp/1439225133/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1395148760&sr=8-2&keywords=waterloo+wonders
Bobcatbob
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Posted: 3/18/2014 9:31 AM
C Money wrote:expand_more
YES. One of the best sports stories that no one knows. There are a lot of great Wonders anecdotes. Two of my favorites: (1) The Wonders never dribbled, because the barnyard wasn't level enough to learn....so they just passed the ball up the court. (2) They once accidentally booked 2 games in a night. Instead of reschedule or forfeit one, they simply had the starters play the first half of one game, then put in subs while the starters trucked to the second school 45 minutes away. They won both games.

But my all-time favorite is a bit of a personal one: my mom went to elementary school at the old Waterloo school (by that time, Waterloo High had been consolidated into Symmes Valley School District, but the building was still used for an elementary). One of the original Wonders (Beryl Drummond, I think) was a janitor at the school. The kids at the elementary school would ask him (as a 65-70 year old man) to shoot hoops. And he would......he'd stand on the base line, shoot the ball through the rafters towards the opposite basket, and sink it every single time.
This flies in the face of something that I always heard about the Wonders, which is there were 5 and only 5 on that team. Gotta try to get to that presentation/exhibit.
oldkatz
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Posted: 3/18/2014 9:33 AM
WOUB did a piece on this team's history back in 2008.  All I could find was this teaser:
http://youtu.be/8XwZ4b2jUco

Also, the pictures verify that there were only 5 on the squad.
Last Edited: 3/18/2014 9:34:47 AM by oldkatz
C Money
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Posted: 3/18/2014 9:37 AM
Bobcatbob wrote:expand_more
This flies in the face of something that I always heard about the Wonders, which is there were 5 and only 5 on that team. Gotta try to get to that presentation/exhibit.


Yes and no.....my understanding is that there was THE 5. Those are the Wonders of legend. But in a pinch, like the story of 2 games on one night, they would use reserves.

EDIT: The expanded teaser video shows a shot of the historical marker, which lists 6 "other team members" for the 1934 and 1935 seasons.
Last Edited: 3/18/2014 9:48:00 AM by C Money
bornacatfan
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Posted: 3/18/2014 10:02 AM
Those look like some pretty nice motorcycling roads. Looks like my trips to hebron Il, Hoopeston, Milan IN and similar....... will be on the bike. There is something about doing the research and actually visiting a place that connects you back to the game. Not too far from Athens BMW down to there I would think.
Bobcatbob
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Posted: 3/19/2014 4:38 PM
C Money wrote:expand_more
This flies in the face of something that I always heard about the Wonders, which is there were 5 and only 5 on that team. Gotta try to get to that presentation/exhibit.


Yes and no.....my understanding is that there was THE 5. Those are the Wonders of legend. But in a pinch, like the story of 2 games on one night, they would use reserves.

EDIT: The expanded teaser video shows a shot of the historical marker, which lists 6 "other team members" for the 1934 and 1935 seasons.



Nice to know.  Bringing that to today, is that a short bench only with 6 guys?
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