The regular basketball season is done for all but two of the Tuscarawas County Class B basketball teams. Strasburg and Dundee wind up their seasons tonight in home contests. Next week in Memorial Hall starts the big festival that can lead up the long and exciting road to the top of the heap or end along the highway somewhere in defeat. The cheering, the tense moments and all the color that go along with the basketball tournaments will be here once again. This will be the top event in scholastic sports for the next six weeks until Class A and B champtions are crowned in the Cleveland Arena.*
One of the thrills in the tournament comes from watching an underdog team rise up and knock off the favorite. It's happened every year since tournaments. In fact, it started way back when David took his little slingshot and kayoed Goliath. The underdogs are always backed to the hilt, but at tournament time when there are plenty of nonparitsan fans around, this is even more in evidence and the team which is picked to lose may catch fire and ride into the victory column on the cloud built by encouraging cheers from the crowd. The County Class B tournament has become a part of each community's life since it started back in 1923. When tournament time arrives the crowd collects early and each cheering section picks a spot, the banner goes up and the yelling starts, long before the first two teams trot onto the floor for the warmups.
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There are only four of the 11 teams in the County League which have never won a tournament championship. Of these, three have lost out in the final game while the fourth, Port Washington hasn't even won the consolation title as yet. This could be the year for the Purple Riders to catch fire and sweep into the limelight. Stone Creek turned the trick a couple of years back. This could be the year for Mineral City which lost out in the finals in 1949. The Tigers claimed the consolation title the first year that the meet was turned into a double elimination affair back in 1933. Dundee was runnerup twice. In 1928 the Bulldogs lost out to Strasburg in the finals and in 1941, Midvale turned the Pups back. Dundee came up with the consolation championship in 1951. Baltic, one of the strongest teams in the circuit, had a crack at the title in 1939, but lost out to Sugarcreek-Shanesville. In 1952 the Eagles had another chance, but lost out to the cinderella Stone Creek Panthers.
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Strasburg, the current favorite, has won the championship more times than any other team in the league. The Tigers won the first tournament back in 1923 under Coach Sam Watkins. Strasburg won again in 1927 and 1928. The Bengals under Coach Paul Roby won three straight years in 1932, 1933 and 1934. It was 1939 before Strasburg won again, but the Tigers were champions four years straight from 1944 through 1947 for the longest streak in the history of the meet. Coach Don Martin saw his chargers win the tournament in 1951. That was Strasburg's 13th tournament title. Strasburg has finished as runnerup once and won four consolation titles.
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Midvale didn't win a clear-cut tourney title until 1931, but the Blue Devils have won five since that time and are the current defending champions. The Blue Devils finished in the runnerup spot several times and claimed three consolation victories. Sugarcreek-Shanesville's Pirates were champions four times runnerups on five occasions and consolation winners twice. Bolivar was the kingpin twice and runner up five times while winning the consolation once. Gnadenhutten was twice champion, runnerup three times and consolation kings twice. Tuscarawas was the winner once, runnerup three times and consolation champ five times.
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That's the score up to now, but when the teams start scrambling next week, the favorites will have to work just as hard in each game for anyone of the underdogs could assume the role of David and reenact the old Biblical tale. Next week's action is just the start. There'll be the Class B sectional here in Dover and the Class A section at Cambridge. Following this, there will probably be county teams in the Class B District meet at Brilliant and perhaps a team in the Class A District at Martins Ferry. From there on in it's anybody's guess. Tournament time is here again.
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Saturday, February 13, 1954
Art Cicconetti
Sports Editor
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio
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