Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 62, Number 46, Decatur, Adams County, 24 February 1964 — Page 9

SECOND SECTION

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DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Tough Tourney Team Missing As Hartford School Is Now Closed

One of the real “tournament teams” in Adams county basketball circles will be missing from this year’s seciona! tournament at Adams Central. With the closing of the doors of Hartford Center high school last spring, the Gorillas were thereby dropped from the ranks of contenders for the 1964 sectional crown. A sectional tournament without “little Hartford” will not seem the same, as for years the tiny Hartford township school has produced basketball teams that were always feared by all other teams in Adams County. In its many years of operation, the Hartford basketball teams won just two sectional tournament titles, in 1948 and 1957, but the school’s list of upsets is quite lengthy. The last game played by the Hartford Gorillas was in the opening round of last year’s sectional, when they were beaten by Monmouth’s talented Eagle quintet by an 82-58 score. Their final season of competition saw eight wins and 12 defeats.

Decatur, Indiana, 4673 3, Monday, February 2 4, 1964.

Through the years, however, there were many moments of glory for Gorilla fans. First Crown The school celebrated its first “all the way” in the sectional tournament when the Gorillas of Coach Herman Neuenschwander downed the Decatur Catholic Co modores in the final game of the 1948 meet at Decatur. When the final gun sounded, Hartford had beaten the Commodores by a 42-29 count, after a thrilling battle in the firth half. Hartford had moved into the final round by besting Geneva, 32-25, and Monroe by a 41-35 tally. The Gorillas showed their fine 17.4 season record was no fluke with their win over the Decatur quintet. Dave Gillig’s free throw early in the third period gave the Commodores their last lead at 16-15, as the Gorillas threw in the next 14 points in succession for a 29-16 lead. The Commodores were held without a field goal in the third quarter. Neuenschwander’s lads hit 16 of 57 shots from the field in chalking up their first title, and the Commodores hit only nine of 46 attempts. The following Saturday, don Moser hit only nine of 46 attempts. The following Saturday, Don Moser hit for 13 points and Lloyd Spichiger 10, as the Gorillas blasted Huntington by a 51-32 score in the Huntington regional. Portland ended any regional title hopes, however, with a 5138 victory over Hartford in the regional finale. Portland had a fellow on their team by the name of Darrell Brewster, who played a lot of football with the Cleveland Browns a few years later. Reach Finals Hartford reached the final game of the 1951 sectional, but was whipped by a good Decatur Yellow Jacket five by a 69-40 score. • The Gorillas, who had beaten. Jefferson by a 68-56 score in the afternoon, jumped into an early 8-3 lead in the night game but trailed 17-13 after the first period. Decatur got only one field goal in the second period and the Gorillas held a 25-23-lead at halftime. - But the Jackets grabbed a quick 37-26 lead in the third stanza and held a 50-35 lead entering the final quarter, when they turned the contest into a rout. Decatur, winning its third title in succession, got 21 points , from Jim Moses and 17 from Vic Strickler, while Jerry Augsburger’s 15 and Jack Meyer’s 12 topoed Hartford. Big Upset Two years later, however, the Gorillas gained revenge for that defeat and pulled off a stunning (Continued to 3A)

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