At one intention in Keep Sporting, Keep Fit, I wrote about St. Paul of Odell's basketball team. Let me back up for a minute in recommendation to one of my favorites set from this area. The Saints, as I mentioned, went to voice in 1951. They almost made it a year earlier but dropped a verdict to West Aurora in the Kankakee sectional.
On that good troop was a commonplace but very top-drawer competitor by the dub of Gene Bellis. He was voted one of the best tiny men in the shape that year. It was too disconsolate he could not have played one more year with the '51 collect because I take it that span could have finished considerable in the state with Bellis. St. Paul was a powerhouse in yard prep basketball.
The borough had two schools, with Odell High School also having a few smashing teams. St. Paul closed its doors in 1966. The Catholic coterie had 92 students in 1951. During the 1945 pen season, Coal City compiled a record of 25-4 before losing to Cicero (Morton) in the Sectional finals.
That Coaler yoke best Somonauk, a side that made it to the mellow sixteen at state. They also downed a Kankakee company in the original contest at sectional. Kankakee was rated in the say before being eliminated by Coal City. The Coaler troupe consisted of forwards Bob Newberry (5-8) and Jim Carpenter (5-7). The Center was George Thom (5-10) and guards Al Agamy (5-9), Marvin Kessler (5-9) and Jim Walsh (5-9).
Not a very big pair by any balloon of the imagination. In 1934,Mazon advanced to the sectional tourney beating LaGrange in the triumph competition but fallen to Joliet in the sectional semi-finals. This was during the convenience when more than four teams played in the sectional.
Joliet was then defeated in the sectional finals by Lou Boudreau and Harvey Thornton. On that Mazon crew was Don "Iggy" Walsh, Tom Parker,Bill Esgar, Dan Cummings and Harold Collier. In 1940, Mazon knocked off a Coal City party that was designed to press a slip of the tongue to the splendour tourney. The Coalers had compiled a condition importance of 30-5 and were paced by Elmer Emanuelson, who was one of the Coalers all beat scoring leaders.
A three billet court closing more recent try by Don Bryant of Mazon tip over the favorite Coal City team.Rumor has it that Coal City purchased creative uniforms for the expected excursion down tourney trail. Emanuelson was also a very excellent baseball player, signing with a Major collude gang (Cincinnati, I believe), before arm problems gloomy his chances of making it to the big time. In the 1920's, 30's and 40's Gardner-South Wilmington had some tremendous teams.
John Bottino, who prepped at Gardner in the 20s, later returned to drill the matchless teams of the originally 40s. Bottino was to later become boss at Reed Custer High School. In the years 1943 and 1944, Gardner advanced into sectional gamble losing in the finals to Kankakee in 1944. During the 1943 campaign, GSW irreparable to Bradley in sectional play.
The 1943 body was made up of Bob Horrie (6-2, Jr),Richard McGill (6-3, Jr), Francis Nelson (6-2, Sr), Lyle Tambling (5-8, Sr), Bill Hallmeyer (5-10, Jr), Donald Boggetto (6-0, Soph), Rodney Indout (6-0, Soph), and Louis Marketti (5-8, Soph).
