The small school basketball tournament has been nomadic in its quest for a home. Even the name of the smallest classification has undergone several shifts. From 2A, to B to 1A, the smallest schools have played all over the state in search of a home for their state tournament.
When the event was a single class tournament in the 1920’s and the mid-30’s the Salem Armory played host. The little schools like Joseph, Heppner, Wallowa and others made the long trek to the Capital City and the large floor, long trip and enormous opposition was often too difficult to overcome.
Still in Salem, the tournament moved to Willamette University for the late 30’s as the small schools fought to gain their own tournament. This finally happened for the 1941 state tournament, hosted at Southern Oregon Normal College in Ashland. This was held in conjunction with the Southern Oregon Normal School’s annual Invitational Tournament (read more about this tournament here, and here).
The tournament continued to bounce around in the early 40’s as war curtailments and other issues forced the tournament to drop to just four teams from 1943-1945. These tournaments were held at Willamette University along with the large school tournament.
In 1946, the small town of Arlington hosted the tournament after several years of hosting the district 7 tournament in town. The town hosted the event for three years, 1946, 1947 and 1948 before the tournament moved again, this time to Union High School for the 1949 tournament.
Union high school also had a history of hosting district and county tournaments but they would only host the small school tournament for one season before the tournament was on the move again.
The tournament moved from the eastside of the state to the furthest point west as the Astoria Armory hosted the tournament in 1950. Again, Astoria had a history of hosting district and county events and surely basketball mad Astoria would support three-days of hoops.
It didn’t and once again, after one season, the tournament moved back to Willamette University and stayed there from 1951-1955. For the 1956 season, the school association created a third division breaking up the small school division. The smallest classification remained known as 2A, but the middle division became known as A-2 and included teams like St. Helens, Redmond, Coquille, Molalla and other future 3A schools.
Baker had the chance to host its first state tournament in 1956 after years of supporting the district tournaments and county tournaments in town. It was obvious to many that Baker wanted the tournaments in town but again, the tournament couldn’t gain traction and moved again.
The tournament bounced around between Bend (1957, ’59. ’61, ’63), Baker (1960, ’62) and Pendleton (1958) in search of a permanent home. For the 1960 tournament, director Gary Hammond got together a group of citizens and lobbied the OSAA to host the tournament in Baker.
The OSAA was skeptical but the tournament was held at very low cost and even made money for the OSAA. Then, according to Hammond, “they (the OSAA) awarded the tournament to Pendleton.” [1]
Beginning in 1964, the tournament enjoyed its longest stretch in one location as the Pendleton Armory gave the small schools a home for 10 years. Meanwhile, back in Baker, Hammond and his associates were attempting to get the tournament back to Baker.
Hammond teamed with two other community leaders and made a pitch to the OSAA to add a fourth classification and to host the tournament in Baker. One of Hammonds’ partners’, Leo Adler, asked Hammonds to come up with a dollar figure on what it would cost to run the tournament. When Hammonds came up with an estimate, Adler cut a check to cover the amount and the new “B” classification was born. [2]
At the conclusion of the 1973 season, the OSAA decided to break the classes up yet again. To this point, small schools were still matching up with schools three and four times their size. Schools like Powers, Mohawk, Malin and Elgin had had great success at times playing the 2A schools but the vast majority of the small schools had trouble matching up.
Listening to their small school constituents yet again, the OSAA created the “B” division which was made up of schools with enrollments of 75 or less. In addition to creating a fourth division, the OSAA moved the tournament to its permanent location, Baker City in Eastern Oregon.
Baker had a rich history of hosting small school tournaments. From the old district tournaments of Eastern Oregon in the 30’s to the Old Oregon League tournaments of today, the citizenry and community of Baker had always welcomed the small school crowd. In what can only be described as 100% commitment to the tournament, the citizen volunteers who make the Baker City state tournament hum is what keeps the state association coming back.
That and the low overhead cost, ease of managing the event and the profits.
For what it lacks in hotel and gym space, it makes up for with its heart and atmosphere and its help at all cost attitude that typified small town Oregon. For many, Baker City was small school basketball. It wasn’t played in a half empty arena in Portland. It wasn’t held in an apathetic community committed to making the town money.
It was played in a town that represented the small schools that traveled there. People from Powers, Prospect, Elkton, Alsea, Imbler, Jordan Valley, Helix and Jordan Valley cherished Baker City because it represented them. They looked at Baker City and saw a city that WANTED their tournament and their fans. They needed the tournament and did whatever they could to keep the tournament in Baker.
Small towns in Oregon overcame obstacles to survive and thrive. Same for Baker City. What it lacked in housing it made up for with its sheer delight in hosting the event. It overcame its shortcomings because it wanted to. It became clear very quickly that Baker City was the place for the small school state tournament.
34 years later, the elite of the small schools still traverse the mountains from the west, snake through the backroads of the north east and abandon their ranches in the southeast for a few days to take in what is now four days of wall-to-wall basketball.
What sets the 1A tournament apart from its big school brethren is the community support from the host city. While the majority of the crowd comes to cheer for their school or town, there is a great number of local residents who travel to Baker City to be a part of the tournaments. Take Dick Haynes for example. Haynes is a Baker City resident, without a dog in the fight. He does however; love the pageantry and passion of the small school tournament. “I enjoy the color of the small schools…Everybody from these small towns turns out to support them,” Haynes tells Baker City Herald reporter Mike Ferguson. Rich Cason of Elgin agrees and adds, “People are friendlier at a small school tournament. If you go to Salem or Portland, you’re a stranger. But here, they’re here to help you.” [3]
Cason’s comments personify why so many in Baker and small towns throughout the state don’t want the 1A tournament moved. It’s an extension of their town. They choose to live in Powers or Jordan Valley or Arlington or Dufur because they like the closeness. They like to feel connected to their neighbors, their schools and co-workers. And when eight teams converge on Baker City that first week in March, despite the different colors and mascots, at some level, everyone feels like family
[1] Hammond, Gary “Class 1A tourneys got their start in Baker,” Baker City Herald, 2 March 2007, 1B
[2] Ibid
[3] Ferguson, Mike “Small Schools, Big Fans,” Baker City Herald, 2 March 2007, 3A
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