1940's 1st Team Announced

The 1940’s was an era of change in small school basketball. The smallest classification finally got its own tournament, separate from the big schools. Many of the small, rural schools were closing and consolidating into bigger districts and new schools began making a splash onto the state scene.

Future dynasties were born in the ‘40’s. Powers, with 24 state tourney trips to their credit, won their first district title in 1942. One mini-dynasty was ending when Westport fell in the state final in 1942, ending a four-year run of success with a state title and a runner-up finish. The war years saw another change as the tournament dropped from eight teams to four and a tall center from Reedsport dominated the state and set a school scoring record that still stands today.

The late 40’s saw teams like Drain, Reedsport, eastern Oregon’s Union and Rogue River rise to prominence. Their stars are featured prominently in our 1st Team All-1940’s Team.

Guards
Bob Cellars – Drain – Cellars competed in three state tournaments in the late 40’s for the Warriors of Drain. As a sophomore, the 5-9 Cellars was a first team All-State player and the third leading scorer in the state tournament. With Drain facing elimination after an opening round loss at the hands of Monmouth, Cellars poured in 23 points in a 40-37 win over Garibaldi to earn a shot at the fourth place trophy. Drain destroyed Oakridge 57-38 for the fourth place trophy led by Cellars 11 points. It was still somewhat rare for sophomores to factor that heavily into their teams’ success at the state tournament, but Cellars bucked that trend. In 1949, as a junior, Cellars again led the Warriors but there was no second team selected. He scored 12 points in a 45-44 victory over Perrydale in the opener and followed up with 11 in a 32-26 loss to Alsea in the semifinals. Out of steam, Drain lost big to Rogue River, 53-29 for the fourth place trophy, but Cellars did his damage, leading the Warriors with nine points. Cellars wrapped up his career in 1950 as the 8th leading scorer in the state tournament and a fifth place trophy. Undone by eventual state champs Rogue River in the semifinals, Drain then fell to Girabaldi in the third place game. Cellars tallied 32 points in the three games.

Don Wendt – Jacksonville – Wendt had good size for a guard, standing 6-0 and was a high scoring offensive player for the Redskins. Wendt made his mark as an underclassman in the Southern Oregon Normal School Invitational before Jacksonville ever made the tourney. Jacksonville lost their first two games at the SONS Invitational but Wendt led the Redskins both times, pouring in 17 points in a loss to Yoncalla as a junior and 8 vs. Gold Beach as a sophomore sub. By the time the 1948 state tournament came around, Wendt was a season veteran and one of the top guards in the state. Wendt was an unstoppable force in the tourney of 1948 as he poured in 59 points in three games to help Jacksonville capture the state title. He was the leading scorer in the tournament and outscored teammate Bob Harris by 16 points. At the conclusion of the tournament, despite the statistical dominance, Wendt was left off the 1st team all-state team and instead earned 2nd team all-state mention.

Forwards

Bob Bushnell – Powers (pictured at right) – The Bushnell brothers were two of the key members of Powers’ first dynasty in the early 40’s. The Cruisers would go on to become the winningest program in Oregon small-school history. Bob Bushnell teamed with his brother Jack and the Grove brothers Tom and Frank to make Powers a force in the 40’s. Bob Bushnell’s work in the 1942 district tournament as a sophomore probably fully entrenched him into Powers lore. Bushnell, in the championship game of the 1942 District 5 Tournament suffered a broken nose in the third quarter and had to retire from the contest. A week later in the state tournament, the scrappy sophomore earned 1st team all-state tournament mention as Powers nabbed the fifth place trophy. A year later, Powers returned to the state tournament after winning the District 5 Tournament at Marshfield and then a playoff game with Central Point to advance to the four-team tournament. The Cruisers fell to eventual champion Warrenton 27-26 in the opening game but rebounded the next night to capture third place. Brother Jack led the tournament in scoring with 20 points, but Bob wasn’t far behind with 15 and earned 2nd Team All-State mention. It was a very balanced team, as the Grove brothers, Frank and Tom were also in the top-5 in scoring with Frank tallying 17 and Tom chipping in 15. 67 of the teams 75 points came from that quartet. The 1944 state champion Cruiser team was a juggernaut and cruised to a 26-1 record on the season. The state tournament was a mere formality as Powers easily dispatched Grant Union 47-28 in the first round and Pleasant Hill 53-25 in the finals. Several spectators and media members during the tournament felt that Powers could have given “A” champion Ashland a good matchup if the single class tournament was still in use at the time.

Fred March – Umapine – The 5-11 March was a steady hand for a pair of state tournament teams for Umapine in the late 40’s. It had been 13 years since Umapine had captured a state tournament berth, and March was a big reason why. March was a consistent and reliable scorer for the Chiefs in their two-year run of success out of District 7. March led the Chiefs into the tournament as a junior and was fourth in the tournament in scoring with 33 points in three games in helping Umapine capture third place. High-scoring Jacksonville, led by Don Wendt and Don Harris outlasted Umapine by six 51-45 enroute to the state title. March and the Chiefs returned to the state tournament in 1949. Unfortunately the Chiefs drew Rogue River, holder of an impressive 23-0 record heading into the tournament. March and Umapine fought valiantly and led for most of the game and March did his part as a “long shot artist and sank four from way out in the final half.” [1] Rogue held off March and Umapine, seizing the lead late in the fourth quarter to hold on for a 38-35 victory. In the consolation game the following day, March teamed with center Wally Richartz to hold off Warrenton 43-42. Against Fossil in the fourth place game, the two teams were very even but Fossil’s Steve Harrison led the way with 19 points. March did his part, tallying 13 for the Chiefs who were undersized at every position. Ricartz, Umapine’s center, stood just 5-10 and relied heavily on the crafty March to control the defensive backboards.

Center

Clyde DeWitt – Reedsport – (pictured at left) One of the most prolific scorers during the early years of the small school basketball in Oregon. DeWitt’s scoring was legendary and prodigious and he helped the Braves to two-straight state tournament berths and a state championship. The Braves nearly captured two titles in a row but were thwarted by a stellar and well rounded Clatskanie team in 1945 29-26. As a sophomore in 1944 DeWitt nearly carried the Braves to an upset win over Powers in the first round of the District 5 tournament at Marshfield. Powers held on for a 30-26 victory but a young Clyde Dewitt went to-to-toe with Bob Bushnell, Shirley Shorb, Tom and Frank Grove and the Cruisers and tallied 16 points in the contest. It was Powers’ closest playoff loss of the season. DeWitt was an unstoppable force in the state tournament as a junior. His 25 points per game average was double the closest competitor. By the time his senior year came around, DeWitt was the top scorer in the state. The Braves cruised to a 23-2 record, the only two losses coming at the hands of the University of Oregon freshman team. Reedsport cruised through the season and into the Douglas County championship game. DeWitt went ballistic on the boards and tallied 46 points to help lead the Braves to the championship. The 46 points is believed to be a school record to this day at Reedsport. DeWitt outscored Glendale, who could only tally 43 points in the 84-43 loss. DeWitt poured in 104 points in the four games, good for 26 points per game average. They wrapped up the District 4 championship the following week, once again trouncing Glendale, this time 50-25. At the state tournament, the two best teams met in the first round. Pleasant Hill came in with a 18-1 record and played the Braves tooth and nail. The game went to overtime before Reedsport prevailed 47-45. St. Paul, who was unbeaten at 22-0, fell in the semifinals by a margin of 48-28 and the Braves captured the title with a ten-point win over North Powder 42-32. DeWitt once again led the tournament in scoring with 59 points in three games. His two-year scoring average of 21.8 points per game ranked him as one of the most prolific scorer at the state tournament in his era.

[1] “Bobcats, Rogue, Alsea, Drain Clash in Semifinal tonight,” LaGrande Observer, March 4, 1949, Page Unknown