1940's All Decade Second Team Announced

The 1940’s All-Decade Team continues to roll on. The Honorable Mention team was released last week and today we unveil the Second Team.

The 1940’s Second Team has a decidedly early 1940’s feel to it as four of the five members of the team played before 1945. Two members of a juggernaut Powers squad, their first ever state tournament team, make the list and they made up the core of a group of guys that some old timers at the 1944 state tournament believed could have given “A” champion Ashland a good game.

To find out who earned Second Team All-Decade mention, click on the “Read More” link below.


Guards

Ernie Easley – Oakridge (pictured at right) – The Warriors were a strong program in the late 30’s and early 40’s. Qualifying out of the Lane County/Lower Willamette Valley was a chore due to the sheer number of schools competing in basketball at the time. To win the Lane County championship alone, Oakridge had to win four games at Mac Court in Eugene. Easley led the Warriors in scoring all year, tallying 132 points in 21 games. Oakridge finished the regular season at just 4-6 and in fifth place in the league standings. They got hot come playoff time and swept four games to the Lane County title. At the District 8 tournament at Junction City, Oakridge stayed hot, defeating Siletz and upsetting Harrisburg to capture the district title. Despite not capturing any all-County Tournament or All-District honors, Easley led the Warriors at the state tournament with 33 points in their three games enroute to a Second Team All-State award. Oakridge went 1-2 for the tournament.

Walter McBride – Union – Union made three straight state tournament trips at the end of the decade. McBride was the leader of the 1947 squad that finished as the runners-up to Pleasant Hill and got the run started. All three games for Union were close and McBride led the way in each. He led the tournament in scoring with 45 points and garnered First Team All-State tournament honors. He tallied 22 points in a 43-42 semifinal win over Star of the Sea to help neutralize Stars of the Sea’s high scoring duo of Dick Moore and Don Turina who combined for 26 on the night. The championship was a low-scoring affair and McBride led Union with nine points as they fell 33-32 to Pleasant Hill.

Forwards

Jack Bushnell – Powers – As of 2009, Powers leads the state in state tournament appearances at the smallest classification with 24. This tremendous program really took flight in the early 40’s behind names like Bushnell, Shorb, Stallard and Grove. Make no mistake, the 1944 team was loaded with talent. Jack Bushnell, referred to as “Commando” in a Statesman Journal article was a senior in 1943 and the leader of the Cruiser team. He led the tournament in scoring with 20 points and was a First Team All-State tournament mention. Powers dropped a heartbreaking game to Warrenton in the first round 27-26 but rebounded to dismantle Union 50-25 for third place. Jack was the second highest vote getter at the conclusion of the tournament, second only to Virgil Burke of Harrisburg.

Tommy Grove – Powers (pictured at left) – On a team of great players, Tommy Grove’s explosion onto the scene in 1943 might have been the most surprising. It was still rare at this time to find freshmen playing on the varsity squad, rarer still to find them among the top scorers. But that’s just where Tom Grove was after the 1943 tournament. The slender freshman was tied for fourth in the entire tournament in scoring with 15 points, tying teammate and fellow forward Bob Bushnell. By the time Powers had cruised to the state title in 1944, the younger Grove brother was the leading scorer with a 17 point per game average. Grove started the state championship contest against Pleasant Hill on fire, connecting on 5 of his first seven shots from the “pavilion corner.” His accuracy was so deadly that according to the Statesman Journal “when he finally missed one the crowd chided and honored at the same time with, ‘take ‘em out, he missed one!’”

Interesting that in Grove’s final two years with Powers, they never did make a state tournament. Check back next week for the reason why!

Center

Don Nelson – Westport (pictured at right) – Big Don Nelson, 6-1 as a sophomore, was a dominant big man for the coastal boys of Westport. Westport was a power house in the late 30’s and early 40’s, making four-straight state tourneys in the early part of the decade. Nelson was a three-time All-State honoree, including First Team honors in 1939 as a sophomore when Westport finished third. He earned second team mention as a junior as Westport lost two close games and finished fourth out of four teams. Then, in 1941, Nelson and the Pirates captured the first place trophy after handling Corbett and 1940’s Honorable Mention Center Ray O’Neil 52-34. Nelson was not one of the top scorers, he wasn’t even in the top-5 as a senior in 1941, but his steady play, rebounding and defense were a cornerstone to Westport’s success during the early part of the 1940’s.