1950's Honorable Mention Team Announced

Small school basketball was thriving in the 1950’s. The 1940’s had wrought many changes to Oregon high school basketball including the introduction of the first Class “B” tournament. Nationally, the turbulent and volatile 1940’s had given way to the prosperous 1950’s where the United States enjoyed unprecedented power worldwide.

The country could finally return to a sense of normalcy that seemingly had been lost since the turn of the century. WWI gave way to the Depression which gave way to WWII. When the US had pulled through, the country was a force.
The decades before had been turbulent for small schools in Oregon. The wars and depressions had decimated many rural communities. Consequently, schools consolidated with neighboring schools and many towns lost their identities. Many towns disappeared all together.

Many of the top teams of the 1950’s remain in existence today. Powers, Knappa, Elkton and Echo are all surviving. Teams like Knappa, Harrisburg, Jefferson and Grant Union now compete in higher classifications. Others like Malin and Star of the Sea have closed or consolidated.

Four of Oregon’s top-100 scorers competed during this decade and all four found places on the all-decade team. Three of the four were centers and the fourth, a smooth forward, hailed from a coastal private school in the basketball hotbed of Astoria.

1950’s Honorable Mention All-Decade Team

The Honorable Mention team from the 1950’s lists five centers among the honorees. With no three-point shot and the narrow key it made sense for teams to get the ball into their centers for close shots. Being able to park a tall player right under the basket was a distinct advantage for teams who had a center with any height. The honorable mention team is littered with high scoring centers.

Norm Oliva – Malin – Oliva teamed with Ray Johnson and Roger Dokken to lead Malin to back-to-back championship game appearances in 1955 and 1956. The 6-3 Oliva battled the legendary Bob “Pudgy” Hunt from the center position in the championship game of the 1955 tournament and put up 13 points in a one-point loss to the Loggers. Oliva finished the tournament with 45 points and All-Tournament 1st Team honors and was the 3rd leading scorer in the tournament. In ’56, Malin returned the core of Dokken, Johnson and Oliva and reeled off three-straight wins to capture their only state championship. Oliva was dominant, scoring 25 in the opener against Sisters and 21 in the 80-67 championship game win over Echo. Oliva was selected All-Tournament 1st Team after averaging 20 points per game in Malin’s championship run.

Alva Conlee – Grant Union – Conlee makes the list after leading the 1951 state tournament in scoring. Grant Union lost their opener 45-41 to Wallowa as Conlee was held to just six points. But in the next two games, Conlee tallied 35 and 22 to help Grant Union to the 1951 Consolation trophy and a fourth place finish. Conlee was selected to the All Tournament 2nd team after the tournament, despite leading the tourney in scoring.

Max Kelly – Knappa – Max Kelly manned the center position for Knappa in 1951 and 1952. Kelly was the linchpin for the 1952 team that rebounded from a difficult 1951 tournament when the Loggers were eliminated in two straight games. Kelly starred for the Loggers in 1952 when Knappa played their way to a state championship game berth against Rogue River. Kelly was the leading scorer in the tournament and voted All-Tournament 1st Team afterwards. The Loggers lost 61-50 to a strong Rogue River team but Kelly did his part with 20 points in the loss. The night before the senior tallied 23 against St. Boniface in a 49-40 win. Kelly finished with 1,044 points in his career at Knappa.

Phil Hochspeier – Jefferson – Hochspeier, a 6-3 “string bean type” according to the Oregonian appeared in the three-straight tournaments for the Lions. As a sophomore in 1956, Hochspeier tallied 30 points in Jefferson’s two losses, including 22 off the bench in a consolation loss to Sisters 72-64. As a junior, Hochspeier and Jefferson entered the tournament with a 21-2 record. The Lions opened the tournament with a 44-34 win over Malin with Hochspeier tallying 12 points. Next Jefferson met the Elks of Elkton, who were 23-0 and on the way to the state title. The first half was close, but Elkton pulled away in the second half. Hochspeier finished the game with 16 but Elkton prevailed 63-43. In the third place game Jefferson defeated Sisters 57-44 behind Hochspeier’s 26 points and 14 rebounds. Hochspeier was named All-Tournament 1st Team after the tournament. As a senior in 1958, Jefferson rolled into Pendleton with a 21-3 record. Led by Hochspeier’s 18 points per game, Jefferson and coach Oral Lee figured to be a team to beat. The ’58 tournament was a competitive field, with three unbeaten teams in Enterprise, Talent and Sisters. Stanfield had the hometown crowd in their favor while Star of the Sea had do-everything forward Greg Moore. Jefferson won their first two games behind Hochspeier and guard Alan Nyman. Hochspeier hit for 26 in the opening round win over Sisters and followed it up with 14 in a low-scoring semifinal win against Evans and Stanfield. In the championship, Moore and Star of the Sea bottled up Hochspeier and held him to just one point. Certainly it was a bitter pill after eight games at the state tournament for Hochspeier, who would finish his state tournament career with 125 points and a 13 points per game average.

Terry Woods – Harrisburg – Woods teamed with a pair of stellar guards for a brilliant two-year run for the Eagles of Harrisburg. As an All-Tournament 2nd team selection in 1954, Woods finished with over 40 points in Harrisburg’s three state tournament games, including 13 against Ione in a 69-62 championship game victory over Ione in 1954. Woods returned for his senior year in 1955 with Harrisburg a favorite to repeat as champion. The Eagles entered the ’55 state tournament at Willamette University with a 23-4 record. They ripped Prairie City 81-40 in their opener, with Woods pouring in 24 points. Harrisburg next met Knappa in the semifinals, led by their high scoring center Bob Hunt. Woods did his part by scoring 14 points but ultimately Knappa prevailed 56-51 in overtime with Hunt scoring 25 to lead the way. Harrisburg took out the frustrations of being eliminated from state championship consideration the next afternoon against Powers, hammering the Cruisers 70-40. Woods shined in the contest with 24 points. Woods finished the 1955 tournament as the 2nd leading scorer with a 20.7 points per game average and an All-Tournament 1st Team Selection.

Jim Boulter – Rogue River – As a sophomore reserve in 1950, Boulter played in each of Rogue River’s three games at the state tournament as the Chieftains cruised to a state title. Rogue River came into the tournament 18-2 and defeated Condon (52-20), Drain (41-33) and finally Alsea in the championship 38-34. After losing out to Phoenix in the 1951 District 5 Tournament, Rogue River returned to the state tournament in 1952. The Chieftains were a balanced scoring team with three players on the All-State tournament team but it was the 6-4 Boulter who led the charge. He scored 11 in the opener against Powers, a 43-42 win and followed up with nine against Mapleton in the semifinals. The Chieftains held off the Sailors 46-42 to advance to their second state championship game in three years. Against Max Kelly and Knappa, Boulter did the bulk of his scoring as he poured in 23 points to help lead the Chieftains to a 61-50 victory and the state championship. Boulter finished the tournament with a 14.3 points per game average good for 5th in the tournament. He was named All-Tournament 1st Team at the conclusion of the tournament.

Ritchie Perkins – Knappa – Guard Ritchie Perkins was at the start when Knappa rose to dominate the 1950’s. The Loggers made seven straight trips to the state tournament in the 1950’s and Perkins was there for the first three. A reserve as a sophomore in 1951, Perkins scored six points in Knappa’s two losses at the tournament. As a junior, Perkins started at guard and teamed with Max Kelly to lead Knappa to their first state title game appearance. Perkins scored 19 points in the Loggers 73-62 win over Culver in the opener. Kelly dominated the semifinal game with St. Boniface with 23 points while Perkins scored three points and provided defense and ballhandling. With the state championship on the line against Rogue River, Perkins responded with 17 points but it wasn’t enough as the Chieftains, led by Boulter’s 23 points, outscored Knappa 61-50. Perkins was named All-Tournament 2nd Team after the tournament. Now a senior in 1952, Perkins led an inexperienced group back to the state tournament. Perkins led the Loggers in scoring for the tournament with a 14.6 points per game average. He was named All-Tournament 1st team at the conclusion of the tournament as Knappa finished with sixth place trophy.

Duane Baker – Ione – A high scoring guard from Ione, Baker was Ione’s leading scorer in the 1954 tournament. Baker led Ione into the state championship while averaging 19.7 points per game. No other Ione player averaged double figures during the state tournament. Ione entered the tournament unbeaten at 23-0 and cruised past Santiam in their opener 65-50. Baker scored 26 in the contest. In a low-scoring semifinal against Elgin, Baker had just nine points but the Cardinals prevailed 48-45. The victory set up a Harrisburg and Ione final. Baker carried Ione with 24 points but Harrisburg, led by Terry Woods, Phil Estergaard and DeWayne Crabb, had too much depth and claimed the state title with a 69-62 win. After the tournament, Baker was named All-Tournament 1st Team and was the second leading scorer n the tournament.

Others:

Larry Pryse – Prairie City – Pryse led the Panthers to the Consolation Trophy in 1950, including a tournament high 26 points against Monmouth in the consolation finals. Named to the 1950 All-Tournament team.

Earl Winnebarger – Prairie City – Winnebarger led the 1950 state tournament in scoring from his forward slot for the Panthers. Finished the 1950 state tournament as the leading scorer with 54 points including 20 in the consolation victory over Monmouth. Named to the 1950 All-Tournament team.

Ronald Moore – Elkton – Moore scored 50 points in the first two games of the 1956 state tournament for the Elks, including 30 in Elkton’s 84-67 win over Brownsville in the consolation game. Quieted against Sisters in the consolation final, Moore scored eight points as the Elks captured 4th place.

Evor Kumpula – Knappa – A 4-year state tournament participant for Knappa, Kumpula averaged double figures as a freshman in 1951. He only appeared in Knappa’s opener vs. Culver in 1952 as a sophomore before earning back playing time as a junior. As a junior in 1953, Kumpula helped lead Knappa into the consolation finals vs. Keppner. By his senior year, Kumpula was among the best players in the state and capped a solid senior year with All-Tournament 1st Team honors at the 1954 tournament. He put up 22 in an opening round loss to Powers and helped the Loggers capture the fourth place trophy with 21 points in a 53-49 win over Talent in the consolation finals.