Category Archives: Basketball

Editor’s note: This post was written by “Stat Rat” Jim Craig, formerly of Lusk and now of Cheyenne, who has provided significant help to the research on Wyoming sports history.

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The 1960s was a tumultuous decade in the United States as the country came to grips with numerous changes within its social fabric. The civil rights movement, Great Society programs, space race and counterculture gains were offset by the Cold War, Cuban Missile Crisis, a spate of assassinations and the Vietnam War. Wyoming was not immune from controversy as “The Black 14″— the number of black UW football teammates suspended in 1969 for wanting to wear armbands protesting BYU—grabbed national headlines in an era of protests, sit-ins, and anti-war/anti-establishment sentiments.

It was, however, a stellar time for us Baby Boomers to grow up in, even among all the turmoil and change. The music, for one, brought us folk/protest ballads, the British Invasion, the Motown sound, soul music, and psychedelic rock, and was immortalized at the decade’s end at a concert and subsequent film called “Woodstock.” So bear with the Stat Rat as he dons a tie-dye then waxes and wanes on 60s-related prep basketball. From a time of love-ins, sit-ins and be-ins, the Rat will stage a “coach-in” and discuss the best to walk the sidelines from 1960 to 1969.

First, as always, a chart:

Q-Factor=percentage of times qualified for the state tourney
Medal=percentage of times finishing 1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd
*Wyoming Coaches Association Hall of Fame member

The WHSAA regulated the number of regular-season games to 18, so the overall win numbers are lower compared to earlier decades. The top three separated themselves from the rest of the pack, so to speak, that cement their Wyoming Coaches Association Hall of Fame credentials. Jim Storey leads the decade, and his 194 wins during the ’60s comprise over 80% of his 238 wins at Cheyenne Central in 13 years there as head coach. Lloyd McCullough coached his entire career at University Prep, and his Buckaroos were never far out of the running for championship consideration. Like Coach Storey, McCullough’s teams hung up four championship banners and finished second five times. His career win total at UPrep was 311 dating from the 1954-55 season to the school’s final year in 1972-73. Bob Doerr’s career was a lengthy one beginning with Lyman in the 1954-55 season, moving to Byron/Rocky Mountain in the 1961-62 season and ending in 1985-86. His boys teams totaled 501 wins and add to that another 25 girls hoops wins, as well. For the top three in the chart, the three total over an impressive thousand combined Ws.

Two to consider—While longevity is a key consideration for Hall of Fame eligibility, possibly a greater indication in my opinion is the number of state championships won. It’s tough to win one, even tougher to repeat, and notching three is rarefied air for only a handful, the elite in the profession. Bill Sollars has a brief decade-long career of hoops coaching in Wyoming. However, during a remarkable three-year stretch during the 1961-62, 1962-63, and 1963-64 seasons, his Shoshoni Wranglers won three state titles, the first as a No. 4 seed. Granted, his teams featured a cat named Bebout in the paint, but Class B play in the Big Horn Basin was tougher than pig hide boots, with notable opposition like St. Stephens (state runners-up in 1961-62), Cowley, Byron, and Manderson (runners-up in 1963-64). Winning three championships in a row is special, and Coach Sollars deserves a HOF nod.

Ron Schliske only coached eight seasons in LaGrange before giving up his hoops coaching gig to move into school administration. But over those eight seasons, Coach Schliske won four state championships, the first in the 1958-59 season (which isn’t reflected in the above chart of 1960’s success.)  That title was followed by successive championships in 1959-60 and 1960-61, as his Longhorns three-peated as well, part of a four-in-row span of banners. In the 1964-65 season, the Longhorns took first in the state again, followed by a second-place finish during his final season of coaching in 1965-66. In fact, LaGrange qualified for the state tourney in seven of his eight seasons as hoops mentor. LaGrange thrived due in part to playing Class C ball in the loaded-for-bear SE where state Class C champs from that corner of the state reigned in 15 of 17 years dating from the early 1950s to the end of the 1960s. That’s HOF worthy, period.

Given the Rat’s snail-like progress constructing and deconstructing hoops seasons, don’t hold your breath for a 1970s chart anytime soon. Or better yet, make your own chart with a glimpse at Patrick Schmiedt’s wyoming-basketball.com, a veritable treasure of Wyoming prep hoops information and date.

Some history could be made this weekend in Casper as two Class 3A basketball teams enter their respective state tournaments undefeated.

The Douglas girls, at 24-0, and the Powell boys, at 23-0, will try to join the ranks of Wyoming’s undefeated state basketball champions. In all, 20 boys teams and 23 girls teams have accomplished this feat in state history.

Another 49 teams — 25 boys, 24 girls — have entered the state tournament undefeated but lost in the final weekend of the season.

When I looked at undefeated teams three years ago, I could only look at teams from 1990 forward, the only time when full records were available. However, with some more digging, we’ve been able to uncover quite a bit in that time, mostly thanks to “Stat Rat” Jim Craig and his research into year-by-year game results, published on wyoming-basketball.com.

And although we’re still a little short on records for every team participating in the state tournament for every season, particularly on the girls’ side, I can say with a fairly high degree of certainty that the lists below represent every team that has ever entered the state tournament undefeated. (That said, if you see something missing, let me know!)

Here they are: The teams that didn’t lose a game for a whole season, and the teams that only lost on the final weekend of play.

Boys undefeated teams (20)
1A: Snake River 2012, 28-0
2A: Big Horn 2011, 28-0
3A: Thermopolis 2004, 25-0
4A: Campbell County 1993, 23-0
4A: Cheyenne Central 1991, 23-0
2A: Wyoming Indian 1985, 22-0
2A: Wyoming Indian 1984, 22-0
3A: Torrington 1987, 23-0
1A: Big Horn 1986, 21-0
B: Southeast 1981, 22-0
A: Glenrock 1978, 23-0
B: Mountain View 1977, 24-0
A: Lusk 1969, 23-0
C: Goshen Hole 1967, 23-0
AA: Cheyenne Central 1962, 27-0
B: University Prep 1961, 26-0
B: St. Stephens 1960, 28-0
A: Cheyenne Central 1947, 26-0
One: Laramie 1934, 24-0
One: Evanston 1919, 27-0

Another 25 boys teams have entered the state tournament undefeated but did not finish the job. Those teams, and their final record for the season, include:

1A: Saratoga 2023, 23-1 (lost in semis)
2A: Pine Bluffs 2017, 26-2 (lost in semis/3^rd)
1A: Burlington 2013, 26-1 (lost in semis)
4A: Campbell County 2010, 26-1 (lost in championship)
2A: Southeast 2010, 26-1 (lost in championship)
2A: Wind River 2008, 29-1 (lost in semis)
2A: Lusk 2001, 22-1 (lost in championship)
1A: Arvada-Clearmont 2001, 23-1 (lost in semis)
2A: Tongue River 1999, 22-1 (lost in semis)
2A: Wyoming Indian 1994, 22-1 (lost in championship)
2A: Upton 1994, 22-1 (lost in quarters)
3A: Star Valley 1993, 23-1 (lost in quarters)
3A: Torrington 1991, 22-2 (lost in quarters/conso final)
AA: Natrona 1982, 22-1 (lost in semis)
B: Wyoming Indian 1982, 20-2 (lost in quarters/conso final)
B: Lyman 1980, 20-1 (lost in semis)
C: Burlington 1979, 19-1 (lost in semis)
AA: Rock Springs 1977, 22-1 (lost in championship)
B: Byron 1965, 24-1 (lost in championship)
B: University Prep 1960, 25-1 (lost in championship)
B: University Prep 1958, 23-1 (lost in championship)
C: Dayton 1956, 19-1 (lost in quarters)
C: Dayton 1955, 21-2 (lost in quarters/conso semis)
C: Big Horn 1952, 18-1 (lost in semis)
B: Rozet 1942, 29-1 (lost in championship)

Girls undefeated teams (23)
4A: Cody 2023, 25-0
4A: Cheyenne East 2022, 28-0
3A: Douglas 2021, 24-0
3A: Douglas 2018, 27-0
2A: Tongue River 2013, 28-0
1A: Snake River 2012, 28-0
3A: Douglas 2005, 26-0
2A: Tongue River 2005, 23-0
2A: Big Horn 2001, 26-0
3A: Mountain View 1998, 25-0
1A: Burlington 1998, 24-0
2A: Tongue River 1997, 22-0
3A: Lyman 1995, 23-0
4A: Campbell County 1991, 23-0
2A: Lusk 1991, 22-0
2A: Lusk 1990, 21-0
1A: Cokeville 1990, 21-0
2A: Greybull 1989, 21-0
4A: Riverton 1984, 23-0
B: Saratoga 1981, 22-0
AA: Rock Springs 1980, 24-0
AA: Lander 1978, 24-0
C: Snake River 1977, record unknown but finished undefeated

Another 24 girls teams (at least) have entered the state tournament undefeated but did not finish the job. Those teams, and their final record for the season, include:

4A: Cody 2022, 24-1 (lost in championship)
2A: Southeast 2015, 24-1 (lost in championship)
3A: Douglas 2013, 28-1 (lost in championship)
4A: Natrona 2012, 25-1 (lost in championship)
2A: Big Horn 2010, 28-1 (lost in championship)
1A: Guernsey 2006, 26-1 (lost in semis)
2A: Pine Bluffs 2004, 22-1 (lost in semis)
3A: Star Valley 2001, 25-1 (lost in semis)
2A: Wright 1999, 21-2 (lost in quarters/conso semis)
3A: Mountain View 1997, 23-1 (lost in championship)
4A: Green River 1996, 23-1 (lost in championship)
2A: Tongue River 1996, 24-1 (lost in semis)
2A: Tongue River 1994, 22-1 (lost in championship)
4A: Sheridan 1992, 22-1 (lost in semis)
2A: Saratoga 1992, 22-1 (lost in championship)
B: Tongue River 1987, 20-1 (lost in quarters)
B: Tongue River 1986, 20-1 (lost in semis)
1A: Kaycee 1984, 20-1 (lost in championship)
B: Shoshoni 1982, 19-2 (lost in semis/3^rd)
A: Newcastle 1981, 20-1 (lost in championship)
AA: Lander 1979, 23-1 (lost in semis)
AA: Lander 1977, 21-2 (lost in semis/3^rd)
A: Torrington 1976, 18-1 (lost in championship)
C: Snake River 1976, record unknown (lost in semis)

All boys championship team records have been accounted for. Girls championship team records are missing for 1978 Class B (Pine Bluffs, not undefeated), 1977 Class C (Snake River) and 1979 Class C (Byron, not undefeated).

–patrick

Editor’s note: This post was written by “Stat Rat” Jim Craig, formerly of Lusk and now of Cheyenne, who has provided significant help to the research on Wyoming sports history.

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The time span of 1929 through 1939—the aptly coined “Dirty Thirties”—was a decade of hardship for the entire United States as the country was rocked by The Great Depression, triggered by a collapse of the stock market in October of 1929. Unemployment during that time rose to a staggering high of 24.7% in 1933 and remained above 14% from 1931 to 1940. Those raised during that era—that Tom Brokaw labeled “The Greatest Generation”—experienced challenges that toughened their resolve, encouraged economy as well as thrift and fostered a “can-do” approach to facing serious issues of day-to-day living. My father, for one, graduated high school in 1928 and took six years to complete his civil engineering degree, attending for a year of schooling then working menial jobs for a semester to save up enough for another year of college, repeating that process until he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1934.

The Great Depression didn’t spare Wyoming, and school systems felt the economic crunch along with the rest of the country. Athletic seasons were suspended due to the economy; for example, Lusk’s 1932 football season was suspended. The Lusk citizenry volunteered to help with the situation by offering car pools and coaching help, but the true problem was lack of money to outfit the team and alas, the season was cancelled. A common occurrence I’ve found in my research were gatherings called “Hard Times” dances, proof that the state’s population shouldered the hardships with good humor and Cowboy State spirit.

Those listed on the chart below were some of the luckier citizens as their coaching records are proof of employment during a time when many had no jobs. However, coaching back then was quite the chore. To coach in the 1930s meant you were a coach for all sports—most likely the school’s only coach—meaning football, basketball and track seasons. A quick check in Patrick Schmiedt’s superb tome on all things Wyoming prep football, “A Century of Fridays,” shows that 20 of the 21 listed below coached football during that time—the exception being no football program in Pine Bluffs. Coaching was a young man’s endeavor, as the time invested in practice, home games, and road games (many coaches drove their own cars—filled with players—to and from opposing courts) would be time spent away from home for a family man. Yet, due likely to the scarcity of jobs during the 30s, more coaches taught/coached in Wyoming for all ten years of the 1930s than the combined total of the 1940s and 1950s decade-long coaching stints.

Q-Factor=percentage of times qualified for the state tourney

Medal=percentage of times finishing 1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd

*Wyoming Coaches Association Hall of Fame member

(Two notes about the chart’s data: 1. There was only one classification back then. What should total 10 state championships for the decade is actually nine. No state tourney was held in 1936 due to a scarlet fever epidemic. 2. The 29-30 State Tourney was open to all teams. Teams were sorted into Classes A, B, C, and D according to the male school enrollments. Champions in each division would play for the state title. Rather than count all 54 teams eligible, to count a team as a qualifier, I took the last four teams remaining in each division. Having played three or four days of double elimination would count as the qualifying portion of the tourney and winnowed the 54 down to 16—four in each class).

As he did in the 1940s and 1950s, Okie Blanchard dominated the decade, leading in wins, win percentage, Q-factor, and championships as well as tying with Laramie’s Floyd Foreman for medal finishes. Cheyenne’s coach John Powell, Big Horn Basin coach Wendell Poulson and the aforementioned Foreman notched up nifty numbers with winning percentages topping 75%.

Hall of Fame?  This decade’s group is almost totally ignored by the Wyoming Coaches Hall of Fame, but it’s understandable, given that the group began bestowing that honor in the mid-1980s, almost a half century since most of the above paced the sidelines. That’s unfortunate as the numbers above show several deserving candidates. In a few months I’ll have the 1960s chart completed as my work on the 1967-68 season is almost completed and I’m only missing data from the 1968-69 campaign.

The Burns’ girls recent Class 2A championship, accomplished in a season in which the Broncs finished under .500 with a 14-15 overall record, raised a good question in the Wyoming high school sports trivia circles: How many basketball teams have ever won state with a losing record?

The answer, it appears to be, is two.

The Burns girls join the St. Stephens boys of 2004, who won the Class 1A championship despite an overall record of 11-17, as the only teams to win state with a losing record.

However, this comes with a caveat — the records of four girls championship teams and one boys championship team since 1931 are not yet available.

Those five champions with missing records are:

• 1967 University Prep boys, Class A champions
• 1977 Snake River girls, Class C champions
• 1978 Pine Bluffs girls, Class B champions
• 1978 Snake River girls, Class C champions
• 1979 Byron girls, Class C champions

Records prior to 1931 are a bit spotty, as well, as tournaments prior to that year were not yet organized by the Wyoming High School Activities Association, which didn’t come into existence until then.

As always, if you can help me out, please do! Leave a comment on this post or email pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

Of note in this discussion is the Pine Bluffs girls of 1994, who finished 14-7 on their way to a title. A faulty state tournament preview story inadvertently put their record at 10-12 at a couple places on this site. That record was inaccurate. A big thanks to friend of the site “Stat Rat” Jim Craig for double-checking the Hornets’ final record that season.

–patrick