One Hit Wonder

(1949 Helmsburg Tigers)
By Doug Bradley

If Roscoe Baber's outlook for his first Helmsburg team in 1947-48 wasn't too optimistic no one could much blame him. The regular season record of the previous year (6-11) didn't inspire much hope, at first glance.

Also, not lending any credence for success was the fact that none of the three Brown County teams had ever won a sectional and their composite sec­tional record was a meager 10-58 with three of the wins coming against each other. Helmsburg was the worst of the three, winning but one of the 10 games, 20-17 over Trafalgar back in 1940.

Another frustrating situation existed when Marengo won its first sectional championship at Paoli in 1947. Brown County then became the only county in Indiana where none of its high schools had ever won a sectional.

Even with all of these barriers there seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel. The Tigers had won 5 of their last six games in 1947. Frank Bunge and Duke Ackerman who had started as freshmen in 1947 returned along with juniors, David West and Jere Lottner. These two juniors had been the first two substitutes. Rounding out the first five was the only senior, Bill Hunter.

Coach Baber finally realized that he was in the middle of something special when his 1947 Christmas present was an 8-0 record. After a loss to Trafalgar to start 1948, the Tigers won six straight, thus annexing the champion­ship of the Wabash Valley Preliminary at Ellettsville. Baber then took the team to his native Terre Haute for the Valley semifinals where his Tigers lost to Attica, 43-31. Helmsburg then won two more to push the victory total to six­teen, a Brown County regular season best, topping Nashville's 15-5 record in 1945. They then finished the season with losses to Solsberry and Clifford after the pairings had been published announcing their first round game with Franklin.

Concentrating for a week on beat­ing Franklin went for naught as Tim Campbell's 16-4 Grizzly Cubs ran away from the Tigers, 50-30. The fans, the most Helmsburg had ever sent to Franklin, immediately took up the Dodger cry, "Wait 'til next year!"

Once again, every one in Helmsburg expected something better in 1949. The Tigers obliged by winning 15 of their first 17 games, including the prelims of the Wabash Valley Tournament, this time at Bloomfield. Again Coach Baber took his team to Terre Haute; however it was deja vu as Glenn stopped the Tigers, 37-32. However, the Bengals rebounded with a win over Van Buren Twp. before losing to Solsberry again. They then finished the regular season with a 15-4 win over Clifford. Their 17 wins topped their county record of 16 from the previous year.

The good news for the 1949 sectional was that Franklin was in the opposite bracket. A 54-46 win over Ralph Cato's Trafalgar Redbirds sent Helmsburg to the semifinal round to face Greenwood. County tourney champ, Union Twp. ended hopes of a Franklin rematch by eliminating the Cubs, 46-37. The Saturday afternoon semis saw Helmsburg edge Greenwood, 42-39, when Ackerman and Bunge scored the final two baskets. Whiteland then did the Tigers a big favor as Union had done the night before; blasting the Ramblers, 52-32. Helmsburg then dominated Whiteland early. They survived a seven point run by the Warriors to start the fourth quarter that cut the margin to five, but the Tigers went on to win, 38- 29.

Unfortunately for Helmsburg, there was no drama at the Greensburg regional. Soon to be Mr. Basketball, Dee Monroe, had 21 points in the first half for Madison. The eventual state runner-up Cubs led 33-9 at the break on their way to a 59-30 victory.

Most Helmsburg backers thought a trophy was possible again in 1950. Starters Ackerman, Bunge and Luther Smith returned. With George Barnes replacing Coach Baber, the Tigers started 5-1 and finished 12-8. Whiteland's 17-2 Warriors sent the defending champions home in the sectional's first round, 26-19.

In the Tiger's final year at the Johnson County sectional (1958), they played in a championship game for the last time. The Tigers prevailed over Clark Twp. in two OTs, 39-37 before meeting Franklin for the first time in ten years. In Center Grove's pit gymnasium, the Tigers topped the Grizzly Cubs 41­40, getting in the last word against the condescending county-seat team. Coach Barnes who's former Fairview team had lost to Alquina 119-15 in 1947, suffered what he called the biggest disappointment of his career when Decatur Central beat his Tigers, 55-46, in the last game he would ever coach.

In 1961 prior to consolidating with Nashville, Helmsburg under Dale Mathis won the Smithville prelims of the Wabash Valley. The Tigers were 12-5 after topping Greencastle, 60-58 in two overtimes at Switz City in the second round. The Tigers would never win another game. They lost the next night to Bloomfield; gave away four regular season games (two by a single point); and dropped their final game to sectional host Columbus.