The date was March 21, 1956, and seating capacity in the Hastings High School gymnasium has been expanded to 2,000 this Wednesday night in anticipation of a marvelous Class B quarterfinal basketball game between two sizzling teams. New bleachers beckone d behind both goals as Battle Creek Lakeview, 18-2 with a 16-game winning streak, prepared to battle Kalamazoo State High, 19-2 with a 17-game winning streak.
The bleachers weren’t sufficient. About
2,500 fans were able to shoehorn their way in, ringing the court and leaving
others in the school’s hallways and out on the sidewalk as one of the
most spectacular individual efforts in MHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament
history was about to unfold.
In one corner was Lakeview center Bob “Sticks”
Bolton, a 6-9 rod of fury. In the other corner was State High’s mountain
range of a front line, with peaks standing 6-6, 6-6 and 6-5.
“We looked forward to the game with quite
confidence, because we really respected them for the tremendous team they
had,” Bolton recalled. “We knew it was going to be a battle royale
because of their size.”
The game within a game of one-on-three was no
contest as Bolton simply pulverized the peaks. He poured in 50 points in
a 90-73 Lakeview victory, setting a final round record for single game scoring
that has withstood decades of assaults by the likes of Ralph Sampson, Spencer
Haywood, Earvin Johnson, Jay and Sam Vincent, Antoine Joubert, Jay Smith,
Mark Brown and Chris Webber.
In fact, when you look in the MHSAA history books,
you can’t find another individual record since the Association began
in 1924 with the kind of longevity that Bolton’s has.
Bolton, 57, can reflect on the 40th anniversary
of his record from his current perspective in Marquette, as pastor and administrator
of Bethesda Baptist Church and Bethesda Baptist School. Amazed that the
record has lasted this long, he wrote this intro ductory sentence in a letter
on the 39th anniversary of the game, dated March 21, 1995.
“Yes, it is that time of year again, when
I often stop and think about how gracious the Lord Jesus was in the ability
He gave me,” Bolton wrote.
How much ability? Enough to score 12, 20, 10
and 8 points through four quarters against State High. He was particularly
impressive in the second quarter, when he wound up scoring 20 of his team’s
21 points. Overall, he sank 17 of 27 shots from the fiel d and 16 of 20
from the free throw line.
A former official with Hastings Public Schools,
a courtside observer that night, has struggled through the years to find
a performance to top it, settling on the 44-point effort by UCLA center
Bill Walton in the 1973 NCAA Finals. Walton made 21-of-22 fi eld goals in
the finals, hitting 11 of 12 in the title game, leading the Bruins to an
87-66 victory over Memphis State. “I thought that was quite a compliment,”
said the ever-modest Bolton.
Sportswriters of the day were astounded. After
watching the humiliation of State High, Bob Wagner of the Kalamazoo Gazette
wrote, “Sticks Bolton is one of the finest high school players of his
size to ever appear on the court. For a big boy, he has a fine sense of
balance, a deft touch to his shots. He scores on a soft one-hander, a sweeping
hook shot and tip-ins. On defe nse he came out of nowhere to intercept passes
or block shots.”
Before the MHSAA tournament, George Maskin of
the Detroit Times wrote that Bolton was the state’s top college
recruit. Though his offense (32-point average in the regular season and
36.0 in the tournament) was evident, Maskin also made note of Bolton’s
defense. “The Sticks never loafs,” Maskin wrote. “When Lakeview
goes on defense, the Sticks generally draws the opposition’s No. 1
scorer to guard. The Sticks keeps his rivals so busy, the opponent frequently
winds up with one of his poorest nights.”
Though State High took the brunt of Bolton’s
blows during the tournament, his effort throughout Lakeview’s run was
just as spectacular. The memory of increased efficiency has created a recurring
warmth that flows through Bolton every March. The five-ga me stretch also
helped cement the considerable Bolton legend in the city of Battle Creek.
When Marshall tried to stall away the district
opener, Bolton had to settle for 18 points in 40-20 victory. In an 80-58
win over Albion for the district championship, he punched in with a 34-point
effort.
In carrying Lakeview to its first regional title,
Bolton went ballistic, pumping in 42 points against Three Rivers and a school-record
46 points against an East Lansing team coached by Gus Ganakas. He then went
out and topped that in the quarterfinal.
In the semifinals two days later, Bolton was
whistled to the sideline with 25 points with a little over half the game
played, fouling out in a 74-69 loss to eventual champion Stephenson. Opposing
center Mel Peterson, who went on to play for Wheaton College and the NBA’s
Baltimore Bullets, had scored 21 points when Bolton fouled out.
Though the memory of that game is painful, he
fondly recalls his five-game scoring spree as “lifting my game to a
higher level as the competition got tougher and tougher. Praise the Lord
for that!”
Bolton went on to play collegiately at Western
Michigan University, where he cracked the 1,000-point barrier, set a school
rebounding record and outscored future NBA Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond on
two of three occasions. After his college career, in a s emi-pro championship
game, he managed to outplay another Hall of Fame center, Walt Bellamy.
But his passion for basketball was never the
same after high school. His dedication, vigor and enthusiasm gradually shifted
towards the ministry. Those qualities often come out now in crisp Boltonesque
syaings, such as:
“It’s better to train boys and girls
than to repair men and women.” Translation: He really likes to
work with young people, and their parents.
“A crucified man can take no further
steps of his own.” Translation: He considers himself dead to his
desires and alive to his work as a pastor in the ministry.
His wit may be quick, but Bolton doesn’t
want to be a politician.
“I jokingly remarked to our congregation
one time that I ought to resign and run for the highest office in our land,
the office of President of the United States,” Bolton said. “I
could tell by their grins that they were saying, ‘Pastor, you are already
in the highest office in the land, why lower yourself to run for President?’
“Yes, being a pastor of a local church is
indeed the highest position in the land for one of God’s servants.”
Life as a pastor, though, does not mean a life
of basketball abstinence. Still fit at around 200 pounds, Bolton tutors
various big men from area high schools and Northern Michigan University.
He coaches a team of combined Christian schools and also lik es to officiate.
“The Lord Jesus has helped me realize that
when I’m in the center of His will, that’s the best place to be,”
Bolton said. “Although other people don’t know I’m in Marquette,
God does.”
And Bolton has been gently reminded again this
month about a special anniversary...a special night in Hastings with a special
number. Forty years, 50 points. Ten years from now, could their be a 50-50
celebration?
“It’s impressed on me how thankful
I am to the Lord Jesus that He gave me that ability and competitive desire,”
Bolton said. “Wow, that’s really someto establish a record like
that. I’m thankful that it’s His grace that enabled me to do it.”
Allen Palmeri is a news/design editor for
the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle in Cheyenne. He was a sports
writer at the Battle Creek Enquirer from 1984-89.