#TBT: Making Hoops History
October 9, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
With nearly 90 years of our own to recall, we enjoy history quite a bit at the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
And we also enjoy when those who have been part of our events send us a souvenir like this 1939 Boys Basketball Regional program from March 9-11, 1939, at what became known as Western Michigan University.
Regionals for Class A, C and D were played at the then-Western State Teachers College, with Kalamazoo St. Augustine, Watervliet and Burr Oak emerging as champions, respectively.
Also participating were Battle Creek, Holland, Benton Harbor and Kalamazoo Central in Class A; Bangor, Decatur, Eau Claire, Constantine and Kellogg in Class C; and Augusta and St. Joseph Catholic in Class D.
Of note:
- The cover of the program included a list of Regional champions at the site dating to 1920. The MHSAA began in 1925 from a previous body.
- "Rules Changes to Watch" listed on the inside pages included the lane violation and a rule for overtime in which the first team scoring two points was declared the winner.
- The back cover showed an artist's sketch of the football/track and field and baseball stadiums then under construction at a cost of $270,000.
Below is the inside pages in full, including filled-in brackets for all three tournaments.
Moment: Rouge Repeats with Late Surge
March 27, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
With 14 MHSAA Finals championships, River Rouge remains the historic standard for Michigan high school boys basketball. And until just a few seasons ago, legendary coach Lofton Greene topped the state’s all-time wins list in this sport.
Rouge again met Muskegon Heights in the 1972 Class B Final after defeating the Tigers 71-65 in the previous season’s championship game. This time, late-game heroics helped Rouge pull out a 65-64 win, earning the program its 12th championship and last under Greene’s guidance.
The Panthers trailed 64-57 with less than a minute to play. Ralph Perry scored with 45 seconds left to make the deficit five, and he also was fouled. He missed the ensuing free throw, but teammate Byron Wilson put back the offensive rebound to get their team to within 64-61. Leighton Moulton pulled them within a point on a jumper with 23 seconds left. After a Heights turnover, Moulton attempted to drive for the game winner but was fouled before he could get off a shot. With only two seconds left on the clock, and needing to make at least the first free throw to send the game to overtime, he connected on both to seal the win.
Click to read a look back from the MHSAA “Legends of the Games” archives, and see below for 27 minutes of film from the game that remains a classic in state hoops history.
PHOTO: River Rouge’s Leighton Moulton pulls up for a jumper during the 1972 Class B Final. (Photo courtesy of the Lofton Greene Family Archives.)