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One thing is
universal in sports: no one likes to lose. No matter the team or
individual sport; coaches, players and fans all want a winning
season.
From after World War II into the early 50s,
Chillicothe had a string of successful teams on the Basketball
court, winning NCMC titles in 1946-47 under Coach Carl Miles
followed by 1947-48 and an undefeated NCMC title in 1948-49 under
Coach Elgie Posey.
After Coach Posey left, Bob Moore took over and put
together an average 14-9 season in 1949-50. However, when the
1950-51 season started, things didn't fair too well. Straddled with
an extremely undersized team with no seniors, the Hornets limped to
one of the worst seasons in history: 3-17.
Changes were due for the upcoming 1951-52 season. They
came first in the form of new head coach John Griste, who had
already doubled the win total of the football team from 1 win in
1950 to 2 wins in 1951. His results with the basketball team would
be even better.
The second addition to the Hornets 1951-52 basketball
team were two transfer students that brought some height back to the
team. Newcomer Bob Hoerr averaged 11.62 points per game in 26 games
with Chillicothe and fellow newcomer Albert Runge, whose first game
with Chillicothe was in mid January, finished with a 13.57 average
in 14 games. The two helped Chillicothe to average an additional 16
points per game over the previous season.
The final change that helped the 1951-52 Hornet
Basketball season was experience. Short, inexperienced juniors had
become experienced seniors. Emmitt Wallace led the team with
341points in 26 games and helped guide the team to a 19-7 record and
a 10-2 NCMC record, good for 2nd place. Wallace also became the
first ever Hornets basketball player to be named to the All-State
team, earning a spot on the 2nd Team. The following year, Coach
Griste would win both a Conference and regional championship.
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