From The Best To the Worst

[Tippy]

From the 1920's through the 1970's, far northern Indiana always seemed to have the best football teams in the state.  Northern Indiana ruled Indiana high school football.  These teams were rated number 1  in the polls they were using back then.

1927 - Gary Froebel 9-0

1929 - Gary Mann 9-1

1931 - South Bend Central 11-0

1936 - Gary Mann 9-1

1937 - Hammond 10-0

1939 - South Bend Washington 9-0-1

1942 - East Chicago Washington 9-0

1943 - South Bend Washington 10-0

1944 - South Bend Washington 9-0-1

1945 - East Chicago Roosevelt 10-0

1946 - East Chicago Roosevelt 10-0

1947 - East Chicago Roosevelt 10-0

1949 - East Chicago Roosevelt 

1950 - Gary Roosevelt 8-0-1

1953 - South Bend Washington 10-0

1954 - Whiting 8-1

1955 - East Chicago Roosevelt 9-0

1958 - South Bend Central 10-0

1959 - South Bend Central 10-0

1960 - Hammond 10-0

1962 - Hammond 10-0

1963 - Elkhart 10-0

1964 - South Bend St. Joseph 9-0-1

1965 - Hammond Morton 10-0

1966 - South Bend Adams 9-0

1968 - Elkhart 10-0

1969 - South Bend Washington 10-0

1970 - Elkhart 10-0

The playoffs began in 1973 and South Bend Washington beat Cathedral 19-13 for the 3a championship.  In 1977 SB Washington went 10-2 and they would not have another 10 win season until 2011.  This year SB Washington went 0-10.

On November 6, 1943 West Lafayette went up to South Bend to play South Bend Washington at School Field.  West Lafayette had won 24 games in a row.  Many thought this was the Mythical State Championship game.

West Lafayette 1943 Season Results

39 Indy Washington 0

21 Hoopeston, IL 0

14 Lafayette Jeff 0

20 Peru 0

41 Frankfort 0

27 Monticello 2

14 Lafayette Jeff 0

25 Crawfordsville 7

WL beat Jeff 14-0 twice that year and that was the only 2 games Jeff lost in 1943.  The SB Washington/WL game was played in a driving rain and the field was a sea of mud.  2000 fans braved the elements.  WL kicked off to SB Washington and on the 2nd play SB's Ernie Zalejski ran 55 yards for a TD.  South Bend Washington beat West Lafayette 27-0.  This is an example of how good the teams from South Bend were in the 1940's.  What happened to the teams from northern Indiana?  Most of the schools in NW Indiana don't have very good football teams today.   

 

[Coach Nowlin]

How bout that 1954 Rensselaer Bomber team !!!   Electric 

[FastpacedO]

20 minutes ago, Tippy said:

WL beat Jeff 14-0 twice that year and that was the only 2 games Jeff lost in 1943.  The SB Washington/WL game was played in a driving rain and the field was a sea of mud.  2000 fans braved the elements.  WL kicked off to SB Washington and on the 2nd play SB's Ernie Zalejski ran 55 yards for a TD.  South Bend Washington beat West Lafayette 27-0.  This is an example of how good the teams from South Bend were in the 1940's.  What happened to the teams from northern Indiana?  Most of the schools in NW Indiana don't have very good football teams today.   

 

How dare they not play this on Field Turf! It is a good thing @Lysander and his wire cutters were not a twinkle in his daddy's eye yet or the lights would have been cut after the 55 yard TD. 

Only kidding @Tippy great post!

[Tippy]

26 minutes ago, Coach Nowlin said:

How bout that 1954 Rensselaer Bomber team !!!   Electric 

They were electric!  RC beat West Lafayette 40-0 that year.  Rensselaer was ranked 14th in the UP poll at the end of the year.  Wave Myers was the coach at RC. Gary Mau, Dale Dewees, and George Clouse were the best players for RC in 1954.  There were a lot of good teams in northern Indiana in the 1950's.

[Coach Nowlin]

I see DALE DEWEES all the time around ball games and of course the Golf Course !!!    

Bombers have long long long history going back to 1898, I believe we still are 11th or 12th overall in total wins in the state 

[crimsonace1]

21 hours ago, Tippy said:

This is an example of how good the teams from South Bend were in the 1940's.  What happened to the teams from northern Indiana?  Most of the schools in NW Indiana don't have very good football teams today.   

 

I think what happened is the Mayflowers rolled into town and football became a big deal in Central Indiana. 

In the north, it always felt more like football country. HSFB was a big, big deal in the Region and Michiana, while the rest of us saw football as something to pass the time until basketball season except in a few pockets (Richmond, Bloomington, Evansville ...). 

Then, the Colts arrived and football became more of a big deal in the Indy area. Then, some guy named Peyton showed up a decade and a half later. Couple that with the explosion of the township and suburban schools at the same time, and it led to a perfect storm of football's growth in Indy (and, for that matter, you could argue football has eclipsed basketball as the primary sport in a lot of Indy-area communities). 

I think it's encapsulated by this ... in the mid-1990s, Rex Grossman got in touch with the Florida coaching staff, and Steve Spurrier basically said, "sorry, kid, we don't recruit Indiana." (and then Spurrier saw his film and suddenly, he started recruiting Indiana). Now, there are Indy-area kids all over the place on major programs. 

[Tippy]

12 minutes ago, crimsonace1 said:

I think what happened is the Mayflowers rolled into town and football became a big deal in Central Indiana. 

In the north, it always felt more like football country. HSFB was a big, big deal in the Region and Michiana, while the rest of us saw football as something to pass the time until basketball season except in a few pockets (Richmond, Bloomington, Evansville ...). 

Then, the Colts arrived and football became more of a big deal in the Indy area. Then, some guy named Peyton showed up a decade and a half later. Couple that with the explosion of the township and suburban schools at the same time, and it led to a perfect storm of football's growth in Indy (and, for that matter, you could argue football has eclipsed basketball as the primary sport in a lot of Indy-area communities). 

I think it's encapsulated by this ... in the mid-1990s, Rex Grossman got in touch with the Florida coaching staff, and Steve Spurrier basically said, "sorry, kid, we don't recruit Indiana." (and then Spurrier saw his film and suddenly, he started recruiting Indiana). Now, there are Indy-area kids all over the place on major programs. 

Thank you for this post!  This is a lot of great info.  I think football did eclipse basketball in 1998 when IN went to class basketball.

[Tippy]

3 hours ago, Coach Nowlin said:

I see DALE DEWEES all the time around ball games and of course the Golf Course !!!    

Bombers have long long long history going back to 1898, I believe we still are 11th or 12th overall in total wins in the state 

The 1977 RC team was good too.  They went 10-0 that year, but didn't make the playoffs. Plymouth and Columbia City got the playoff spots.  DeWees was the QB for that 1977 RC team.  Selby, Tonner and Phegley were good players for that 1977 team.  When there is a DeWees on RC's team, they seem to go 10-0.

[crimsonace1]

7 hours ago, Tippy said:

Thank you for this post!  This is a lot of great info.  I think football did eclipse basketball in 1998 when IN went to class basketball.

Among the reasons football has taken primacy in Central Indiana, "class basketball" is way, way, way, way, way, way down on the list. 

Honestly, anyone playing basketball in 1995 didn't stop playing in 1998 because "well, Anderson plays Richmond in the sectional instead of Elwood, so I'm not interested in basketball anymore." And anyone born after 1990 or doesn't know anything different. 

And even in terms of fan interest, people didn't stop going to games because the sectional opponents changed in March. I wrote a long, long piece on this a few years ago, but basically "what killed Hoosier Hysteria" were a couple of things. First, the rise of the NCAA Tournament, which basically sucked all the air out of the room come March. Second, suburbanization and the death of the NCC/factory towns like Marion, Muncie and Richmond that once packed their gyms. Even in the 1980s, most of Anderson's season ticketholders were retired. They died, their kids moved out of town to Carmel and Fishers and nobody was there to replace them in the stands ... or on the court. 

[Irishman]

Not being too familiar with the history of NWI, how much of the success/decline is connected to the steel mills/industry? Are there other industries that thrived in that area that are now declining as well? 

[Bash Riprock]

On 12/3/2024 at 3:26 PM, Tippy said:

From the 1920's through the 1970's, far northern Indiana always seemed to have the best football teams in the state.  Northern Indiana ruled Indiana high school football.  These teams were rated number 1  in the polls they were using back then.

West Lafayette 1943 Season Results

39 Indy Washington 0

21 Hoopeston, IL 0

14 Lafayette Jeff 0

20 Peru 0

41 Frankfort 0

27 Monticello 2

14 Lafayette Jeff 0

25 Crawfordsville 7

WL beat Jeff 14-0 twice that year and that was the only 2 games Jeff lost in 1943.  The SB Washington/WL game was played in a driving rain and the field was a sea of mud.  2000 fans braved the elements.  WL kicked off to SB Washington and on the 2nd play SB's Ernie Zalejski ran 55 yards for a TD.  South Bend Washington beat West Lafayette 27-0.  This is an example of how good the teams from South Bend were in the 1940's.  What happened to the teams from northern Indiana?  Most of the schools in NW Indiana don't have very good football teams today.   

 

Nice win over the mighty Cornjerkers.....

[Tippy]

12 hours ago, crimsonace1 said:

Among the reasons football has taken primacy in Central Indiana, "class basketball" is way, way, way, way, way, way down on the list. 

Honestly, anyone playing basketball in 1995 didn't stop playing in 1998 because "well, Anderson plays Richmond in the sectional instead of Elwood, so I'm not interested in basketball anymore." And anyone born after 1990 or doesn't know anything different. 

And even in terms of fan interest, people didn't stop going to games because the sectional opponents changed in March. I wrote a long, long piece on this a few years ago, but basically "what killed Hoosier Hysteria" were a couple of things. First, the rise of the NCAA Tournament, which basically sucked all the air out of the room come March. Second, suburbanization and the death of the NCC/factory towns like Marion, Muncie and Richmond that once packed their gyms. Even in the 1980s, most of Anderson's season ticketholders were retired. They died, their kids moved out of town to Carmel and Fishers and nobody was there to replace them in the stands ... or on the court. 

Class basketball might not be the main reason for the rise of football in Central Indiana, but it sure did take the air out of the ball at Lafayette Jeff.  Jeff was in the championship game in 1992 and went to the final 4 in 1996.  Lafayette Jeff hasn't done anything in basketball the last 26 years.

[BDGiant93]

15 hours ago, crimsonace1 said:

Among the reasons football has taken primacy in Central Indiana, "class basketball" is way, way, way, way, way, way down on the list. 

Honestly, anyone playing basketball in 1995 didn't stop playing in 1998 because "well, Anderson plays Richmond in the sectional instead of Elwood, so I'm not interested in basketball anymore." And anyone born after 1990 or doesn't know anything different. 

And even in terms of fan interest, people didn't stop going to games because the sectional opponents changed in March. I wrote a long, long piece on this a few years ago, but basically "what killed Hoosier Hysteria" were a couple of things. First, the rise of the NCAA Tournament, which basically sucked all the air out of the room come March. Second, suburbanization and the death of the NCC/factory towns like Marion, Muncie and Richmond that once packed their gyms. Even in the 1980s, most of Anderson's season ticketholders were retired. They died, their kids moved out of town to Carmel and Fishers and nobody was there to replace them in the stands ... or on the court. 

Exactly. You say it very eloquently. I have to say that basketball still lights a fire in this state like nothing else. I saw Gainbridge full for the 3A & 4A State Championship games in 2023. Southport was full. New Castle was mostly full. People will still come out for great teams and great players (like Flory). It's not what it used to be, but nothing is. I posted a game-winning shot for girls basketball on my Facebook profile and someone came in "Crowd Karening" about 14 years ago. Well, that girls team had won 81 in a row, yeah, people came out to see them! They didn't want to miss it. Great teams can still capture the attention of the basketball casuals more than even football. I think in football, it's more about matchups in Central Indiana. Ben Davis/Brownsburg is usually a great crowd. Ben Davis/North Central...not so much. 

[crimsonace1]

3 hours ago, Tippy said:

Class basketball might not be the main reason for the rise of football in Central Indiana, but it sure did take the air out of the ball at Lafayette Jeff.  Jeff was in the championship game in 1992 and went to the final 4 in 1996.  Lafayette Jeff hasn't done anything in basketball the last 26 years.

Is it that, or is it the fact that a generational run of players with Hammel, Knoy, Schornstein, et al, graduated and a lot of people who used to go to Jeff are now at Harrison & McCutcheon? Again, suburbanization and the decline of the "factory towns" had a lot more to do with that than class basketball. Those declines were in motion in a lot of the NCC towns around the late 1990s, but correlation is not causation. 

[foxbat]

1 hour ago, crimsonace1 said:

Is it that, or is it the fact that a generational run of players with Hammel, Knoy, Schornstein, et al, graduated and a lot of people who used to go to Jeff are now at Harrison & McCutcheon? Again, suburbanization and the decline of the "factory towns" had a lot more to do with that than class basketball. Those declines were in motion in a lot of the NCC towns around the late 1990s, but correlation is not causation. 

The Knoys are associated with Harrison nowadays.

Didn't Schornstein go on to bigger and better things with Delta House?

 

[Tippy]

10 minutes ago, foxbat said:

The Knoys are associated with Harrison nowadays.

Didn't Schornstein go on to bigger and better things with Delta House?

 

Two starters on the 1992 Jeff team that almost won state were Catholic.  Brad Knoy and Courtney Harris were both Catholic and Harris went to St. Lawrence grade school.  I don't think Schornstein lived in Lafayette until he went to Jeff.  Schornstein played college basketball at New Mexico university.  Jeff always had an easy path to semi-state, but when class basketball started, instead of playing LCC in the sectional, they had to play Kokomo and Marion.  Coach Jim Hammel knew class basketball would hurt Jeff, that's why he was against it.

[WestfieldRocks]

1 hour ago, Tippy said:

Two starters on the 1992 Jeff team that almost won state were Catholic.  Brad Knoy and Courtney Harris were both Catholic and Harris went to St. Lawrence grade school.  I don't think Schornstein lived in Lafayette until he went to Jeff.  Schornstein played college basketball at New Mexico university.  Jeff always had an easy path to semi-state, but when class basketball started, instead of playing LCC in the sectional, they had to play Kokomo and Marion.  Coach Jim Hammel knew class basketball would hurt Jeff, that's why he was against it.

Yea, having gone to Purdue in the late 60's, early 70's, the one thing I noticed was how much Jeff bragged about all of those sectional and regional banners that they had hanging in their gym. It was then that I realized that they only played small schools, on their home court no less, until the semi state games at Mackey. Having gone to Cathedral, when we were put in the old Butler (pre Hinkle) sectional with 13 other teams, you had to win four games just to get out of that sectional. Southport was about as bad. I believe it had 11 teams. Even after the IHSAA put a third sectional in Marion Co, made them all 8 team sectionals, winning three games against that competition in any of those three sectionals was a task. If you did, what awaited were those three winners plus the Anderson sectional winner playing in the regional. 

[scarab527]

11 hours ago, Irishman said:

Not being too familiar with the history of NWI, how much of the success/decline is connected to the steel mills/industry? Are there other industries that thrived in that area that are now declining as well? 

Very much so correlated. Steels the only thing that ever thrived in the Region, and the Region hasn’t recovered since the mills’ decline. Most towns up here aren’t the most affluent, to say the least. And we all know about those free and reduced lunch rates…

[Coach Nowlin]

On 12/4/2024 at 12:44 PM, Tippy said:

The 1977 RC team was good too.  They went 10-0 that year, but didn't make the playoffs. Plymouth and Columbia City got the playoff spots.  DeWees was the QB for that 1977 RC team.  Selby, Tonner and Phegley were good players for that 1977 team.  When there is a DeWees on RC's team, they seem to go 10-0.

Brad DeWees, long time member of the West Lafayette Football staff.    HC Joe Burvan, Indiana HS Wrestling HOF member, and Gym named after him here.   Good Stuff 

On 12/5/2024 at 5:02 AM, Irishman said:

Not being too familiar with the history of NWI, how much of the success/decline is connected to the steel mills/industry? Are there other industries that thrived in that area that are now declining as well? 

@scarab527 said it well,  I mean GARY, IN was literally developed for the purpose of housing steel workers and families, and we all see how when that industry dipped that community did too.   

[PHJIrish]

The Hobart Brickies were tough in the past also.  I remember one Saturday afternoon in the late 60's or early 70's when they beat Cathedral 51-0 (IIRC) at the Butler Bowl.

[Bobref]

On 12/5/2024 at 5:02 AM, Irishman said:

Not being too familiar with the history of NWI, how much of the success/decline is connected to the steel mills/industry? Are there other industries that thrived in that area that are now declining as well? 

That’s a really big part of it. There was a time when the Gary schools were formidable football programs. Same with Hammond. The decline in the steel industry over the last 50 yrs., with the corresponding negative effect on steel support industries, resulted in huge population declines and population shifts in urban NWI.

Changing demographics is also a big part of it. The Hispanic population has increased significantly. But, as @Muda69 has pointed out many times, Hispanic athletes tend to gravitate toward sports other than football.

To me, the mystery is whether the population boom south of US 30 is going to translate into athletic success. St. John, Dyer, Crown Point, Cedar Lake, all are experiencing housing booms, many of which are move-ins fleeing the People’s Republic of Chicagoland. Schools like Crown Point, Lake Central, Hanover Central, Lowell, and of course, Andrean, should benefit. Their potential path is similar to places like Center Grove and Westfield. Notice I said “potential.”

Edited December 8, 2024 by Bobref

[Tippy]

6 hours ago, PHJIrish said:

The Hobart Brickies were tough in the past also.  I remember one Saturday afternoon in the late 60's or early 70's when they beat Cathedral 51-0 (IIRC) at the Butler Bowl.

It seemed like all the teams in NW Indiana were good until about 1978.  Here is another example.

Cathedral 1951 Results!  They finished 9-1

0 Hammond Noll 21

19 Indy Washington 7

6 Bloomington 0

27 Lafayette Jeff 6

34 Indy Crispus Attucks 7

25 Indy Shortridge 13

20 Southport 0

26 Batesville 6

19 Indy Broad Ripple 0

34 Indy Sacred Heart 7

[Tippy]

6 hours ago, PHJIrish said:

The Hobart Brickies were tough in the past also.  I remember one Saturday afternoon in the late 60's or early 70's when they beat Cathedral 51-0 (IIRC) at the Butler Bowl.

Cathedral 1969 Results!  They finished 8-2

0 Elkhart 52

22 FW Dwenger 6

13 Indy Tech 0

36 Indy Manual 8

28 Indy Crispus Attucks 0

48 Roncalli 6

18 Indy Shortridge 8

0 Indy Broad Ripple 6

19 Indy Scecina 12

26 Indy Washington 16

Not many teams can say they beat Cathedral by 52 points.

 

[Donnie Baker]

On 12/5/2024 at 10:07 AM, Tippy said:

Class basketball might not be the main reason for the rise of football in Central Indiana, but it sure did take the air out of the ball at Lafayette Jeff.  Jeff was in the championship game in 1992 and went to the final 4 in 1996.  Lafayette Jeff hasn't done anything in basketball the last 26 years.

Probably because they don’t play all the small schools on their own court for sectional and regional.