Cummingses, Cluff paced HHS in '61-62
By
Bob Patton-
As the opening games of the 1961-62 SCOL basketball season approached, Hillsboro High School announced that the Indians would be playing five “home” games at Paint Valley High School. This was something of a shock, since Hillsboro figured to be a serious contender for the league basketball title, and they would be giving up their home court advantage. But the gymnasium at HHS was tiny and would seat only 300 to 400 fans. The athletic council figured that they could fill a much larger facility, and they needed the revenue. Also, there was a somewhat subtle push on to overhaul and enlarge the Hillsboro gym.
Three home league games would still be played at Hillsboro because Paint Valley had home games scheduled on those dates. Wilmington was the preseason favorite, primarily because the Hurricane had senior Marvin Gregory, one of the toughest forwards in southwest Ohio, along with senior guard Jim Edwards, an offensive workhorse and Dwight Wallace, an outstanding point guard, who was also a tough defender.
Hillsboro had former Marshall stars John and Ferris Cummings and 6’6” Fred Cluff. Their guard play was an unknown quantity.
Early in the season, the Indians defeated McClain 68-50, at Greenfield. The Tigers, under new coach Al Burger, featured 6’6” Terry Shrock at center, but no player taller than 5’11” to go with him. John Cummings’ 22 points paced the Indians. It looked like a long. Cold winter for the Tigers, who dropped their first five games.
Miami Trace edged Hillsboro 55-52 in overtime at Bloomingburg, where the Panthers were playing their home games until their new school was finished. So, with three league games played, Wilmington and Miami Trace led the league with 3-0 records, while Hillsboro was third with a 2-1 league mark.
The following week, Wilmington edged the Hillsboro Indians 70-65 at Paint Valley. The swarming defense of the Hurricane held John and Ferris Cummings to 16 and 14 points, respectively, but big Fred Cluff banged in 26. It was not enough, however, to beat Wilmington’s balanced scoring led by Wallace’s 16 points and Gregory’s 15.
On Jan. 3, Hillsboro visited Pleasant View. The Indians turned the ball over consistently and shot only 28% from the field. As a result, they came home with a 10-point loss, 59-49. The Indians traveled to Washington in mid-January. They were hard-pressed against an improving Blue Lion squad, but managed to win the game by a 51-41 score. So, the league standings in midseason were:
School W L
Wilmington 8 0
Miami Trace 7 1
Hillsboro 6 3
Franklin Heights 5 3
Pleasant View 3 5
Circleville 3 6
Washington 1 7
McClain 0 8
On Jan. 19, the Indians outraced the visiting Circleville Tigers behind John Cummings’ 39 points and won the game 88-75 in the Hillsboro gymnasium. The same night, Wilmington nipped Miami Trace 63-57, at Bloomingburg with all five Hurricane starters scoring in double figures. February league action saw Hillsboro upset Miami Trace 80-69. This pretty much assured Wilmington of another SCOL championship, and also virtually locked down third place for the Indians.
The following night, Hillsboro beat tough Chillicothe on the Cavaliers home court in a non-league game, proving that the Indians could compete against tough competition.
A week later, Hillsboro downed the McClain Tigers, at Paint Valley, for their eighth straight win. The score was 69-53. The Indians were playing some of their best basketball right before tournament time. The same night, Wilmington and Miami Trace met, at Wilmington. When the dust cleared, Wilmington had beaten the Panthers 87-79 in five overtimes.
Hillsboro had to go to Wilmington for the second Hillsboro – Wilmington match-up. The Hillsboro coaches knew that an all-out team effort would be needed for the Indians to have a chance.
Hillsboro played with the league leaders the first half, actually leading by five points at one time. But, the second half was a different story. The Hurricane, behind 32 points by Marvin Gregory, plastered the Indians 81-66. This sealed the league championship for Wilmington.
Meanwhile, Miami Trace edged Washington 64-57 to lock up second place. The McClain Tigers, who had taken a long time to get started, beat Circleville 60-53, then proved it was no fluke by taking down Washington 71-57.
Hillsboro closed out their regular season by clobbering Franklin Heights at Grove City by a score of 83-41 as nearly every player on the bench scored. John Cummings led the way with 25 points, playing little more than a half.
In the AA Sectional Tournament at Paint Valley, Hillsboro downed Chillicothe for the second time in the season, this time 55-47, behind 28 points from Cummings.
Waverly eliminated McClain, then was promptly taken apart by Miami Trace 58-38. So, Miami Trace and Hillsboro would battle for the sectional title at 8 p.m. on March 3.
Miami Trace was playing good basketball by the end of the regular season, but Hillsboro was playing better. The Indians’ smooth offense demolished Miami Trace’s full court press, and the fired-up Indians stormed to a 57-40 victory over the Panthers to capture the tournament championship. This meant that the Hillsboro team would go to Athens on Friday night to meet the powerful Marietta Tigers of the Greater Ohio League. The Tigers, ranked 10th in Ohio, boasted a 20-1 record. The game would be played in Grover Physical Education Center at Ohio University, one of the most modern in the state. It seated about 6,500 fans.
This was one of the classic games of the season. After a rugged battle and two overtimes, an ill-chosen long shot resulted in a win for Marietta by a score of 71-69. The Indians’ season was over.
South Central Ohio League coaches met March 4, at Washington, and selected the all league team. John Cummings of Hillsboro and Marvin Gregory of Wilmington were both unanimous choices and were named honorary co-captains on the first team. Following are the complete rosters: (first team) John Cummings, Hillsboro; Marvin Gregory, Wilmington; Carl Weaver, Miami Trace; Dale Creamer, Pleasant View; Dwight Wallace, Wilmington; Jim Edwards, Wilmington; (second team) Sam Weller, Circleville; Lonnie Ayres, Miami Trace; Ferris Cummings, Hillsboro; Steve Wilson, Franklin Heights; Terry Shrock, McClain; and Jerry Powell, Washington C.H.
Next: The 1962 – 63 season.
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
Three home league games would still be played at Hillsboro because Paint Valley had home games scheduled on those dates. Wilmington was the preseason favorite, primarily because the Hurricane had senior Marvin Gregory, one of the toughest forwards in southwest Ohio, along with senior guard Jim Edwards, an offensive workhorse and Dwight Wallace, an outstanding point guard, who was also a tough defender.
Hillsboro had former Marshall stars John and Ferris Cummings and 6’6” Fred Cluff. Their guard play was an unknown quantity.
Early in the season, the Indians defeated McClain 68-50, at Greenfield. The Tigers, under new coach Al Burger, featured 6’6” Terry Shrock at center, but no player taller than 5’11” to go with him. John Cummings’ 22 points paced the Indians. It looked like a long. Cold winter for the Tigers, who dropped their first five games.
Miami Trace edged Hillsboro 55-52 in overtime at Bloomingburg, where the Panthers were playing their home games until their new school was finished. So, with three league games played, Wilmington and Miami Trace led the league with 3-0 records, while Hillsboro was third with a 2-1 league mark.
The following week, Wilmington edged the Hillsboro Indians 70-65 at Paint Valley. The swarming defense of the Hurricane held John and Ferris Cummings to 16 and 14 points, respectively, but big Fred Cluff banged in 26. It was not enough, however, to beat Wilmington’s balanced scoring led by Wallace’s 16 points and Gregory’s 15.
On Jan. 3, Hillsboro visited Pleasant View. The Indians turned the ball over consistently and shot only 28% from the field. As a result, they came home with a 10-point loss, 59-49. The Indians traveled to Washington in mid-January. They were hard-pressed against an improving Blue Lion squad, but managed to win the game by a 51-41 score. So, the league standings in midseason were:
School W L
Wilmington 8 0
Miami Trace 7 1
Hillsboro 6 3
Franklin Heights 5 3
Pleasant View 3 5
Circleville 3 6
Washington 1 7
McClain 0 8
On Jan. 19, the Indians outraced the visiting Circleville Tigers behind John Cummings’ 39 points and won the game 88-75 in the Hillsboro gymnasium. The same night, Wilmington nipped Miami Trace 63-57, at Bloomingburg with all five Hurricane starters scoring in double figures. February league action saw Hillsboro upset Miami Trace 80-69. This pretty much assured Wilmington of another SCOL championship, and also virtually locked down third place for the Indians.
The following night, Hillsboro beat tough Chillicothe on the Cavaliers home court in a non-league game, proving that the Indians could compete against tough competition.
A week later, Hillsboro downed the McClain Tigers, at Paint Valley, for their eighth straight win. The score was 69-53. The Indians were playing some of their best basketball right before tournament time. The same night, Wilmington and Miami Trace met, at Wilmington. When the dust cleared, Wilmington had beaten the Panthers 87-79 in five overtimes.
Hillsboro had to go to Wilmington for the second Hillsboro – Wilmington match-up. The Hillsboro coaches knew that an all-out team effort would be needed for the Indians to have a chance.
Hillsboro played with the league leaders the first half, actually leading by five points at one time. But, the second half was a different story. The Hurricane, behind 32 points by Marvin Gregory, plastered the Indians 81-66. This sealed the league championship for Wilmington.
Meanwhile, Miami Trace edged Washington 64-57 to lock up second place. The McClain Tigers, who had taken a long time to get started, beat Circleville 60-53, then proved it was no fluke by taking down Washington 71-57.
Hillsboro closed out their regular season by clobbering Franklin Heights at Grove City by a score of 83-41 as nearly every player on the bench scored. John Cummings led the way with 25 points, playing little more than a half.
In the AA Sectional Tournament at Paint Valley, Hillsboro downed Chillicothe for the second time in the season, this time 55-47, behind 28 points from Cummings.
Waverly eliminated McClain, then was promptly taken apart by Miami Trace 58-38. So, Miami Trace and Hillsboro would battle for the sectional title at 8 p.m. on March 3.
Miami Trace was playing good basketball by the end of the regular season, but Hillsboro was playing better. The Indians’ smooth offense demolished Miami Trace’s full court press, and the fired-up Indians stormed to a 57-40 victory over the Panthers to capture the tournament championship. This meant that the Hillsboro team would go to Athens on Friday night to meet the powerful Marietta Tigers of the Greater Ohio League. The Tigers, ranked 10th in Ohio, boasted a 20-1 record. The game would be played in Grover Physical Education Center at Ohio University, one of the most modern in the state. It seated about 6,500 fans.
This was one of the classic games of the season. After a rugged battle and two overtimes, an ill-chosen long shot resulted in a win for Marietta by a score of 71-69. The Indians’ season was over.
South Central Ohio League coaches met March 4, at Washington, and selected the all league team. John Cummings of Hillsboro and Marvin Gregory of Wilmington were both unanimous choices and were named honorary co-captains on the first team. Following are the complete rosters: (first team) John Cummings, Hillsboro; Marvin Gregory, Wilmington; Carl Weaver, Miami Trace; Dale Creamer, Pleasant View; Dwight Wallace, Wilmington; Jim Edwards, Wilmington; (second team) Sam Weller, Circleville; Lonnie Ayres, Miami Trace; Ferris Cummings, Hillsboro; Steve Wilson, Franklin Heights; Terry Shrock, McClain; and Jerry Powell, Washington C.H.
Next: The 1962 – 63 season.
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]