As noted last week, my recent Spring Break trip took me south to visit my father in Indiana. We embarked on a day trip a bit further south and toured the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in New Castle and the “Hoosiers” gym in Knightstown.
The film, released in 1986, is still one of those “won’t turn it off” movies if I run across it while reviewing the channel guide. I recall seeing it for the first time less-than two weeks after its November 14 opening. I was visiting family outside Fort Wayne and met my former college newspaper editor, Chris, for a Wednesday-before-Thanksgiving visit that included dinner and a movie.
I don’t believe Chris, who’d only recently relocated to Indiana for work, had any idea what he was in for. The theater was pretty well packed and very much aware of what high school basketball had long meant to Indiana natives. That is, quite a bit!
The film’s storyline, loosely based on the remarkable 1954 state championship run by Milan High School, was quite familiar to me as my parents and their siblings had long shared what it was like growing up in the state during the 1940s and 1950s. Chris, of course, had no idea.
To finally visit the gym checked an item off my must-do list.
It was, as one would imagine, quaint. With seating for only about 700 people, it’s actually smaller than it appears on the big screen. It was also free. Yep, there’s absolutely zero fee to enter (so long as there’s not a game scheduled) and you’re welcome to linger as long as you’d like. There are basketballs available for hoop shooting (I’m only 1-for-5 on the floor) or you can, as I did for a good long time, just sit in the bleachers and let your mind wander.
As the gym still hosts about 100 games a year, some modifications have been made: 3-point lines, glass backboards, breakaway rims, and an electronic scoreboard. Beyond that, it’s pretty much still the same as it was in 1986.
Clockwise from top, the iconic Hickory Huskers’ state championship team, the banner, and the lockerroom.
About those competitive games: Yes, if your team wants to play there all a coach needs to do it contact the gym and work out the logistics. Our docent told us its $100 per game, the gym makes the referee arrangements, and the gate is split between the gym and the host team.
The home team gets the iconic Hickory lockerroom while the visitors are housed across the gym.
At some point, our docent wasn’t sure when, a team decided to leave behind an autographed jersey. These are now displayed in lockerrooms and/or storage. Older jerseys are rotated in and out throughout each season, especially if a team that had played there previously returns.
Clockwise from upper left, really the only thing that distinguishes this standalone structure near an old high school is this faded sign, part of Whit Butcher (actor Brad Boyle) uniform sits under glass, a remembrance of Merle Webb (actor Kent Lee Poole who completed suicide in 2003) is featured prominently under the display of home and away jerseys seen at left. Finally the team and key film figures attended a 30th anniversary celebration in 2016.
- Previously: My visit to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame