During Season 1 of Conversations with Sports Fans we were blessed to be joined by Erv Inniger, a former basketball and baseball player at Indiana University, a one-time Minnesota Muskies player, and, utlimately, the head men’s basketball coach (and later an athletic director) at North Dakota State University.
Later today he’ll be enshrined in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame during ceremonies at the Hall in New Castle and at a banquet in Indianapolis.
We felt it only fitting that we repost his episode of Conversation. You’re able to find it here or by searching for Erv Inniger, Season 1, Episode 30 on your favorite podcast provider.
Thus a weeklong visit to this state to try and appreciate its love of all things basketball cannot be fully absorbed by merely visiting fieldhouses and gymnasiums.
No, one must also leave the well-worn path to see some museums dedicated to preserving the history and capturing the culture of this beloved sport.
During my most-recent week in Indiana and my return from Events No. 12 and No. 13 in Kansas, I was able to visit three such places. Here is a brief recap of those experiences.
Larry Bird Museum
Visitors to the Larry Bird Museum will have an opportunity to hear from the man himself.
Cost: Free admission but you must schedule your visit on the website
Date of Visit: February 13, 2025
Set near the back of the Terre Haute Convention Center with limited signage, the Museum is not easy to locate (my GPS was a touch confused) but is beyond worth the visit.
Maybe my bias is showing through. After all, I was an 11-year-old Hoosier ex-patriate in Michigan when Bird and his Indiana State Sycamores played “Magic” Johnson and his Michigan State Spartans in the 1979 NCAA Championship.
Whether a big Bird fan or not, I recommend a visit thanks to the remarkable collection of artifacts that had to come directly from the man himself.
There are showcases dedicated to his high school days at French Lick’s Springs Valley HS, his time in college at Indiana University (only for a hot second!) and then ISU, and finally his Boston Celtics time. There’s even one with a tremendous amount of 1992 USA Dream Team material and another with many of the awards he claimed through the years as a professional.
Just a sampling of the Larry Bird artifacts found at the museum honoring him in Terre Haute.
The curators have packed quite a lot in this small space, thanks to an efficient design that takes visitors through his life and career. Strategically placed throughout are some interactive exhibits for those younger visitors who might enjoy a more hands-on experience. There’s a “Catch the Pass” game that simulates reaction time to Bird’s passing acumen, another that measures your wingspan, and a final one that measures guest’s jumping ability. Additionally, there are interactive trivia kiosks throughout.
There’s even a theater-like experience where visitors hear from Larry and those close to him about his life. While my father and I finished our tour watching this video, I could very easily envision guests watching it to begin their tour.
Finally, two of my favorite items aren’t even found in the museum. One is the larger-than-life statue of Bird in front of ISU’s home arena, the Hulman Center, across the street from the Convention Center. The other is a wall mural of the famous Sports Illustrated cover featuring Bird and members of the Sycamores’ cheer squad that’s found just outside the museum.
Two Larry Bird items are found on the streets of Terre Haute and don’t even require a visit to his eponymous museum … though you should still pay it a visit!
Milan ’54 Hoosiers Museum
This converted bank is the current home of the Milan ’54 Hoosiers Museum.
It’s hard to believe we’re now 70-plus years removed from the night the tiny Milan Indians (enrollment 161) bested mighty Muncie Central (enrollment 1,662), 32-30, in the Indiana High School Boys Basketball Championship at Butler University’s then-youthful Butler (now Hinkle) Fieldhouse.
I say it’s hard to believe because of how many people – no matter their age or where they may reside within Indiana – still talk about that game with the type of reverence usually reserved for catastrophic natural disasters or the like.
And with good reason!
Like many states Indiana had only one bracket to decide the state champion every year until 1998 (that is, no separate classifications based on enrollment), so there’d invariably be matchups like occurred in 1954. Usually, though, those matchups happened in the Sectional or Regional rounds and those small schools typically were cast aside long before the bright lights of championship weekend.
Much like the those Milan Indians of years ago, this plucky little museum fully embraces its roll as the underdog and aims to help keep the legacy of 1954 alive with its collection of artifacts from that season and the movie the team helped inspire, Hoosiers.
And, to be sure, there’s plenty to see within the small space the converted bank affords. The down side, is the lack of notation of what exactly each item is. To say it’s all thrown together a little haphazardly would not be an understatement. That said, if you arrive during a quiet time, you’ll likely find a willing volunteer who’ll provide an explanation of what you’re looking at.
Clockwise from upper left, each of the 12 members of the basketball team have a locker filled with artifacts from their playing days; my visit came shortly after the death of Gene Hackman, who portrayed Coach Norman Dale in “Hoosiers,” and his wife, Betsy Arakawa; many of the uniforms used as wardrobe for “Hoosiers” are displayed; the converted bank has items everywhere; a piece of Milan HS original basketball court is displayed; ticket stubs from the four rounds of the 1954 State Tournament are displayed; members of the Indians were given the bobblehead treatment; future Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson has a showcase as he was a member of Indianapolis Crispus Attucks HS whom Milan defeated in the quarterfinals; the hospital bed Dennis Hopper’s character, Shooter, detoxed in during the Hickory Huskers’ state championship game.
While not readily visible, there is one more must-see before leaving the Milan ’54 Hoosiers Museum. It’s located behind the office (and the old bank vault) and is a document that spans ceiling to floor. It’s the entire 1954 Indiana Championship Bracket (close to 800 schools in all), hand crafted and handwritten, by three Purdue University students (the pencil work is impeccable!). I know the photo below does not do it it justice, but it’s truly remarkable. A separate note from the donor posted nearby indicates the three students did this for each of the 1952, 1953, and 1954 tournaments.
This is the handmade bracket from the 1954 Indiana Boys Basketball Tournament.
Hoosiers Gym
The home gym of the Hickory Huskers from the movie “Hoosiers” is preserved in Knightstown, IN.
Nearly a year ago, my dad and I took a day trip south of his home in Adams County, IN, to Knightstown and visited its old high school gymnasium which rose to fame as the home gym for the Hickory Huskers from the movie “Hoosiers.”
Rather than blather on again about how surreal and enjoyable it was to be in this space, I’ll simply redirect you to this previously written post from April 8, 2024.
Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame
One of the centerpieces of the newly opened exhibits at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a 270-degree surround film taking visitors through a State Championship Saturday for either the boys or girls.
Cost: Free admission thanks to a grant from Henry Community Health
Dates of Visits: March 27, 2024 and March 7, 2025
On that same day trip from my dad’s home a year ago, we visited another notable Henry County, IN, basketball spot: the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. I wrote about the Hall at that time in this post from April 2, 2024, but when I spoke to Hall of Fame Executive Director Matt Martin for this episode of our podcast, “Conversations with Sports Fans,” he indicated they’d expanded in December 2024.
So we returned to check out the new addition.
There are several new displays with plenty of new (to the visitor, at least) artifacts that had previously been warehoused someplace. Lots of uniforms, footwear, remnants of fabled courts, basketballs, nets, and the like are all now available for visitors to review. There is also an entire wall dedicated to girls and women in basketball and the evolution of the game since 1972’s Title IX passage.
Clockwise from upper left, New Castle Chrysler HS star Steve Alford’s shoes from his playing days; this exhibit allows guests to record their play-by-play; before he became a NBA legend (including time with the Milwaukee Bucks), Oscar Robertson was a 2-time state champion for Indianapolis Crispus Attucks HS; Rik Smits’ autographed shoes are displayed; there is a new exhibit examining the impact of women’s basketball following the passage of Title IX in 1972; the Indiana Pacers wore special Hickory Huskers jerseys several years ago; part of the floor from Muncie Fieldhouse has been preserved after tornado damage left it unplayable in 2017; President Barack Obama has visited the HoF and left behind an autographed ball; another interactive exhibit allows visitors to play the role of referee.
Most noticeable, though, are some more interactive exhibits. One allows visitors to play the role of referee and discover if they made the correct call. Another allows guests to play the role of broadcaster and make their own calls on some famed plays from the annals of Indiana basketball history.
Perhaps the jewel of this expanded exhibit area is the Game Day Experience (photographed above/video below). It’s an immersive experience where fans who step into this three-quarter enclosed area to experience a State Championship Saturday all around them. Currently there is both a boys and girls Game Day Experience with footage from the 2024 State Championships. While I’m sure there’s a cost, it would be fabulous if this is updated annually to give visitors repeated reasons to return.
The interactive Game Day Experience is a gem in the newly expanded Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
Still Hungry?
Plump’s Last Shot could easily be mistaken for a home if you weren’t looking for it.
He’s the player for that Milan HS team that hit the final shot against Muncie Central to cinch the 32-30 victory (video below). He’s also the inspiration for “Hoosiers” player Jimmy Chitwood who hit the final shot for the Hickory Huskers.
Footage of Bobby Plump’s final shot against Muncie Central in the 1954 Indiana State Championship.
After winning the 1954 Indiana Mr. Basketball, Plump matriculated to Butler University in Indianapolis where he was a 4-year player for the Bulldogs, averaged 16.7 points per game (including 19.7 his senior year), and still owns the Butler record for 475 career free throws made.
It’s only the next logical step, then, that he’d lend his name to a tavern in the Broad Ripple neighborhood not too far from Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse.
No surprise that visiting Plump’s Last Shot for a pre-game meal was on my to-do list while enjoying Hoosier Hospitality.
The place could easily be mistaken for a house in the neighborhood it sits in, save the “Plump’s” attached to the fence and the neon sign in the upstairs window.
From left, the beauty of the menu is its simplicity. Somewhere under this breaded pork tenderloin is a bun which makes it a sandwich. The fish and chips with a side of cole slaw and the daily special (half a tenderloin on mashed potatoes with chicken gravy).
The menu is basic, but what we sampled was delectable. As my cousin Brandon said of his daily special (half pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, and chicken gravy), “It’s like a basket full of Indiana comfort food.”
I opted for the fish and chips (on point), my dad the special, and my dad’s friend, George, the pork tenderloin sandwich that was roughly the circumference of his face. Best of all, it was all fairly inexpensive!
There are several items of Bobby Plump, Milan, Butler, and “Hoosiers” memorabilia found within this spot as well. If you’re in Indy and looking for cheap eats that’ll fill your belly, you could do a lot worse than stopping by Plump’s.
From left, the 1954 Milan HS team photo; Bobby Plump on the cover of the Indy Star Magazine; Plump’s has plenty of outdoor seating when the weather’s nice; “Hoosiers” screenwriter, Angelo Pizzo, and director, David Anspaugh, signed this movie poster.
A hardwood floor adorns the gift shop at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
Last week was Spring Break in the school district where I work. For the record, I went south for the break … albeit only a 4-hour drive to my dad’s place in Indiana. No sunscreen necessary for this fella!
But it did elicit a memorable Spring Break trip even further south to New Castle and a visit to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame and then a bit further south even still to Knightstown which is home to the Hoosiers gym. In this post, I focus on my time at the Hall of Fame.
Fittingly – I suppose – the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame sits on Trojan Lane, the same road as New Castle High School, the school with the largest high school gymnasium in the nation; seating capacity of an astonishing 8,424, which is actually down from it’s 1-time high that was over 9,000.
If another state has its own basketball hall of fame, I’m unfamiliar with it. And, certainly, another state would be hard-pressed to create a space such as what exists in New Castle.
Upon arriving, the first order of business should be a trip to the small theater to view the 17-minute welcome video and get a sense of what basketball means to the people of this state. Among the Hoosier state luminaries telling the story are Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird, Steve Alford, Judi Warren, Katie Douglas, and Stephanie White. It’s a wonderful way to get into the right frame of mind for touring.
Out of the theater, the kiosks nearest the entrance focus on the current year’s Hall of Fame inductees. Of this group, the one I was most familiar with was Dan Dakich, the former Indiana Hoosier player and interim head coach.
Dan Dakich memorabilia in the Hall.
From there it’s a bit of “choose your own adventure” in terms of how you’d like to tour the facility. There’s a staircase down to the lower level where most of the exhibits reside or you can choose to use the ramp which has an arena egress feel to it. We chose the ramp and enjoyed the sights along the way, including displays devoted to Mr. & Ms. Basketball recipients and past state champions.
Among the sights at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is this photo of prep phenom Damon Bailey’s Bedford North Lawrence final high school game in the state championship, played before a record crowd of more than 41,000 in the RCA Hoosier Dome, the showcases of the newly inducted hall members, and pennants of past state champions.
We chose the ramp and it provided a glimpse into Indiana’s storied hoop past. There at the bottom was a an entire section devoted to Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Coach John Wooden. Wooden prepped at Martinsville High School where he won a state championship as a junior, played collegiately at Purdue University, and, following a brief pro career, began coaching at South Bend Central and, ultimately, Indiana State University, before he found his way to unparalleled success at UCLA.
John Wooden during his Purdue University playing days.
Among the other items I found fascinating, were showcases devoted to many of the Indiana’s legendary high school teams. Two, in particular, were intriguing to me and intertwined: Milan HS and Indianapolis Crispus Attucks.
Milan was a tiny school (total student enrollment of 161) located southeast of Indianapolis (darn near to Cincinnati) that won the 1954 Indiana all-class state championship. It defeated Crispus Attucks (with a young Oscar Robertson on the team) in the quarterfinals, Terre Haute Gerstmeyer in the semifinals, and mighty Muncie Central, 32-30, in the championship.
The 1954 IHSAA championship bracket and the Milan HS team photo from that memorable season.
To this day, the Milan story is the stuff of legend in Indiana (the city has it’s own shrine to the team, website here) and became the inspiration for the movie “Hoosiers.” What I was unaware of prior to my visit was that Milan had made it to the semifinals the previous year so, yeah, there was some talent on that tiny team to be sure.
As noted, Milan vanquished Attucks during its run to the 1954 title. Robertson and company found its ultimate success over the next two seasons, posting a 61-1 record on its way to back-to-back state championships.
This unique piece of memorabilia immortalizes the Crispus Attucks team and was a gift of the faculty.
Fittingly, the showcases for Milan and Crispus Attucks are side-by-side in the Hall of Fame.
As I wandered through the displays of great teams, I was struck by one other, East Chicago Washington High School, which went 29-9 during the 1970-71 season. What I noticed, immediately, was future Major Leaguer – and North Carolina State Wolfpack player – Tim Stoddard. It was not until my dad asked me to check out the results that I noticed that the Senators scored 100-plus points eight times in an era before 3-point lines, shot clocks, and/or any other matter of rules that promote more offense. In addition to Stoddard, this team included furture UCLA player Pete Trgovich and future Louisville and NBA player, Junior Bridgeman
The East Chicago High School Senators state championship team. Check out the 100-point games!
Beyond the John Wooden display, the other two spaces I wanted to explore were the those dedicated to Robertson and Larry Bird.
As noted previously, Robertson was a high school superstar who matriculated to the University of Cincinnati before taking the NBA by storm. His showcase featured both a miniature statue of the Big O as well as memorabilia from his playing days, including the terrific Associated Presss photo that was the subject of a recent Fan Teaser.
The Oscar Robertson showcase includes plenty of artifacts from his playing days. This statue captures his shooting form.
Bird’s area also included a miniature statue and plenty of items from his playing days at both Springs Valley High School and Indiana State University.
Larry Bird is seen driving to the hoop in his statue and his display area includes plenty of artifacts from his career.
One spot that took a more poignant turn was a lifesize replica of 7-foot, Eric Montross. The 1-time Bedford Indianapolis Lawrence North High School star found success at the University of North Carolina and then for nine seasons in the NBA. Montross died at 52 in mid-December after a brief bout with cancer.
Eric Montross was a towering figure in life and in the museum. His size 19 feet are outlined below.
Finally, the Hall has its version of the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Plaque Gallery or the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Bust Room. A lovely pencil sketch of each inductee as seen during their playing or coaching days as well as a more current version. Each has a write up of their accomplishments and is backlit to provide the type of reverent environment such galleries aim for. It was enjoyable to tour this area and see names from bygone days who’d otherwise been lost in the catacombs of my memory. Similarly, for my father, he was able to reconnect with legends from days of yore as well as some some who were significant influences in his life.
A few of the inductees in the Hall of Fame. Clockwise from upper right, Bobby Plump from Milan HS, John Wooden, Robert Dille who introduced my father to baseball, Brad Stevens, Eric Montross, and Damon Bailey. Montross and Stevens were both inducted in 2023.
Next Time: A visit to the Hoosiers’ Gym in Knightstown.
