Golden Age Of BHS Basketball

By Charles Hayes - 1977

Breathitt High School Bobcats enjoyed a golden age of basketball beginning in 1957. It lasted until 1967. Here are some of my memories, written in 1977 when the school was celebrating its 50th birthday. (Note: There are some photos located on this website of these teams.)

Every student who has ever attended Breathitt High knows how important the game of basketball is to our school. Probably because for most of our first fifty years the only sport here was boys basketball, rich memories rush back to mind very easily.

Of course, every class remembers teams and seasons different. Breathitt High has had some great team players, fans, and coaches. But to most of us a single coach comes to mind when we think about the hey day of basketball here, Fairce Woods. Coming to Breathitt in the early 1950's Woods began at once to fashion Breathitt into a feared power of our district, region and state. The old 55th district was a lot different in those days. Most coaches in the state agreed it was the most powerful in the State at that time. Three of the games. most respected coaches also could be found in our district. The teams making up the district were the Hindman Yellowjackets, former state champions, the Carr Creek Indians who won the state title in 1956, the Bobcats of Breathitt the Jackson Tigers the Cordia Lions, the Knott County Cardinals, and teams from Oakdale High, Riverside High and Magoffin Institute. It was a real battle just to win the district.

The first game that I ever saw was the 1957, district finals between Breathitt High and Hindman. Because of the importance of the game it was moved to the new gym at Lees College. The coach of Hindman, Pearl Combs, had his boys slow the game down and the ball was frozen the whole game. In fact, it took two overtimes for Hindman to defeat the state's number 1 rated team 20-19. Both Hindman and Breathitt went on to the regional at Hazard the next week. Breathitt had no trouble getting to the final game. Hindman fell early and the Hazard Bulldogs were all that stood in our way. Breathitt High seemed on its way to the state tournament. But all-state Doug Cundiff and the Bobcats were soundly whipped by Smith and Baker and the rest of the Bulldogs that Saturday night of long ago.

That could well have been the best team that Breathitt High ever had. After that game, and it was a real game, (I remember setting on the steps and people were standing in the windows of thee over-crowded Memorial Gym) we were heart broken here at BreathItt High. Little did we dream that the Golden Age of Breathitt Basketball was about to begin and in the next ten years Breathitt would make seven trips to the Sweet Sixteen.

We still played our home games at Breathitt's old gym as the 1958-59 season opened. However, very soon we all saw that this team was really worth watching and special games were played up at Lees College. None of the teams during this era ever lost over two or three games and most all won more than thirty games. Often Breathitt High would have the best record in the state.

That year 1958-59 I can only remember us losing two games and both to Sandy Hook, at that time a powerhouse in basketball.

Our first state team included John Turner, Bobby Dunn, Cecil Clair, Pat Deaton, Earl Stevens, Bobby Deaton, Doug Allen, Granville Deaton, Larry Back, Clarence Combs, Brack Herald, Oakley Turner, Hoy Marshall, Kern Carpenter and Gay Willams.

In the 55th district tournament our Bobcats easily defeated Carr Creek, Hindman and Cordia In order. In the 14th regional tournament Fleming-Neon, Hazard and M. C. Napler fell to the Woodsmen.

Hundreds of us traveled to Memorial Coliseum in Lexington for the 1959 Boys Basketball Tournament game. I remember our was a late night game. We had drawn Clay Co. another fine mountain school. The Tigers jumped ahead at the first but our Bobcats came on strong, winning their first game ever at the State Tournament by a 76-50 count.

Our second game pitted us against strong Louisville Manuel, a past winner of the state crown. Many fans still believe that a mix-up before the game cost our Bobcats the stat championship.

Breathitt High's regular home uniforms and the numbers on them were the same color. Unknowing to everyone at B.H.S. numbers could not be bordered in another color but had to be totally of a darker or lighter color.

Well, we found out the hard way. Before the first tip-off a technical foul was called on the Bobcats and before we ever touched the ball Manuel was ahead 3-0.

This beginning had a bad effect on our whole team as they did not play like we know they could.

We were favored to beat Manual, but when the final horn sounded Manuel advanced by the tune of 66-49 (Manual went on to be state runners-up losing to North Marshall by one point on a last minute shot.) and so the first state tournament team came home.

Off of that team, Larry Back was recruited by the University of Alabama and played at that great college. Bobby Deaton also went on to a college career. (These two were the best guards I have seen on a Breathitt Bobcat Team).

It seems to me that high school players at Breathitt High during these years were all giants. (Of course, I was still in grade school). The following year 1959- 60 had Earl Stevens, Bobby Dunn and star center Cecil Clair as the big men. Doug Allen was a stand out guard on that team.

As I remember, Breathitt had little trouble in either the district or regional that year. Although Hindman defeated us the final game of the 55th district, we were able to defeat them 5440 in the regional finals at Hazard.

Breathitt High went to Louisville as the highest ranked tam in the state tournament in 1960. We had been ranked fourth all year and the top three teams failed to make the tournament. So we were again favored to win the whole show. But Louisville Flaget, who easily won the tournament, made short work of Breathitt 76-59 in the first round.

In the next three years the story is much the same. Our teams had little trouble being ranked high in state polls. Even though we did not win the state each year we had our chance. The 1960-61 team roster included Reuben Spicer, Mackie Turner, Tommy Turner, Granville Turner, Bill Childers, Hoy Marshall, Earl Stevens, Chester Roberts, Henry Combs, Granville Deaton, Breck Herald and Tolbert Turner.

This team probably had the easiest way to the state tournament of any of our teams. We were all afraid of Hazard but due to a broken leg suffered by star center Sam Smith, the Bulldogs fell early to M. C. Napier and never made it to the regional.

So it was off to Lexington and our third try. We defeated Christian County 76-67 in the first round and Elizabethtown Catholic 51-44 in the quarter finals The third game of the state tournament brought us up against Lexington Dunbar. We had played and beaten this team earlier in the season so many people (me included) bought tickets for both the semi-finals and finals. It looked for awhile that we would make it to the finals against Ashland. We built a good lead in the last quarter but during the last few minutes Dunbar began a determined comeback. However, with just about 20 seconds left, Breathitt had a three point lead and the basketball. Everything looked good for the Bobcats. But at this point the bottom fell out of our game; a walk by one of our players gave the Bearcats the ball. They quickly scored and were within one point. But still we led and now with the ball in our front court and only five seconds remaining we felt we had finally made it to the finals. Then disaster! The ball was kicked out of bounds by a Bobcat. Three seconds left and Dunbar was awarded the ball near our front court. The ball was passed into Bearcat star Austin Dumas near our free throw line he dribbled and shot from back at the center line. The horn sounded and the ball was still in the air. Breathitt was still ahead. But then the BHS fans screamed in disbelief as that basketball fell smoothly through the Dunbar hoop. We sat in a daze as the P.A. man gave us the final score Dunbar 55, Breathitt 54. Even today those who saw that game swear that Dumas ran two or three steps before he shot that famous shot that spelled doom for the 1961 Breathitt High Bobcats. (Dunbar went on to lose by 69-50 to the Ashland Tomcats that night. Ashland of 1961 was the best high school team I ever saw.)

Going to state tournament was getting to be "a taken for granted thing" by the time the 1961-62 season rolled around. Everybody was making friends with people at state and I remember many of our fans would leave a state tournament by saying "we'll see you here next year." And so it seemed. Our teams seemed to be getting better and better. But the 1961-62 season would prove to all of us at Breathitt High that other teams in the 14 the region wanted to win the regional crown as much a we did and maybe more.

It seems to me that by this time a regional crown did not mean as much to the fans as it did before B.H.S. started winning it every year.

Well, 1961-62 brought B.H.S fans to their feet. We entered the season as overwhelming favorites to win our 4th trip to state. However, early in the season a trip to the home of the Hazard High Bulldogs proved the ratings wrong. We came away from Memorial Gym with a 25-point loss and the feeling that trips to the state tournament had been halted, at least for this year.

In 1961-62 the BHS team consisted of Jackie Fugate, Mackie Turner, Henry B. Combs, Reuben Spicer, Don Allen, Lee Hounshell, Richard Sallee, Bill Childers and Earl Stevens. These boys were all hard workers and they made up a fine team. But they just could not handle the Bulldogs that year. The Bulldogs were led by Sam Smith and Mickey Gibson and both were all- state players.

We did not have any trouble with anybody in our region that year except Hazard. And those Bulldogs beat us three straight games by big margins. So it was no wonder that Hazard High thought that they were state bound. I remember that the Hazard fans really got ready for the regional games. They organized about 50 girls into a special pep section all dressed alike with blue gloves and hand shakers. Very impressive!

Well the big game came, and things did not go quite like the Hazard fans thought they would. It was a real game-probably the best I ever saw. Both teams played hard and with four seconds left B.H.S. led 51-50 and a foul was called against us. Our boys had fouled big Sam Smith, Hazard's all state center. He was given two shots. We all knew we were gone. But the unbelievable happened. Smith missed both shots! We rebounded the ball and scored quickly and a big upset was ours! Final score 53-50.

The next night spelled doom for our state tournament hopes as our all-state center Earl Stevens fell and broke his leg in a Carr Creek-B.H.S. game. Breathitt won 70-49. The next night we beat Dilce Combs 67-54 for our 4th straight state trip.

However, playing without the services of Stevens, our trip was in vain. We beat Bloomfield 51-48 in overtime, and then defeated Virgie. But in the next game we came up against the tourney favorite St. Xavier of Louisville. During the first half of play our boys actually looked as if the big upset was going to come to them. However, in the second half they ran out of steam and without their star center, Stevens, St. Xavier with their star Mike Silliman won the quarter-final game going away, 59-46. St. Xavier went on to win the state title.

In the last year of our five-year golden age of basketball the story was much the same. The big team to beat was Carr Creek. They were ranked number one all season. The Indians also won the LIT. But we had their number that year. Carr Creek ended the season with a 28-4 record and our Bobcats beat them every game!

We had little trouble in he region after beating Carr Creek in the district. In state tournament play our Bobcats lost to Owensboro 52-40.

The Bobcats went to state four more times after 1963, but except for the 1967 team that went to the semi-finals our teams never fared good in state tournament play.

It should be said, however, our 1970 Bobcats played and beat number one rated Covington Catholic in a first round State Tournament game on a last second shot by Phillip Lovely. But that team fell easily to Richmond Madison and star Robert Brooks the next game.