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REMEMBER THE RED DEVILS

By Adam Parkhouse, The News-Dispatch

High School Hoops: Yesterday and Tomorrow


The 1965-66 basketball season didn't start out like a championship venture for the Elston Red Devils.



They lost their first game of the season to Gary Froebel and also one of their best players on the same night to an injury. But this particular Elston team was destined for great things, and a few months later they lived up to that promise by beating Indianapolis Tech 63-52 to win the state championship.

It's been just more than 40 years since that magical season, and Wednesday night they'll be honored during a halftime ceremony at Michigan City High School's Wolves Den. Michigan City takes on arch-rival LaPorte that night in a girls-boys doubleheader.

Each of the players from that team have been invited back for the ceremony, and MCHS Athletic Director Bob “Bear” Falls said most are planning on attending. Falls wished to credit junior varsity assistant coach Rob Walker with helping to organize the event.

Larry Gipson, who scored 255 points as a junior that season, is looking forward to seeing some familiar faces.

“There's some guys I haven't seen in a long time,” said Gipson, who still lives in Michigan City and is a sales representative for Johnson & Johnson. He's been married to his wife, Shirley, for 35 years. They have one son, Tracy, and two grandchildren. After high school, Gipson received a scholarship to Indiana University, where he played basketball for four years.

One common thread among many of the team members is they've gone on to be rather successful in their personal lives. That, said Al Whitlow, is a testament to the type of kid that played for the Red Devils under late coach Doug Adams.

“It points to the fact that they were good kids who had what it takes to succeed in life,” said Whitlow, who was an assistant coach under Adams. “They had that drive and character that carried over into their lives.”

Another who has gone on to have personal success is Terry Morse, a 6-foot-6 center who led the team in total scoring with 428 points. He attended Drake University on a basketball scholarship before enlisting in the Army. He got into the janitorial business, where he owned his own business for 17 years before merging with a larger company. He now splits his work time between Michigan City and South Bend.

Even 40 years later, Morse still has very vivid memories of details of that season.

“There are games that we played that season that I actually remember more than the state championship game,” Morse said. “It happened so fast.”

Back in 1966, Elston was in the middle of a 24-year stretch of winning sectional titles. From 1952 through 1975, the Red Devils hoisted the sectional title trophy every year.

Still, it doesn't come as all that much of a shock to Morse, Gipson or Whitlow that what they accomplished stands as the only state crown in the city's history.

“When you look down through the years, there aren't that many teams that repeat,” Whitlow said. “You have to be a good team, but you have to be so lucky, too.”

Morse and Gipson each said they thought Elston in the late 60's and early 70's had very good opportunities to bring a second title. But now, Morse has seen a shift in the focus of the community, which he thinks may contribute to recent struggles.

“The dedication is not there. You can't totally blame the kids,” Morse said. “It's the environment. Back then, ours was the only game in town.'

By all accounts, Michigan City was mad for Elston basketball. Morse tells a story about coming back to town after state, and getting to LaCrosse on U.S. 421 finding people lining the streets with signs displaying well wishes. It only intensified as they team got close to town.

“It was a big celebration, a joyous moment,” Whitlow said. “There was more pride in the city and the school at that time, so naturally everybody came together.”

Between Wednesday's girls and boys game, there will be another ceremony. The school will honor two of its most recent champions, 2006 boys golf individual state champion Anthony Novak and 2003 wrestling heavyweight state champion Brent Surface.

Novak will receive his state championship ring, and both athletes will have their pictures displayed in the Wolves Den, memorializing them as state champs.

Contact Sports Editor Adam Parkhouse at aparkhouse@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 461.