Article published January 24, 2006
Middletown celebrates streak
| BLADE BOYS BASKETBALL POLL |
DIVISION I
1. St. Francis (1) 11-0
2. Scott (2) 10-1
3. St. John’s (3) 9-2
4. Perrysburg (4) 9-3
5. Bowling Green (5) 9-4
DIVISION II
1. Port Clinton (1) 9-3
2. Clyde (3) 8-4
3. Wauseon (2) 9-3
DIVISION III
1. Gibsonburg (1) 10-1
2. Ottawa-Glandorf (4) 8-3
3. Archbold (5) 10-2
4. Patrick Henry 7-2
5. Liberty-Benton (2) 9-3
DIVISION IV
1. Ottoville (1) 13-0
2. New Riegel (3) 11-1
3. Holgate (5) 10-2
4. North Baltimore (2) 10-2
5. Continental 11-2
Last week’s rankings in parentheses. The poll ranks schools located within an 11-county circulation area: Defiance, Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Williams and Wood. Also included are Hardin Northern from Hardin County and Mohawk from Wyandot County. |
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio - They were the big kid on the block. The Middletown Middies, behind future Ohio State and NBA star Jerry Lucas, put together a string of victories that has yet to be matched in Ohio high school boys basketball.
From 1955 to 1958, the Middies won 76 straight games.
"Nobody came to Middletown and thought they had a chance," said Gene Snow, a guard on the 1957-58 team. "People feared us."
The 50th anniversary of the accomplishment's initial season was remembered Saturday when 13 former players walked to center court of Wade E. Miller Gym.
"I didn't think 50 years ago people would look at this as such a big deal," Snow recalled. "I didn't think about it then, but it is a big deal."
Behind coach Paul Walker, the Middies put together the winning streak and two state titles before losing to Columbus North in the 1958 state semifinals.Lucas dominated as Middletown's starting center, earning first-team all-state honors three times.
"We were proud of the town we were from, and the town was proud of us," recalled Bob Brumfield, who played on the 1955-56 squad.
Not all of Middletown's victories came easy. In the 1957 state semifinals, Middletown trailed Macomber by seven points with only 1:15 left in the game.
The Middies cut the lead to two and Lucas buried a 30-foot shot to send the game into overtime. Middletown won 70-65. Lucas would call that basket the most memorable one of his career. The next season, Lima held Lucas to a season-low 16 points, though the Middies still won, 67-54. In a later rematch, Lucas outscored Lima by himself, scoring a career-high 63 points.
Middletown has seven state titles but has only been to the state tournament twice since the 1950s.
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