deputy

Located in western Jefferson County, Deputy was the last high school to join the Madison Consolidated School system. Home to the Panther's basketball team, the school now serves as an elementary.  Judy Kinnett Smith, Spence Schnaitter's secretary, was a cheerleader for Deputy High School and told us that one of her mother's last requests was to keep the Deputy Alumni Association going - something she has done.  Judy's brother, Michael, was a star player for Deputy even though his right arm had been severely injured in a childhood accident.  "He taught himself to shoot left-handed," Judy told us.  After serving in Vietnam he came home, but was tragically killed in a car accident.  To memorialize his time at Deputy & left-handed shooting technique, his mother had his likeness set in stone.  CGS/MEK.

 

dupont

"Education - The Light Of Progress."  Words to live by, or if you were a basketball player at Dupont High School, words to play under.  Built in 1938, Dupont was home to the Red Devils, and later the Hornets.  Consolidated into Madison in the 1960's, Dupont served as an elementary school until it closed in 2012.  Although it's future is uncertain, there is one thing we know - General John Hunt Morgan and his Confederate raiders slept in front of what became Dupont on a warm July night in 1863. CGS/MEK.

bobby plump country

Pierceville - two miles west of Milan and 60 years after the championship season.  CGS.

pee wee

"We trust that our efforts to compile a correct and comprehensive Chronicle of Madison High School's good and bad basketball seasons over a span of sixty-one years will be appreciated and accepted as just a work of a couple of 'Hoosier Hardwood Historians' and small town boys."  So began "Madison - Chronicle of the Cubs" published in 1966, written by Frank Bird (class of 1925) and Harold "Pee Wee" Lakeman (class of 1959).  In 1957-58 and 1958-59 Pee Wee was a member of the Cub's teams that made back to back appearances in the Semi-State and is currently at work on the second volume of Madison's basketball history.  He also maintains a large collection of Madison basketball memorabilia and his biggest concern - what will become of the trophies & photos when he is gone.  "I visited the Basketball Hall of Fame (in New Castle), and most of what they have is in storage, in boxes.  I don't want my things to end up like that."  CGS/MEK.

detour

On the way to visit Harold "Pee Wee" Lakeman we missed his drive but stumbled on this scene.  "You can find an old gym out in the country but you can't find my house." The basket, the barn, the light - I think Pee Wee will forgive us. CGS.

madison consolidated

It's believed that organized high school basketball made it's first appearance in Madison in 1904 (the first Indiana State Championship game was not held until the 1910-11 season).  Consolidation in the '60's brought together Deputy, Dupont, Central, North Madison, Broadway & Madison and through the years the Madison schools (boys & girls) have tallied 50 Sectional crowns, 16 Regional titles, four appearances in the State Finals and the 1950 State Championship. They've produced one Mr. Basketball (Dee Monroe), a successful coach who went on to coach at Purdue (Ray Eddy) and a long list of players who starred in college.  This year, both teams have high expectations. Cubs senior Landon Perry has twice been named to the IBCA Top 100 list and is coming off an all conference year, while Lady Cub Olivia Crozier, a highly recruited junior, hopes to build on the many 2012 honors she received and help her squad get back to the Semi-State (as they did in 2011).  CGS.

 

spence

In Madison, the first question was always, "have you talked to Spence?"  "No, not yet," was our answer.  You see, Spence Schnaitter is more than just another Madison basketball player, more than a name on a long lost roster. Spence was a member of the 1949 State Runner-Up Cubs, who lost to Jasper by one point.  A year later he was the captain and MVP of the 1950 State Championship team, and then - an Indiana High School All-Star, a four year baseball letter winner who pitched three no-hitters, a graduate of Yale, an Indiana State Legislator and an Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame member.  We reunited Spence with his championship trophy at the old Brown Gym, where he played under the guidance of Coach J. Ray Eddy.  "This is how Mr. Eddy taught us to pass the ball," he told us, striking the pose.  We then learned it had been 63 years since he last touched the trophy and the victor's net that would help shape his future.  "I want to show you one other thing," he said, passing me an old Indianapolis Star photo.  "That's me, after I got off the bus outside the gym with my high school sweetheart and my championship ring."  That sweetheart, Laura Ann Mills, would become Spence's wife for 57 years.  She is gone now, but the ring and all of its memories remain.  At 81, Spence continues to practice law and be an active member of his community & if he is not the heart of Madison basketball, he is a certainly a large part of it's soul.  CGS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUDSVHUeVdw

a scene from

It often feels like we're location scouting for "Hoosiers."  CGS.

turkey shoot out

Southwestern AD Tom Scroggins warned me - 4000 seats & not an empty one in the house.  I have to admit, it's been a long time since I've seen an Indiana gym this crowded & this excited - all over two games played the night before Thanksgiving.  So, I settled in to watch the Madison Cubs and the Southwestern Rebels (both boys & girls) renew their annual rivalry.  And on this night, the Cubs went two for two. CGS.