Ashland County Girls Basketball

Ashland County Girls Basketball
Decided by Tournament at Ashland College Gym
1926-1927	Perrysville @Ashland Armory
1927-1928	Perrysville
1928-1929	Savannah
1929-1930	Perrysville

Decided by the Schoolmaster's 2-team Playoff
1930-1931	Sullivan 23, Hayesville 19
1931-1932	Nova 16, Polk 13
1932-1933	Nova 20, Hayesville 16
1933-1934	Hayesville 20, Loudonville 20 Tie
1934-1935	Loudonville 22, Jeromesville 13

Decided by the Dickinson rating system
1935-1936	Hayesville 9-1
1936-1937	Jeromesville 9-1
1937-1938	Jeromesville & Hayesville 10-1
1938-1939	Jeromesville 8-0-1
1939-1940	Jeromesville 6-0

OHSAA ban Girls basketball after 1940

Ashland County Girls Basket ball 1926-1940

At the turn of the 20th Century girls’ basket ball games and tournaments began appearing after James Naismith invented basket ball at Springfield College (Mass.) in 1891. Iowa became a hotbed of girl’s basketball, and when the state tried to do away with it, administrators and the Des Moines newspaper ran their own State tournament. By 1927 thirty-seven of the 48-states had some form a State tournament, but not Ohio. The OHSAA did not sanction a Girls’ State tournament until 1976.

In Ashland County for six years boys teams vied for a silver cup at the Ashland College Invitational, and it grew from 10-teams in 1921 to 28 quintets by 1926. The next year the County Schoolmasters agreed to include a girls’ tournament, too. Five girls’ team participated in the county tournament with eight boys quintets until two champions were crowned. While the boys would advance to the Sectional tournament, this was the end of the season for the girls.

The first year of the tournament (1927) was a single day event at the Ashland Armory on East Main Street, which began at 9 AM with the Sullivan and Nova girls’ game. Throughout the day the twelve games were alternated between boys and girls with the championship game starting at 7:30 PM. The cost of admission was 75-cents for adults and 50-cents for school children. The gate receipts totaled $258.35, which brought the crowd to an estimated 400 plus fans.

The Rules of The Game

In the early years of girls’ basketball the emphasis was on socialization and cooperation rather than competition consequently games would end in a tie without an overtime decision. The games were played with the two-court rule and six players on each side. The three guards on the defensive side were not allowed to cross the mid-court line, and the three offensive players (two forwards and a center) were not permitted to fall back on defense. So only the three players on offense could score.

The girls’ rules only permitted a single dribble (it had to be knee high). In the 1920’s the bounce pass was legalized. Also, in guarding an opponent it was a foul if you touched the ball, and double-teaming was a foul, too. With the early rules only a vertical hands up defense was acceptable. Goals scored by a one-hand overhead throw or two-handed underhand throw only counted for one point in the 20’s. By the 30’s the two-hand set shot or the one-hand lay-up were the popular shots. There was a center jump after each score the same as boys’ basket ball. Originally, there was no coaching from the sidelines except at the end of a period. Over the years the substitution rules varied on whether to have any subs or to permit players to re-enter the game.

The Decision for the County Championship

Over the fourteen years of competition three methods were used to determine the girls’ champion. The first four years the single elimination field grew from five teams to eleven schools in 1930. Between 1931 and 1935 the County Schoolmasters selected two schools from the regular season competition to vie for the championship. The game was usually played before Boys County finals at the Ashland College gym on Sat. night. The last five years the regular season champion was decided by the Dickinson system.

Frank G. Dickinson. a University of Illinois economics professor, set up a point system based on top teams vs bottom teams and a win or a loss. The range included 30 point for a win against a strong team and 20 points vs. a weak team. In games lost the points were half as much (15 vs a strong team and 10 points vs a weak team). His “mathematical” system was used to decide the national champion in college football from 1926 to 1940.

The chronicles of these games were recorded in the Times-Gazette articles written by the Ashland County Sports Hall of Fame legendary sports editor Bill McKee. His reports included complete season results, the league standings, the individual scoring leaders, and if the coaches did not select an All-County team, he would make the picks. He was the sports editor for all 14-years of the girls’ league history.

The Gals of The Game

The rise of basket ball in rural areas had two clear impacts. First, the Friday night games became the hub of community socialization. During the all-day Ashland College Boys’ Invitationals (1921-26) the Times-Gazette reported that entire villages were emptied to view the games. In 1930 Hayesville and Nova built new gyms. That same year the Polk-Akron St. Mary’s boys game had to be switch to the Ashland College gym. Polk had beaten the defending State champs the previous season, and the spectator demand required the home game be moved to AC, since the Erie Railroad provided a easy flow of fans from Akron through Polk to the game. Also, the girls’ game was usually the prelim game to the boys’ game, thus the contests were a social magnet for these towns and their school districts.

Secondly, as is still the case, the athletic team and their players provided a source of community pride. One dominant scorer and the county crown could give the community bragging rights over the county. Each school seemed have one marquee player and a supporting cast that earned them the championship. Their reputations remained a legend for years and even beyond the lifetimes. In 2008 I listened to Ken Beard, who remembered his sister and her 1931 Sullivan sextet. Today several surviving players still boast that their girls’ team was better than the boys and they let them know it.

The first four years of the county tournament Perrysville lost only one tournament game while winning three titles. Three times they were led by their blonde center Jean Wilson. The first year she scored 22 of the teams 26 points in two games, and she was named to the all-county team in 1928 and 1930. In 1930 five of the six Perrysville girls made the all-county first-team, including the three offensive stars: Jean Wilson, Lillian Raridon (King), and Mary Lou Gretzinger (Edmonds). In 1927 Dorothy Hoard was Wilson’s scoring partner.

Perhaps the most shocking upset in the 14-year history of the girls’ ACL was the 1929 victory by “little” Ruggles over Perrysville. They had only 11 girls in the high school and the 12th member of the team was an eighth grader. After Perrysville scored the first 13 points in the game the Ruggles center Treva Howe scored four field goals and 8 free throws for a 24 to 20 victory. In the finals Ruggles lost to Savannah in a battle of all-county centers Howe and Gertrude Hemminger (Fast), whose son was Bill Fast of the Savannah championship teams of the mid-1950’s.

The 1931 season featured Hayesville’s dynamic Lavengood twins: Mabel (Spotts) and Florence. Mabel scored 31 points against Jeromesville, which was the ACL girl’s record at the time. Their team, also, scored a 58-1 victory over Nankin when Mabel had 27 and Florence 13 points. Bob Lavengood, their nephew and father of AHS head basketball coach Rob, passed on the story that if Mabel had too many fouls at halftime the two would exchange jerseys in the locker room. Nevertheless the ACL crown went to Sullivan and their double-digit scorer Hazel Beard (Whitmore), who scored 28-points against Loudonville. In possibly the most classic battle of the 14-championship seasons four guards held the Hayesville twins to 14 points, and Hazel Beard matched them with her 14-points for a 23 to 19 Sullivan win.

The next dominant team was Nova with a 27-game winning streak, which ended with a one-point defeat by Hayesville in 1934. The Lady Trojans had 19 victories in 1932 and was apparently the best single season in the 14-year history of the ACL. Their star was Christine Daron (Thompson), who transferred from nearby Ruggles. She scored 16 of Nova’s 20 points in the 1933 championship game and was unanimously named first-team All-County in 1934. Her best night was 27 points against Jeromesville. Today, she still lives at Good Shepherd Home in Ashland at 92 years of age. The Lady’s of Troy No. 2 scorer was Marcella Biddinger (Darby), and their defensive star was a fiery redhead Mary Fuller (Tedrow), the only 4-year letter-winner of that era.

In 1935 the scoring race was between Lucille Bursley of Nova and Loudonville’s Dot Kiefer (Sharp). Lucille set the all-time single game record with 34 points against Albion in a 60-2 win, but Dot led the county with 132 points in 8 games including a 29-point performance against Savannah. In the championship game her 14-points for Loudonville outscored the entire Jeromesville team.

The next year (1936) Hayesville won the county title. They were led by the duo of Evelyn Shenberger (Goard) and Wilma Echelberger. They beat their archrivals Loudonville. In 1937 the Redbirds dropped their girls’ team, but there were still 363 schools in Ohio still playing girls basketball. The next year (1938) Perrysville abandoned their girls’ team because of a lack of interest among their girls and parental objections to the girls’ competition according to the Ashland T-G.

The Jerrymaids of Jeromesville won the last four championships. In 1937 their only loss was to Sullivan and the league’s leading scorer Helen Thompson (Bajcsi), who had 21 points against the Blue Jays. Her top game of the year was 29 points against Nova. The Blue Jays were led by Margie Uhler (Strope) and Fern Humrichouser (Maxwell). In games against their neighbors Hayesville the crowds grew to 500-fans.

In 1938 the Blue Jays shared the championship with Hayesville, who were led by Capt. Eileen Kyle, Nellie McGuire (110 pts), Winifred Echelberger (103 pts) and their 5-foot seven and one-half center Lucille Yeater (83 pts). Lucille married Bob Sprague, who twice led Ashland Hi to the Class A State tournament. Both teams were 10-1, and the split their two meetings. The Jerries were led by Emily Franks (Fast), Freda McDaniels (Paullin), and Mary Alice Chesrown (Mrs. Bob Semler). Mary Alice, called by several Jeromesville’s best ever, won the county scoring title twice in ‘38 and ‘39. Her best night was 26 points against Nova, when the team had a 49-point game. In 1939 she led the county in scoring with 121 points in 8 league contests. For two years their defensive standouts were guards Doris Austin (Robison) and Marilyn Rogers (Obrecht).

In 1940 Bonita Emminger (Garn) led the Jerries in scoring (42 pts). Their coach was Hazel Fowler (Rogers), a Wooster College graduate and a disciple of the legendary “Mose” Hole of Wooster College. She never wanted to begin a game without 13 players, so she would even dress her longtime manager Cotta Winbigler (Betson) to make a full squad. The final three years the gals of Jeromesville only lost one game, which gave the 67-girls bragging rights over the school’s 25 boys.

The OHSAA banned girls’ basketball after 1940. The reasons given to the girls of that era were that the sport was getting too competitive and the games were too rough for the girl’s health. One witness mentioned that the girls were emotionally drained after their contests. Another lady of that era even intimated that they were told perhaps a blow to the chest might have resulted in breast cancer. Afterwards schools copied a program like Ashland High School’s Girls Athletic Association where they could earn points for a varsity letter. Ashland had a featured game the Army-Navy contest, which began in 1936 and lasted through five decades. Some county schools played exhibition games with the coeds at Ashland College. Interscholastic Girls’ basketball did not return until the 1970’s after the federal government passed Title IX.