With Marion’s eighth grade boys basketball ream experiencing such a fine year in 2007, it is only fitting that we reflect back to a year long ago when Marion won the State Championship.
The year was 1944; it was a single class system back then. The Sectional Tournament in 1944 was held in DuQuoin.
Today, junior high teams are classified three ways: small, medium and large.
In the opening round Marion knocked off Benton. They followed up with a win over Central City and then Fairfield before advancing to the finals.
Herrin, who had been pitted in the opposite bracket of Marion, beat Mt. Vernon, Metropolis and Carmi to reach the finals. In the championship contest, Marion notched a 27-22 win.
Players on that Marion team included: Jack Connell, Charles Stanley, Jim Lyons, Johnny Powell, Rob Gulledge, Harry Thompson, Ernie Knutzen, Floyd Hill, Bill Buckner and Bill Weir. Coach of the 1944 Wildcat team was Wilbern Boatright.
Marion finished with a record of 25-3.
(Published by the Marion Sportscaster and reprinted in Marion Living Magazine, June 2007)