Plump: We got it cut down to two points and called timeout with 21 seconds left. The flipside of 'Hoosiers' - No 'miracle' for Muncie Central Much like in '53, the Indians weren't seriously challenged in the sectional, defeating Cross Plains, Versailles and Osgood. In real life: The Indianapolis Star said the Milan Miracle was the top sports story in Indiana history. So I'm drying my tears and went up and sat in the stands. Hinkle Fieldhouse, home of the Butler Bulldogs, was the site of the state championship game. Butte: We don't win state the following year if we don't win that game. One of the school board members was at practice this evening and said the old coach thought they ought to make it to the Fieldhouse (for state).'. Wood sensed the game was starting to slip away. Then before the game he says, 'Bobby, I think I need to make an example out of you.' Yes, Hoosiers is loosely based on a true story: that of the Milan High School team of 1954 that won the state championship. Moreover, the basketball discussions in Indiana stretch far beyond Larry Birds greatest NBA championship performance or reminiscing about the 1987 NCAA tournament final that saw Keith Smarts jump shot win Indiana the national crown. About 1,000 extras had to be shuffled all around the arena as the actors went through their moves. Milan forged ahead 23-17 at halftime, though either nerves or fatigue perhaps a combination of the two made it something of an ugly first half. Plump: I was in the right place at the right time. [30][4], In June 2008, AFI revealed its "Ten top Ten" the best ten films in ten classic American film genres after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. You decide. It tells the story of a small-town Indiana high school basketball team that enters the state championship. With an enrollment of only 161, Milan was the smallest school ever to win a single-class state basketball title in Indiana, beating the team from the much larger Muncie Central High School in a classic competition known as the Milan Miracle. Milan advanced to the Indianapolis Semistate, where it would play at Butler (later named Hinkle) Fieldhouse for the first time. We had too many good ballhandlers and shooters. It was sudden death then. Cutter: All that without the benefit of video like they have now. Milan was the smallest school to play in the Final Four two years in a row since Wingate in 1913 and 1914. Milan High School is the school Hoosiers is based on. There was no questioning that. Milan High School - Wikipedia Milan Miracle: 2 years before 1954, Milan fired coach Herman - IndyStar I did, instead of Ray. There is no town of Hickory in Indiana. All of his knowledge, however, would be pointless without Hackman's great performance at the center of this movie. Mary Lou Wood: He'd done that since he started coaching. Dale further erodes community support by employing a slow, defensive style that does not immediately produce results. The Indians, who now play in Class 2A . Yet, the team would not be having the services of three notable players: Jim Call, Ralph Preble, and Jim Wendleman. Athletics My dad had a feed store in town and people would talk about stuff like that. 7/3/2023, 11:13am, Track and Field Craft: We didn't go back to the hotel after the Gerstmeyer game, we went to one of the fraternity houses. One of the boys picked up about 30 bucks off the floor. The first half Raisor or (Jimmy) Barnes shot it or (Gene) Flowers or (Jim) Hinds from the corners. But it was an excellent strategy to cut down the time in the game.'. In real life: Milan High did have an enrollment of only 161, but 58 of the 73 boys in the school tried out for the team. People weren't happy about it. That was it. Osgood, Versailles, Holton, they hated us. Craft: They were going to defend the basket. At Milan follow the signs to "baggage claim". YouTube Gold: The Real Jimmy Chitwood - Duke Basketball Report The Huskers' away game against the Cedar Knob Knights was filmed inSt. Philip Neri Catholic School in Indianapolis. [28][31], A museum to commemorate the real-life achievements of the 1954 Milan team has been established. "I never would have said, 'I'll make it.' Led by Arley and Harold Andrews, Gerstmeyer had lost by one point to South Bend Central in the state championship the previous year. Programs. We got on the bus and came home. Nevertheless, they vote to fire the coach. Wendelman was graduating, but the Indians had an excellent backcourt with Plump and Craft, and a standout forward in Engel. Muncie Central tied the score 26-26 by the end of the third quarter as 15,000 fans roared. At Butler Fieldhouse, and before the largest crowd they have ever seen, the Huskers face long odds to defeat the heavily favored South Bend Central Bears, who have taller and more athletic players. But it was Hickory, not Milan. That shows you how smart I am. . However, the coach, Marvin Wood, who had been with the team for a couple of years, did find replacements eventually. Furthermore, both teams won the state championship game by only two points difference, with the final few seconds on screen closely following the events of Milans 1954 championship match. The phrase "inspired by a true story" is more appropriate than "based on a true story" because the two teams have little in common. [6], Unlike the film's plot, the 1954 Milan Indians came into the season as heavy favorites and finished the '53'54 regular season at 192. White: They went on to the floor before we did. Despite the small budget, dire predictions, and little help from distributor Orion Pictures, Hoosiers grossed over $28 million and received two Oscar nominations (Dennis Hopper for Best Supporting Actor and Jerry Goldsmith for Best Original Score). I said, 'I'm sure he knows what he's doing.' Aurora beat us down there (54-45) near the end of the season. With a fairly satisfactory farming community, Milan was a classic, quaint, and close-knit American town. Follow IndyStar trending sports reporterMatthew VanTryon on Twitter @MVanTryon and email him story ideas at matthew.vantryon@indystar.com. Plump: There was probably six seconds left. He didn't know it wasn't running. [6][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28], Hoosiers was ranked number 13 by the American Film Institute on its 100 Years 100 Cheers list of most inspirational films. Engel hurt his back during the season, but he played with it the best he could. However, Fleener chooses not to reveal this fact to the townspeople, instead telling them at the meeting to give Dale another chance. Milan is a tiny town in the state of Indiana, 39 miles west of Cincinnati. [10] Washington Post film critic Paul Attanasio praised the soundtrack, writing, "And it's marvelously (and innovatively) scored (by composer Jerry Goldsmith), who weaves together electronics with symphonic effects to create a sense of the rhythmic energy of basketball within a traditional setting."[11]. If I was smart, I probably would have been nervous. Plump: You know how the cat-and-mouse developed? The Huskers' small size was part of the movie's lore, which was true to Milan's story. Roger Schroder (Milan 1954 graduate, reserve guard): He had a bit of a temper, but people really liked him. Craft: Well, whatever. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. "Hoosiers" was voted the No. Milan High | Home That was the first time I remember thinking, 'This is something significant. Schroder: People came back after watching the movie driving around Southern Indiana trying to find Hickory. In the film, this character, Shooter, gets played terrifically by Dennis Hooper in a performance that landed Hooper an Academy Award nomination. Craft: The second half, Muncie Central played much different than the first half. Mike Woodson and the Indiana Hoosiers are yet to land a commit in the class of 2024, but they remain in contention for multiple high profile prospects, such as four-star forward Annor Boateng. White: I played my best games when Bobby wasn't there. The victory, immortalized in the 1986 film, "Hoosiers," had plenty of real-life drama, but, said Angelo Pizzo, the scriptwriter, a great deal of fictionalization was necessary for the Hollywood feature "because their lives were not dramatic enough.". Small Indiana town still proud of role as real-life Hickory. There were numerous such schools with low enrollment. White: We were ahead by one point and I was yelling to Ray, 'Stall, stall.' At halftime and following the game, actors took to the court to shoot footage of the state championship scenes, including the game-winning shot by Hickory. He still wanted to account for the fact that despite the players talents, Milan High School had significantly lower enrollment than several schools participating in the state championship. Programs - Zurich Business School (UIBS) In reel life: Hickory wins the action-packed final by a score of 42-40. The townspeople were saying, 'We'll get them next year,' when we lost the year before. Cutter: Some people were disappointed by that. Wood called timeout with 3:38 left and Plump missed a shot with just under 3 minutes remaining. The first two points (in double overtime) won it. White: Aurora was the best team we played. She won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for "A Killing in a Small Town" in 1990 and is still acting today. That record was held by Wingate earlier. Oscar Robertson still feels sting of racism from high school days It is inspired in part by the Milan High School team who won the 1954 state championship. White: I always told people I never played in front of anything but a full gym at any time. Despite the Indians reaching the semis the previous year, Wood warned the players of not being overconfident. So I didn't talk to coaches. At Butler Fieldhouse you had to walk by the other locker room and I remember them all look at us as they walked by. Milan won the county tournament and took a 17-4 record into the 1953 sectional at nearby Versailles. Drive through new Milan into the older downtown where the museum sits in an old bank building. In real life: Milan won the final by a score of 32-30. The Sports Guy. Without Ray and my teammates we wouldn't have won the tournament. Hoosiers (released in some countries as Best Shot[3]) is a 1986 American sports drama film written by Angelo Pizzo and directed by David Anspaugh in his feature directorial debut. While it is true that it is unlikely that the Pacers will win a championship any time soon, basketball remains more than just a game in this section of the United States. We changed it as fast as anybody outside the 500-mile race. It went around and somehow rolled out. They probably still don't get the credit they deserve. Hershey is 73 years old and recently had a role in the "Paradise Lost" TV show. You could make a name for yourself there.' Plump: I'm not so sure Aurora didn't have the best talent around of anybody we played. The Huskers look uncomfortable, and when Dale demands to know what's wrong, Jimmy simply says, "I'll make it." So Milan called on Saturday and said they'd pay him $4,000 and he took the job. In addition, the old schoolhouse in Nineveh was used for the majority of the classroom scenes and many other scenes throughout the film. Butte: Who knows how many reunions we have left? That turned people off a bit locally. In reel life: The head coach, Norman Dale, is a middle-aged man with a mysterious past that includes being suspended years ago for punching one of his star players. Schroder: Morton Memorial from Knightstown. 'Hoosiers' legend Bobby Plump identifies with Saint Peter's March Jerry Goldsmith was also nominated for an Academy Award for his score. The team's home gym was in Knighstown, Indiana, home of the Hoosier Gym. Schroder: Ray was quick enough to beat his man. It was basically the same shot. The 1986 movie "Hoosiers" also kept Milan's story from fading into history. ', Craft: Gene said he didn't say that. Muncie would have won the game otherwise. Into that situation walked Marvin Wood, a 24-year-old native of Morristown who had played at Butler and was coming off two seasons as coach at French Lick. The biggest thing he taught us was fundamentals. Cutter: He did say it. To prove to the townspeople (and to Shooter himself) Shooter's value to the team, Dale intentionally gets ejected from a game. As the smallest school to win state since Thorntown in 1915, Milan's story had captured the imagination of the state. It was mostly things like, 'The best team is in black.' He knows all about high school politics and how the school board and the parents' groups always think they know more about basketball than the coach does. [29] The film was the choice of the readers of USA Today as the best sports movie of all time. They adjusted in the second half. His old friend, high school principal Cletus Summers, has hired him as the civics and history teacher and as head basketball coach. Hoosiers (film) - Wikipedia ". During the season opener, Rade disobeys and repeatedly makes baskets without passing first. This meant that schools with low enrollment (like Milan High School) were forced to compete with much larger teams from Indianas cities. "I had 28 in that game, he had 22,'' Plump said from. Loosely based on the Milan High School basketball team that improbably won Indiana's 1954 state championship, the film focuses on Gene Hackman's Norman Dale, a coach with a checkered past who . In reel life: "Hoosiers" is available on VHS and DVD. During the altercation, Principal Summers, acting as assistant coach, suffers a mild heart attack. But the second year it was more serious. With your bags in hand simply walk to the exit doors (typically marked green with a "nothing to declare" sign). The Memorial Gymnasium in Lebanon and one in Brownsburg served as the sites for the Hickorys team, The Huskers regional and sectional games. But unlike in the on-screen storyline, the Milan team went into the season as a heavy favorite and expectedly came out on top. He later thought better of it and brought two back, but that meant (then-sophomores) Plump and (Bob) Engel started varsity and (sophomores) Gene White and Ron Truitt played more. Schroder: Engel could have played Division I. I'd never run up against a guy who could do that. We ran 100 laps before the next game, which was county, and we were back on the team. They were going to pay him $3,800. But even in 1954, a small farm-town town of white boys winning a title was an . But coach Wood probably had that plan in his head already. They entered the tournament with a 19-2 record. Hinds made two free throws to start the fourth quarter and give the Bearcats a two-point lead. The town is based off New Richmond, Indiana, a town of 333 in Montgomery County. Phil Raisor (Muncie Central sophomore in 1954): It's amazing how perception has played into the development of the story. Ray Craft (Milan 1954 graduate, starting guard): I think you have to talk about the 1952 season, because it probably made the '53 and '54 season. In reel life: Coach Dale alienates just about everyone with his independence, and there is a town referendum on whether the school should keep Dale on as coach. Milan then pounded host Rushville in the regional semifinal to set up a rematch with Aurora and its star, Bob Fehrman. In reel life: Coach Dale is a taskmaster during practices, running the players through drills. His wife had a beauty parlor in Milan and he was still going to Arkenberg's (the downtown restaurant hangout). Closer Look: Do pitchers and catchers get along? Is Hickory, Indiana a real place? The town made famous in Hoosiers In 1954, Attucks, with sophomore Oscar Robertson, was one of the teams Milan beat on the way to its famed state title. In real life: Coach Wood told Plump, not another player to take the final shot. Milan '54 Hoosiers Museum - Yelp Washington Post critics Rita Kempley and Paul Attanasio both enjoyed the film, despite its perceived sentimentalism and lack of originality. Plump: It was sometime in the 1970s and Ken Windelman, Glen White, Bob Engel and myself were sitting there having a beer. But once the game started, it was obvious how good he was. "Librarian of Congress Names 25 More Films to National Film Registry", "Complete National Film Registry Listing", "ESPN the Magazine Movie Spectacular - An oral history of "Hoosiers," an iconic sports movie - ESPN", "Film: Gene Hackman as a Coach in 'Hoosiers,'", "Page 2's Top 20 Sports Movies of All-Time", "The 50 Greatest Sports Movies Of All Time! The whole crowd would get into it. The other game matched Elkhart against Muncie Central, the latter a traditional power that had started the season slow before coming on under coach Jay McCreary. Although, as Bobby Plump said in his ESPN chat, "the film captured what it was like growing up in a small town in Indiana and how important basketball was," there's probably more truth than accuracy in the film. Angelo Pizzo, who wrote the original screenplay, knows small-town sports. "I tried out three years in a row," Maris Valainis says . I think Jimmy thought I was going to drive all the way. The True Story Behind Indiana's Favorite Sports Drama - Hoosiers 7/7/2023, 7:35am, Softball Dale begins drilling the others (Rade Butcher, Merle Webb, Everett Flatch, Strap Purl, and equipment manager Ollie McLellan) with fundamentals and conditioning but no scrimmages or shooting, much to the Huskers' dismay. INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 11: Former Milan High school basketball star Bobby Plump and other members of the movie Hoosiers honored on the court during the mens college basketball game. Like the film's fictional Hickory High School, Milan was a very small high school in a rural, southern Indiana town. I thought that was fair. They had performed beyond expectations in the previous year by winning the regional title in 1953 and reaching the semi-finals. In the first game on the morning of March 20, 1954, Muncie Central defeated Elkhart 59-50 and Milan won the afternoon game against Gerstmeyer, 60-48. Mary Lou Wood: I remember people didn't realize it was sudden death. At the end of our junior year we played Osgood. In fact, the last shot in Hoosiers got made from almost an identical spot on the court as the one in the real-world game that inspired it. We came back for the game that night and got rubdowns and tried to conserve our energy. We hated them. For us, the county tourney was the big bragging rights. Craft: As a coach I would have been irate if I had a two-point lead and one of my players missed a shot in that situation. Dale's choice of Shooter confounds the town and embarrasses Everett. Actor who played Jimmy Chitwood in 'Hoosiers' made the most of his one Crispus Attucks High, 60 Years Later: Race And The 'Hoosiers - Forbes [9], The music to Hoosiers was written by veteran composer Jerry Goldsmith. Dual-credit college classes are available as well. The big guy from Shelbyville had a good game against Attucks, but he went up for his first shot and Wendelman pinned it against the board. Plump: The only mistake I knew Marvin to make was that night. "If I hadn't made the shot, I wouldn't be standing here talking to you about it 60 years later.". There is some discrepancy among the players over exactly what was said in the huddle. Plump: I know my life would be different than what it is now. Programs. But Milan was the experienced team. Tucked away in the northwest corner of Montgomery County, Wingate's 1910 population was 446. Cutter: There wasn't much time in between games. Kelly: The fans were ready to kill everybody when we held the ball against Connersville. Satellite Campus Milan (IT) Satellite Campus Tokyo (JP) Extensions. If I find you out, you're gone three games.' If you look at our scores, we didn't use the cat-and-mouse that much. This practice continued until 1997. We went down and played Seymour, which was a bigger school, and won. In classic, nobody-to-champions fashion, the film depicts how a town that is passionate about basketball manages to put together a formidable basketball team and defeat teams much larger in stature. The championship team on which the Hoosiers true story is based is actually the Milan High School Indians. Hoosiers True Story - The Real Jimmy Chitwood and Coach Marvin Wood Dale instructs the Huskers to pass four times before shooting. Plump: I've been asked, 'What were you thinking out there?' Unlike fictional Hickory in the movie "Hoosiers," Milan did not rise up from nowhere to win the tournament in 1954. In 2001, Hoosiers was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."[4][5]. Time went by and Marvin didn't call. 1954 State Champions - Milan Indians - Milan 1954 Museum Craft: To think that this story would still be in the forefront like it is today none of us could have fathomed that. I wish I could say it was. The 1986 movie "Hoosiers" also kept Milan's story from fading into history. The next two times down we scored. Ebert closed his review with the comment "It's a movie that is all heart."[15]. He was kind of a homebody, plus we had two little ones at home at that time. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a "Certified Fresh" 91% rating based on reviews from 44 critics, with an average score of 7.5/10. Schroder: Shelbyville had a terrible shooting night. Plump: I was probably doing 10-15 speeches a year prior to . You'll get the Milan history and where the movie team Hickory differed. Another harbinger of things to come happened that night in the regional final against Connersville. Mary Lou Wood (Marvin Wood's widow): Marvin played his high school ball at Morristown and the coach was Gerald Furr. In reel life: The assistant coach, "Shooter," (played by Dennis Hopper in an Oscar-nomination performance), is the town drunk and the father of one of the players. Per the records, they won most of their duels by double digits. Or, it mostly is, but sort of isn't. by Bobby Plump Milan: 32 Muncie Central: 30 I think Marvin and the staff learned a whole lot about preparing and handling a team that could go back to the state finals. 6/30/2023, 9:19am, NFL Draft: Examining the Impact of Crucial Selections, The Power Of Authenticity And Transparency In Fundraising, A Comprehensive Guide to Litigation Finance, Where to celebrate Independence Day in Delaware County, Lacy Schurr steps down from Ball State Softball head coach, heading to Pitt. They ended up performing well in most of the games. More: Small Indiana town still proud of role as real-life Hickory. But Versailles could seat more than 2,000 people and that was a big difference. Bob Collins report in Indianapolis Star (March 21, 1954): Plump dribbled over mid-court and pulled the ball up against his stomach, and stood still. The 1986 movie Hoosiers comfortably enjoys the position of a classic, David versus Goliath sports movie. In real life: Milan won the title in 1954. We knew Milan had been there the year before and had the senior-dominated team. But while they had heard and been inspired throughout their lives by the story of the tiny 1954 Milan High team that shocked everybody by winning the state championship, Pizzo discovered they. I was just doing what the coach told me to do. We had to be in at midnight on the weekends but he told us we could see the New Year in and stay out until 1 (a.m.) that night. Marvin never attended those get-togethers in the coffee shops. If we could stay within two points we could play our game and have a shot. But all we did was think about winning the next game. The guys that saved us were Bob Engel and Ron Truitt in that game. To compare, the character played by Gene Hackman, Norman Dale, is a former college coach in his forties, while Gene Hackman was fifty-five when filming commenced. 1954 Milan High School basketball team - Wikipedia Guess who threw it inbounds? This post is provided by a third party who may receive compensation from the products or services they mention. At the time, Indiana hosted a single-class basketball tournament, unlike other states. I'm 15 years old and walk in to Butler Fieldhouse in awe. In the film, the squad at the center of the plot . So he finally went to interview and they offered it to him. Milan, which lost in the sectional in 1952 to Batesville in a game Plump missed with the flu, returned several key players and hopes were high. But both teams had trouble scoring. Schroder: Versailles had a really good team and lost to us four times. Craft: Marc became involved with the varsity because Marvin was bound and determined that we were going to be a man-to-man team. Milan went into the sectional with a 19-2 record. In reel life: Jimmy Chitwood, the team's star player (the Hollywood version of Bobby Plump) sits out half the season because he's so upset about the previous coach dying. At the first practice, Dale dismisses Buddy Walker for rudeness, causing another player, Whit Butcher, to walk out in protest. That was so despite their traditional minuscule enrollment numbers. Maybe there's a message there. Writers have told, re-told and immortalized the tale in the 1986 film Hoosiers.Drowned out among the Milan hullabaloo are histories of other and earlier small schools that slew goliaths to win basketball crowns. Schroder: We didn't know much about Montezuma, but Clarence Kelly was an excellent scout. It meant Attucks and its young star would meet veteran Milan. I had to pick myself up off the floor he smacked me so hard upside my head. Hence, some Milan residents were actually hopeful of the team performing well the next year. About UIBS / Faculty Members. To Real-Life Chitwood, Butler Is No 'Hoosiers' - The New York Times The character of Norman Dale was largely fictional: an effort to apply the Hollywood formula. Former Milan star shares memories from epic 1954 state title run that Gene White (Milan 1954 graduate, starting forward): Mr. Grinstead supposedly bought new uniforms before the sectional and he wasn't authorized to do so. Mary Lou Wood: 'It's nice to be important, but more important to be nice.'. He does so wearing shirt and tie. Nonetheless inspired by a true story may have been more fitting, as the events depicted in the movie do not mimic tit-for-tat those of the Milan High Schools basketball teams 1954 run. He told me he was disappointed he never got the chance to see how far he could take that team. But it was also may have been Mr. Grinstead's demise. Hickory reaches the championship game in Indianapolis. White: Our scouting report on Oscar Robertson listed him last. The town of Milan was lucky to still have Wood. That is the only factual thing in the movie. He was gone. Bobby Plump, the Milan High point guard characterized in "Hoosiers," played against Robertson's team in a state tournament game in 1954. [8], Shortly after the film's release, five of the actors who portrayed basketball players in the film were suspended by the NCAA from their real-life college basketball teams for three games. "I was a very shy kid," Bobby Plump told the Washington Post in 1995. Milan is a tiny town in the state of Indiana, 39 miles west of Cincinnati. Flory Bidunga, a five-star center from Kokomo High School in Indiana, is down to four schools: Auburn, Duke, Kansas and Michigan. Plump: Woody knew what he didn't know.
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