If you drive west out of Ottawa on Route 15 and take a hard right on Route 108, you’ve got about a 30 mile straight shot to Napoleon. If you go fast enough, or maybe even blink, you will probably miss the little village of Miller City, population 139 as of the last census. The Sportsman Club or Mack and Rita’s Bar and Restaurant may briefly capture your attention and the new school just north of town is a beauty. But there’s very little in the way of structures there blocking the howling wind that blows across the miles and miles of open farmland in Putnam County. A visitor today may find it difficult to believe, but this friendly little hamlet was the center of the basketball universe for several weeks over 65 years ago.
As the high school postseason basketball tournament for the girls and boys begins anew, it’s only fitting that we take a look back at, arguably, the most improbable, miraculous and memorable state championship team to ever hoist the state title trophy. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the 1950 Miller City Wildcats.
There has been plenty written about Miller City’s unbeaten state championship team. Dave Hanneman, a longtime sports writer for the Findlay Courier, penned a great book, “Wildcats,” that brilliantly captures Miller City’s march to Columbus. And Dan Kern, the Professor Emeritus of all things basketball in Putnam County, produced an exhaustive study of the team in his tribute program as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of its achievement.
There was very little in the way of expectations heading into the basketball season that year for Miller City. The Wildcats were good the previous year but not great, and they would be breaking in a brand new coach. Norris Simpson, fresh out of Findlay College, couldn’t even find Miller City on the map when he traveled there for his interview. He was advised not to expect too much and the first time he lined up his team for an inspection he immediately understood the caution.
Miller City wasn’t short, they were tiny. Nicknamed the “Mighty Mites” by the press, the Wildcat playing rotation included only one player over 6 foot. At 6 foot 1 inch, Ralph “Skip” Meyer towered over his teammates. Joe Lammers checked in at 5 foot 11 inches but the next five guys in the rotation included two players at 5 foot 8 inches and three at 5 foot 6 inches. The saying “it’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog” was written with this Miller City squad in mind.
Coach Simpson’s first look at the Miller City gymnasium did not inspire any confidence either. Simpson thought the structure was a bus garage when he first saw it. The basketball court was only two thirds the length of normal gyms, and it was heated by two pot belly stoves that stood on the corners of the court and threatened to singe any player or fan who wandered too close. The structure was designed to hold a crowd of about 150 but often swelled to twice that size which resulted in fans standing on the playing surface and moving out of the way when the action headed in their direction. Joe Lammers remembers, “the spectators were so close to the action that it wasn’t rare for fans to interfere with the play. They had to make a rule that when the ball touched a fan, play stopped.”
Coach Simpson had his doubts but his confidence began to grow when he discovered the natural work ethic and determination his players possessed. Every member of the team but one was raised on a farm and hard work was already a part of their nature. The boys were up at 5 every morning doing chores and had to be home right after school to finish them. Simpson was forced to schedule all their practices for the evenings in order to work around his players’ farm chores.
The Wildcats adapted quickly to their new coach’s system and began to dominate their opponents with teamwork and unselfish chemistry. They beat teams with balanced scoring and relentless determination. “We really poured it on in the second half of a lot games,” remembers Joe Lammers. “We were in such great shape and, because of our tough practices and farm chores, we just never got tired.”
Miller City entered the postseason with an 18-0 record. The Wildcats’ two toughest games had been against their biggest rival, Ottoville. The Big Green were led by their center, a young Dick Kortokratz, who would later become the winningest high school basketball coach in the state of Ohio with 877 wins and counting.
Even though it boasted an undefeated record, Miller City was not taken seriously by many. But as the Wildcats marched through the postseason tournament their unique story captured the imaginations of fans and a kind of legend began to grow about their success. They captured the Putnam County tournament and with wins over Archbold and Ottoville won the district championship.
In the regionals they were poised to meet the number one Class B team in Ohio, the powerful defending state champion Delphos St. John’s Blue Jays. In a game where the lead changed hands 17 times, Miller City stunned the basketball world when “Skip” Meyer tipped in the winning basket in the closing seconds of the game. The Blue Jay loss had an impact that would shape basketball in our area for years to come. After their defeat, DSJ principal, Fr. Edward C. Herr, went looking for a new coach. He drove down to the University of Dayton and came back to Delphos with a young Bob Arnzen as their new mentor. That worked out pretty well.
Miller City took the regional title the next day with a win against Leesville. The boys were off to Columbus with all of west central and northwest Ohio on the band wagon and the team’s legion of fans continued to grow as newspapers chronicled its story.
That story included a band of vertically challenged players wearing tattered uniforms that were 8 years old. The fact the entire team was related to one another and the players honed their games in the makeshift basketball court in the hayloft of the Lammers’ family barn while growing up, simply added spice to their drama. The high school with an enrollment of less than 70 students (37 boys) became the darling of the Ohio newspapers.
In their state semifinal game against Corning, the Wildcats looked overwhelmed and out of place in the cavernous Columbus Coliseum. They were lucky to be only 8 points down at half but, true to form, they saved their best for the second half and stormed back to defeat the taller and more athletic opponent.
In the state championship game, the Wildcats faced Eaton, the school that defeated Lima St. Rose for the title two years earlier. Eaton was the heavy favorite but Miller City didn’t care. The game featured one of the strangest quarters ever played at state. At the beginning of the third quarter, the Eaton coach directed his players to hold the ball in an attempt to force the Wildcats out of their zone. Miller City declined to take the bait and so Eaton held the ball the entire quarter, never attempting a shot at the basket. Those in the crowd of 8,648 who were not already rooting for Miller City quickly swung to the Wildcats’ side and lustily booed the strategy.
Both teams picked up the action to start the final quarter but when Vern Schroeder nailed a left handed set shot to put the Wildcats up by one point, 34-33, they never looked back. The Cinderella boys had their state championship.
One newspaper described the players’ reaction to their achievement as bashful and shy. But Joe Lammers provides the best line I have ever heard muttered by a player who has experienced the thrill of winning a state championship. When I asked Joe if he remembered the feeling he had following their dramatic win he replied, with a twinkle in his eyes, “a lot of us just wanted to get home because we had to feed the pigs and milk the cows.”
Their homecoming was quite a show. A caravan of more than 375 cars followed the team north from Columbus the next day. Led by a police escort, they drove through Findlay and past the home of coach Simpson’s parents before heading to Ottawa where they were greeted by more than 8,000 spectators who jammed the streets trying to get a look at their improbable heroes. The highlight of the parade was “Daisy,” one of the Lammers’ family cows, who strutted down the thoroughfare as if she had every right to be there. The long procession ended up in Miller City at the “Barn” where it all started. The team and as many fans as possible wedged their way into the tiny gym to honor the boys and an estimated 4,000 fans jammed the streets outside. I imagine on a quiet night you might still hear the echoes of their enthusiasm and pride drifting through the peaceful little town.
Miller City’s 1950 season is long gone as are many of the boys who brought their great triumph to life. Their magical run is commemorated with an historical marker that sits outside the new Miller City school. It is one of only two historical markers in the country that honors a high school basketball team. The other is located in Milan, Indiana, the inspiration for the movie “Hoosiers.”
The next time you find yourself driving up Route 108, slow down and try to imagine the moment when Miller City was the absolute dead center of the basketball universe.
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