A CHRONICLE OF
BRAMWELL'S 1967 CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
It was 35 years ago today that
Bramwell High School completed its first and only
undefeated season capturing the state Class A basketball
championship. Winning the state championship was a
thrill, but doing so with a perfect season made it a rare
and special achievement.
Winning championships in sport presents a challenge,
regardless of how good a team may be. The pressures
of single-elimination tournaments in basketball make them
particularly exciting. The week-to-week
tension builds as the drama of the tournament
unfolds. Trying to protect an undefeated record for
an entire season creates a tournament-like excitement
over several months.
Many sportswriters and coaches say that it is good to
lose a game during the season prior to tournament time to
reduce those pressures and tensions that result from
trying to maintain perfection. Few teams at any
level are able to achieve perfection. Even the most
celebrated teams in sport have a bad game. It is
special when a team is able to go through a season
without a loss. Talent and dedication, along with
luck, are needed to win them all.
In the fall of 1967, no one was talking about a state
championship, and certainly not an undefeated
season. The 1965 team had been the first BHS team
to make it to the state tournament. That team lost
by one in the semifinals and had been generally
considered to be Bramwell's best hope for a
championship. The following year the 1966 team was
somewhat of a surprise going 20-3 and losing in the
regional finals. However, with the graduation of
four-year starter and Bramwell's all-time leading scorer,
Joe Lambert, the 1967 team was not considered to be as
strong.
High school teams can be surprising from year to year
because players are at an age where they grow, develop,
and mature. The 1967 championship team benefited
from such development and maturation. Rickey Stores
and I were the two returning starters from the 1966
team. Rickey, at 5'9", had started at forward
as a junior, but Coach Bill Norton decided to move him to
join me in the backcourt. I had been named to the
All-State team and chosen as the county's MVP as a junior
so the team had a strong backcourt nucleus, but what
about the frontcourt? With no returning frontcourt
starters and none with any varsity experience, the team's
inside game was definitely expected to be a
liability. Summer development and maturation
changed that.
The unexpected development of senior Charles Davidson,
junior Tommy Gravely, and sophomore Dennis Hood was
responsible for the formation of one of West Virginia's
record-breaking teams. Charles Davidson had
struggled to make the varsity team the previous
season. Tommy Gravely had quit the team in
pre-season his junior year. Dennis Hood had no
varsity experience. However, Charles practiced
relentlessly and developed into a steady, dependable
defender and rebounder. Tommy Gravely, at 6'5"
and 200 lbs., gave the team the big man to match up with
other teams' inside size. Finally, Dennis Hood was asked
to play the post position, which was the pivotal position
of Bramwell's reputed "side offense."
This central position had been played by all-stater Joe
Lambert for four consecutive years. It required the
ability to pass, shoot, drive, and rebound. Dennis
proved to be a fast learner.
Let me share with you how that season unfolded
game-by-game.
#1 BHS 79
Matoaka 69
The first Saturday afternoon in December had become the
traditional opening
game at Matoaka. The bus ride through Montcalm,
McComas, and over the
mountain to Matoaka could definitely be unsettling to a
body already jittery with opening-game nerves. The
sight of snow laying on the ground outside and the smell
of popcorn inside were familiar signals that it was time
for the season to begin. The 2-3 zone employed by
Coach Joe Allen of Matoaka and their fan-shaped
backboards always made playing the Indians tough.
We were down at half-time, but came back to win in the
second half. Even
though we had escaped with a win, there wasn't a feeling
that this was going to be a special team. We had
struggled to execute the offense and defense that we had
practiced every day for the past three months.
After the game we stopped in Princeton at the only
fast-food restaurant in the area. For the rest of
the season, post-game trips to Kinney's in Princeton
became part of our routine. Hamburgers and fries
became our way of celebrating. In 1967, fifty-five
cents at Kinney's would fill a hungry player.
#2 BHS 109
Montcalm 60
We crushed our rival with a pressing defense that would
become our hallmark
throughout the season. During pre-season we worked
constantly on a half-court man-to-man pressing defense
that resulted in lots of steals and easy lay-ups.
Coach Norton had devised the defense back in October and
weworked on it daily. I still recall Charles
Davidson's asking Coach Norton after several weeks of
pre-season if the first team would ever get to work on
offense. Certainly that defense paid dividends
throughout the winter. Scoring over 100 points in 32
minutes seems impressive today, given that the average
NBA team averages only 90 points per game in 48 minutes.
#3 BHS 85 Athens
29
Bramwell's nemesis throughout the 1950s and 60s had been
Athens. With Athens' having a down year and BHS
stronger than usual, the result was a huge disparity in
score. What I remember about this game is that Mr.
McCormick, our venerable principal who had suffered
mightily over the years from defeats to the Trojans, came
to our locker room at half-time, with the score 54-15,
and said to Coach Norton, "don't let up!"
#4 BHS 85 Herndon
58
Beating Herndon at home had traditionally not been a
problem, at least it hadn't been since the opening of the
D.J.Sexton Gymnasium in 1964. Winning at Herndon
had been a different story. Why had Bramwell found it
difficult to play well at Herndon? I offer that the
bus ride over the mountain to get there was enough to
cause even those with a strong constitution to play less
than their best. A hostile Wyoming County crowd
could be intimidating. In fact, several years
before the fans had been more than intimidating, they had
been violent after the game, punching players as we raced
to the bus. And besides, Herndon's gym had those
fan-shaped backboards!
Because the trip to Herndon took forever and a junior
varsity game was played prior to the varsity's, we
boarded the bus soon after school was dismissed for the
disquieting trip. Coaches Norton and Phelps sat together
in the right hand front seat with the three cheerleaders
- a senior, junior and sophomore -- sharing a seat right
behind them. Fraternization between cheerleaders
and ball players was not expected. Players were to
be "thinking" about the game. There was always
a serious mood on the bus as we traveled to games.
We dismantled Herndon's two-three zone with ease. Maybe
we should have
realized that winning by such a substantial margin at
Herndon was a sign that this team was going to be
special. If you ask any player from Bramwell what
he remembers about playing Herndon, other than the
torturous bus ride, I assure you he will mention that
they fed you hot dogs and milk in the adjacent cafeteria
after the game. Questionable cuisine for the long
bus trip back home. However, after a victory, those
bus trips were fun as we recounted the highlights of the
game.
#5 BHS 75 Park
Central 65
This game was special because it was played during school
time, so that those in the student body who couldn't make
it to night games could see the team play. Once
each season we would have such a game. Park Central
was one of the few teams that year to play us a
man-to-man defense. They had several all-state
track and football players on their team. Beating
them was a significant win and one that hinted that we
were good.
#6 BHS 70 Gary 56
Gary had beaten us twice the previous season, the only
team we had lost to in the regular season. Beating
them in the last game before Christmas vacation left us
undefeated and atop the Daily Telegraph's area ratings.
#7 BHS 83 Athens
56
We traveled to Athens for our first game of the New
Year. We weren't as sharp as we had been in the
first game with them, but we still won easily.
#8 BHS 91 Montcalm
64
Montcalm played its home games at the Brushfork
Armory. It was fun beating our rival in front of a
large crowd.
#9 BHS 74
Pocahontas 33
After some bitterness between the two rivals in the early
1960s, the series was renewed the year before. We
clearly outclassed our Virginia neighbor.
#10 BHS 73 Matoaka
40
It was clear that we were getting better as we easily
handled a team that had battled us closely in the season
opener.
#11 BHS 103
Spanishburg 41
We were winning by big scores over county rivals.
The pressing defense was
creating steals and easy baskets. Most of the local
Class A schools played us a 2-3 defense. The zone was not
effective against us because Rickey Stores was a
tremendous threat with his quick-release, long-range jump
shot, Gravely and Hood were developing into consistent
scorers down low, and Charles Davidson was pulling the
defenses out with his 12-15 foot jump shot.
#12 BHS 86
Pocahontas 49
Another big win away from home.
#13 BHS 86
Greenville 50
We traveled to the Monroe County Swiss-like village,
which was covered with
6 to 10 inches of snow, to play an undefeated Greenville
High School. Greenville High was led by an all-state
center. Before the game there was a lot of
excitement on the part of the fans from this small town.
We were definitely worried that this would not be like
the previous six games, which we had won easily.
Winning this game started the papers to speculate about
how good we were.
#14 BHS 69
Northfork-Elkhorn 55
A hard-fought game against a strong Jennings Boyd coached
team left us 14-0! Note that we were under 70 points for
the first time of the season.
#15 BHS 86
Spanishburg 54
The only decisions to make that night were deciding whose
turn it was to score.
#16 BHS 79 Park
Central 65
We played well against a good team in their gym.
What I remember about that game is that their fans waited
for us to come out of the locker room and then they stood
and applauded. How gracious they were! Many
came up to us and congratulated us on such a fine
game. We had earned their R-E-S-P-E-C-T!
#17 BHS 77
Northfork-Elkhorn 71
What a game! Playing at Northfork was tougher than
playing in Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium. I know
because I played in both. Northfork's gym
was dark, loud, and intimidating. The game was
physical. I shot a dozen
foul shots in the fourth quarter. The Daily
Telegraph had speculated that
Bramwell would find it difficult to stay undefeated with
games against
Northfork and Gary in the same week. Both had
recently defeated Bluefield
and Princeton.
#18 BHS 64 Gary 63
Because of the strong spectator interest in this game it
was held in the Welch National Guard Armory, which was
packed full of fans, not only from Bramwell and Gary, but
also from Welch, Bluefield, and the surrounding area.
Because my father worked in Welch, it was an extra
special game for me. Gary was led by All-State 6'7"
Jim Gregory, whom later I would play against in the
Southern Conference where he was a standout for East
Carolina University. The game at Welch that night
came down to the last second. No win in my career
was ever more meaningful. We could have been State
Champs without winning that game, but we couldn't have
been undefeated.
#19 BHS 89 Herndon
58
A good performance at home enabled us to beat a Herndon
team that with a series of upsets surprisingly made it to
the state semifinals.
#20 BHS 86
Greenville 69
The end of a perfect regular season, which we knew would
be diminished without six more wins and a
championship. We had finished the regular season
averaging 82.3 points per game and allowing only 55.3
points per game. An average margin of victory of 27
points per game is an indicator of the team's dominance.
The Sectionals
#21 BHS 99 Spanishburg 71
We were playing well now and our principal goal was to
avoid injuries and an
upset. We managed both.
#22 BHS 76
Montcalm 54
We didn't pay much attention to the old saying that it's
hard to beat a team
three times in a season.
The Regionals
#23 BHS 71 Ansted 53
The Regional Tournament was played at Hinton. The
gym sold out and the Fire
Marshall would not permit anymore fans in the gym.
Ansted was a strong, physical team. It was a tiring
game for us.
#24 BHS 58 Union
46
The game to determine who was going to Morgantown was
another very physical
game against a Herman Lewis-led Union team. Lewis
was bigger and taller than Gravely. I believe he
left his hand imprint on all of us. The Red Devils
prevented us from running our fast break, but we survived
the slow and methodical half-court game. Even in
our exhaustion from the two demanding Regional tournament
games, we were elated about going to Morgantown, which we
had begun talking about in late January after beating
Greenville the first time.
The State
Tournament
#25 BHS 47
Piedmont 44
After a six and a half-hour trip on Thursday to
Morgantown, we practiced at
Morgantown High School. We watched one of the AAA
games that night. On
Friday afternoon we watched Bethany beat Herndon for a
berth in the Class A
State Championship game on Saturday. We were
playing Friday night to
determine the other berth in the championship game.
Playing on WVU's home court where Jerry West and Hot Rod
Hundley played was enough to excite a school boy beyond
description, but to do so for an
undefeated team against the defending state champs
heightened the tension even more. I'll never forget
being in the locker room getting ready to take the floor
for warm-ups as Coach Norton gathered us around
him. Expecting a motivational speech, telling us
about how this was a chance-of-a-lifetime, we got instead
from the master of psychology, a risqué joke that had
all of us laughing and probably blushing. He knew
that there was nothing else to say. We needed to
relax and get on with business.
The game was nip-and-tuck all the way. Perhaps both
teams were too cautious
to really play their best. There was too much on
the line. What I do remember is that the last two
baskets we scored were Rickey Stores' bank shots from
about 18 feet on the foul line extended. He had hit
those bank shots all year and he didn't hesitate to do so
with the game on the line. What a money player!
#26 BHS 86 Bethany
49
On Saturday, we ate pancakes at a late-morning, pre-game
brunch in the
Mountainlair (WVU's Student Center) for our 3:00
championship game. We
watched the first half of the AA game and then went to
the locker room to don the blue and gold for the final
time. Bethany made two quick baskets and that was about
their only excitement for the rest of the
afternoon. We ran and scored at will, setting a
record that still stands after 35 years for the largest
margin-of-victory in a championship game. Everyone
on the team got to play. Somehow the ease of the
win made it a little less climactic, but it did not
diminish our satisfaction at having completed a perfect
season.
When we returned from Morgantown on Sunday, there was a
long line of cars
waiting to greet us at the Mercer County line. The
convoy of cars paraded
through Princeton and Bluefield before a downtown
celebration in Bramwell. The rest of the Spring was
filled with dinners, banquets, television appearances,
and special events honoring our team.
All of the state newspapers carried an article about the
state tournament. My favorite headline about our game -
"Like A Million" -- came from The Fairmont
Times. All of the newspapers would mention our
nickname and the insignia ($) on the breast pocket of our
blazers. Perhaps the best compliment we received
was from the leading sportswriter from the Charleston
newspaper when he said that the state tournament would
have been much more interesting if Bramwell had been able
to compete in the AAA tournament.
A perfect season requires extraordinary efforts and
significant contributions from many people. I have
mentioned only the five starters and the coaches, but
there were many others who made this season
possible. It was most apparent that our Principal,
Mr. D. W. McCormick wanted BHS's first
championship. He was most supportive of the team
and coaches. The same could be said for the
teachers, as well. They were willing to make
accommodations so that players could spend extra time in
the gym practicing. Special privileges, such as going to
the front of the cafeteria line, were extended to the
players so that they could shoot free throws during
lunchtime. The cheerleaders led pep rallies, posted
banners and signs and created spirit among the entire
student body. The players felt that everyone was
pulling for them. The eight non-starters on the
team, of course, were critical to the team's success even
though they seldom played meaningful minutes. After
all, they provided challenging opposition to the best
team in the state every day in practice. They did
so dutifully without ever whining or complaining.
Much attention was showered on this team after the state
tournament. Newspapers loved to tell about a team called
the "Millionaires" that included students
living in poverty and players who had to rely on
townspeople to buy them presentable clothing to wear to
Morgantown. No one ever complained of being poor or
disadvantaged. I mentioned that we were seriously
focused on winning, but I believe all associated with the
team would agree that we had fun. That's what I
remember most.
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