Barry Swanson- Rivalries & 1966

In 1960’s, Galesburg basketball teams took the floor with warmups that declared “Streaksburg,” and the players had their last names across the back of their jerseys. From the moment they took the floor, it was obvious the Streaks program under John Thiel was a special program. Not only was Galesburg one of the elite teams of Illinois. Galesburg with Thiel, Quincy with Sherril Hanks, and Pekin with Dawdy Hawkins made western Illinois the center of Illinois basketball. 

In the second part of questions with Barry Swanson, he focuses on the Pekin and Quincy rivalries, and the magical year of 1966. 

During your three years at GHS, not only was basketball in Galesburg in the spotlight, but some of the best teams in Illinois were in Central Illinois. Pekin under Dawson "Dawdy" Hawkins won State in 1964 and 1967, and had a stretch going of 148-14. Quincy under Sherrill Hanks took 2nd in State in 1965, and then your Streaks took 2nd in 1966. Do you have any particular memories of those huge Pekin and Quincy games?

Pekin

My sophomore year (1963-64), Dale Hollowell, who was now Dale Kelley, Bob Jasperson and I were all awarded a position on the Varsity, but we also played in the Sophomore game. The Pekin game was on the road. We lost (one of maybe 3 losses that season, I think). We dressed for the Varsity game and it was a barnburner. Maybe came down to a last shot. Frank Dexter and Davey Lundstrom were our guards and Pekin had Dave Golden (All-American who went to Duke) and Ronnie Rhodes. Rhodes was pesky as the dickens and ornery. He and Davey went at it all night long. Davey was not a guy who backed down from anyone. As the horn ended the game, the two of them went at each other. Coach Thiel and Coach Dawson "Dawdy" Hawkins ran out on the floor and the stands emptied. Our Sophomore Coach, Mr. Frank (who later became A.D. at Bloomington High School) shuffled Dale, Bob and me into the locker room, so we were never witness to the melee that ensued. My wife later told me that a brick was thrown through the windows of the bus she and the other cheerleaders were on. Pekin went on to win the State Championship that year. We lost in the quarterfinals to Cobden.

During my sophomore season, I did get some limited playing time if the games were blow-outs. But one funny story is when we were playing, I think it was a Chicago team, and Frank Dexter was pushed into the opposing team's bench (we sat under the baskets then, later outlawed) while attempting a lay-up. He was in a lot of pain (broken wrist). That week I had made 25 of 25 free throws. We always shot them at the end of practice and charted them. So, Coach Thiel walks down to the end of the bench and sends me in to shoot Frank's free throws. As I recall, it was a close game at the time. I was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room of rocking chairs. I step up to the line take a deep breath and shoot free throw #1—air ball. Fortunately, for me, I did draw iron on the second, but it rolled around and came off the front of the rim. Needless to say, I was pulled out on the first dead ball. I think we won the game (not sure), but Coach came up to me after the game in the locker room and said not to worry that I would make a lot more than I missed in my career (and I did.)

My junior year (1964-65), I came off the bench, 7th or 8th man. I could shoot, defend and rebound pretty well, but was not a great ball handler. Since I was playing guard that was a bit of a problem. During that season, I also got a hernia in my groin and had to wear this horrible brace type thing that wrapped around my waist and a pad pushed the hernia back where it was supposed to be. By the time the Pekin game rolled around, I figured there wasn't much chance of me playing. The game was televised as Pekin was #1 in the state and we were #2. Both teams were undefeated. Golden and Rhodes were seniors. It was another barn burner, but Golden was having his way and Coach called me down. Not exactly a "chewing gum" moment like in Hoosiers, but he wanted someone to put the clamps on their All-American. I did my best, but Golden was really smooth. If you played him tight, he slid by you on a drive, if you played off him, he was deadly from outside. A great player. After he made a few baskets, I was taken out and returned to a seat next to Coach. He just shrugged his shoulders. Truth is, I'm not sure Scottie Pippen could have stopped Golden that night. They won the game 79-72, but did not repeat as State Champs. Not sure they even got out of Peoria that year.

My senior year, we beat Pekin at home. It was great game. We got great minutes from our bench, especially Steve Marshall, who replaced me after I fouled out. Three other starters also fouled out. Dale dueled all night long with Fred Miller, the Pekin All-Stater. We won the game 80-76. Dale had 36 points, Miller 32. Maybe we should have just let them play one-on-one. lol. After that game, we were ranked #1 in the state. But Marshall was next up. They finished in 3rd place at the State Tournament the previous year and most of their starting line-up returned led by All-American candidate, Rich Bradshaw. They were big and strong. We certainly weren't looking past them, but we were anticipating the game after that with Quincy. We only played them once a year, unless we met in the sectional. We had done that the previous year and lost. They got second place in the State. We were ready for some revenge.

Quincy

Playing Quincy was always a big deal (remained so when I coached). It was Duke-North Carolina. The gyms in both towns were packed and the atmosphere was electric. Coach Hanks vs. Coach Thiel. Two of the best coaches ever in Illinois basketball history. Both were flashy dressers and showmen. There were always bets on who would get the first T. 

One of the most memorable games against Quincy was in 1963-64. The nation was in the midst of Beatlemania. Coach Thiel even came out in a Beatles wig, sunglasses and toting a saxophone at the Pep Assembly. It brought down the house. He was a natural entertainer and loved the spotlight. An entire trainload of fans traveled to Quincy for that sectional title game, which we won 70-63. Dale, Bob and I were on the Varsity team. We traveled with the team and wore our blazers, but only 10 guys could dress (IHSA rules). Coach had taken some earlier heat for dressing underclassmen over seniors. I'm guessing, at the time, we weren't much better than the guys who dressed. It was exciting because that team with Rick Callahan, Frank Dexter (who returned after breaking his wrist) Davey Lundstrom, Mike Davis, Marvin Harris, Bernie Cowan and Mike McCreight made it back to Champaign. We played at Assembly Hall, but lost in the quarter finals to Cobden, a small town with some big players. We had the lead with a couple of minutes to go, but lost 60-57. (the Morgan Park game 1975-76 reminded me a great deal of the Cobden game). We were devastated. We had been ranked high all year in the polls and really thought we had a great shot at winning the championship. Instead, our other rival, Pekin, did so.

I don't honestly recall the regular season Quincy game my junior year (we did win 65-61 at Quincy, always rare), but when we faced them again in the sectional, we lost 58-54. After the game, Bob gathered Dale, me and Terry Childers (a sophomore) together in the locker room and said, "This isn't going to happen to us next year." I think that loss was the key to our senior season. 

After the Quincy loss, a few idiot fans hung Coach Thiel in effigy. That only provided more motivation for us. We worked hard during the summer and played almost every night at Bobby Lindstrom's court. We lifted weights, ran the track and prepared for our senior year, 1965-66. There were doubters downtown (so I have been told). Thought we were a one-man team, Dale Kelley. They were partially correct. He was a great scorer. We were undefeated and ranked #1 in the state when Bradshaw and Marshall High School from Chicago visited on December 18, 1965. Quincy had beaten them the night before.  

It was another of those classic games. Dale and I were both shooting well and we took the lead early in the third quarter, but midway through the quarter Dale got hurt and wasn't able to return to the game. Despite a valiant effort by the rest of us, we lost 73-62, and dropped to 2nd  in the UPI poll, ironically right behind Harvey Thornton. We really took a nose dive in the in the AP falling to 7th. It was not a pleasant Christmas break. 

On January 7, 1966, Marvin Sprague, Billy Gay and the Quincy Blue Devils arrived in Galesburg. Hard to say when the last time was the Streaks lost two home games in a row. That night we did just that losing 69-61. Dale scored 27, I had 13, but it was a bitter loss. We would not lose again until the State Championship game. Coach moved me to forward and inserted Roland McDougal, a sharp-shooting, nifty passing guard into the line-up as we went to face Kewanee. We wouldn't face the Blue Devils again until the first round of the sectional tournament at Western Illinois Fieldhouse, the same place we had lost the year before.

The prelude to the Quincy Re-match was another classic. We played the Regional Tournament at Bushnell-Prairie-City gym. It was a great venue. Although much smaller than most of the gyms where we played, it was set up like a bowl. They had to bring in folding chairs to accommodate our students who attended and sat on the first row. They packed in 3, 500 fans. The town only had a population of 3,200 The reason? We played the other high school in Galesburg, Costa Catholic. Larry Woods had moved to Galesburg and played with us in the summer, but Coach Thiel told him our team was set (I think he didn't want another Bumpy Nixon investigation). Larry was a great player (went on to play at West Virginia, I believe. We re-connected a few years ago through Dale). Costa had only lost one game (Larry was not able to play in that game, I think). They did play small schools like Knoxville, but, back in those days there was only one class in the State Tournament. Coach Bob told us about his senior year when Corpus Christi (now Costa) had beaten Galesburg. It was one of the low points of his basketball career. It was a nip and tuck game that came down to the 4th quarter. I had broken my nose in the first game of the Regional and was wearing tape over it. Roland had 24 points, I had 22 points and Costa "held" Dale to 20. We won 78-66 and breathed a big sigh of relief. Costa was for real. They were a great team with an excellent coach, Rex Davis. Had Jim Kemmer not gotten in foul trouble, the outcome would have been closer for sure. We celebrated in the locker room, but Bob reminded us of our promise to each other the year before when we lost to Quincy in the sectional. Looming ahead in the first round was our rival from the south, the Blue Devils.

A crowd of 8,400 poured into Western Illinois Fieldhouse on March 10th. The UPI poll had Quincy as the #5 team in the state with a record of 22-4. We were ranked right behind at #6 with a record of 22-2. We had won 16 straight. The week of practice was blighted by the flu and on Tuesday, Dale got a nose bleed and had to have his nose cauterized. I had a slight case of the flu, but fortunately my Mom was a nurse and I took some medicine that seemed to alleviate the symptoms. McDougal and Childers missed some practices and, therefore, didn't start the game. Mike Drasites and Bruce LaViolette started in their place. The game was a toss-up in the sportswriters' predictions, but definitely the premier sectional game on that Thursday night. The one guy who seemed to impervious to it all was Bob Jasperson. He was a man on a mission. He had thrown down the gauntlet the year before and reminded us how we felt then and in our locker room after the game in January—our last loss. 

I imagine the officials knew it was going to be a tough battle and it was, as always in a Galesburg-Quincy game, physical. Forty-seven fouls were called and 62 free throws shot. We took an early lead and maintained it until the closing minutes of the first half. Dale got poked in the eye with 1:18 left in the second quarter. Quincy cut into our 9-point lead. The score at half-time was 29-26. Coach did not put Dale in to start the second half, in fact, our All-American did not play in the second half, but Bob Jasperson did! He held Gay (who averaged nearly 20 points a game) to 4 points. As a team we held Quincy to 28% shooting. Bob also grabbed 17 rebounds and led us in scoring with 14 points. I added a double-double with 13 rebounds and 10 points. Gay and Sprague fouled out, so did Drasites and I. The final score was 61-49 and we were headed to the Sectional final game vs. Hamilton, who had lost only one game all year. Our 17th win in a row set a school record. Bob had fulfilled his pledge. And we all held our breath hoping Dale was going to be all right.

1966 Season

The 1966 season was a season young players dream of. How much did losing in 1965 impact your 1966 season? What were your big games on your run? Being the quick, finesse team, I am guessing all of you wish you have had the chance to play with rest?

It was, indeed, a dream season. Actually, no one had predicted we would be that good, but once we started on our winning streak fan interest only grew. I had some big scoring nights to answer part of your question; thirty-two against East Peoria on the road and 31 against Canton, 24 and 25 a couple of nights, I think. I averaged around 15 points a game 

Dale was the leading scorer at around 25 points a game. He not only just jumped over people, his jump shot was pure and he was a tremendous offensive rebounder and free throw shooter. Our team had great chemistry. Bob was so unselfish, often vacated the low post so I could slide in and score down low and, by far, our best defender and rebounder. Mac was left handed, a terrific passer with eyes in the back of his head and a velvet shooting touch. Terry Childers was a warrior, a scrappy 6-5 rebounder, defender and also a good left-handed shooter. Bruce and Mike were juniors who came off the bench; athletic, competitive and really good all-around players. We had some sophomores besides Mac, Dave Wood, Leon Luckett who were key players in 1968 when the Streaks took 2nd again. Two of my pals, Steve Marshall and Bob Lindstrom didn't get a lot of playing time, but like Brad Maring and Lugene Finley (another sophomore), they dogged us in practice and made us a better team.

The night I scored 31 against Canton (an Illini Conference game) was a Friday night. Canton double teamed Dale most of the night and held him to 7 points. We won the game 70-59, but they had "stopped" Dale Kelley. In the locker room after the game, Dale was happy we had won, but upset with his performance. He told us he was going to score 50 the next game. We played Rock Island on Saturday night. Packed house again. Rocky was good. Pre-season maybe top 10 in the state. When Coach took Dale out in the 4th quarter, the score was Kelley 52 Rock Island 52. None of the rest of us scored in double figures, but I did set a lot of screens that night. If any of us shot in the second half we got booed by the crowd. We won 84-57. Dale made 20 of 20 free throws, set the school record at the time and the gym record (Rich Falk had scored 50 in a regional game when he played for Galva). And, remember there was no 3-point shot. If there had been, he might have scored 70, as many of his shots were well beyond 20 feet. It was quite a night.

After beating Quincy, we faced Hamilton in the Sectional final and won by 20. The Super-Sectional match up was against Springfield High led by 6'7" All-Stater Dave Robisch (who would later star at University of Kansas and play in the NBA). Bill Scheffler (who later became a GHS principal) was also a key player on that team. The game was played again at Western Hall and it was packed to the rafters. Another classic. Dale came back with a vengeance after his injury. He dropped 30 on Hamilton and was even less merciful on Springfield. He scored 37 points (I added 11) and led us in rebounding with 11. Bob, Terry, Mike and I battled against the taller Senators. Dale, Terry, Mike, and I all fouled out and watched from the bench as "Bucky" Bruce LaViolette sank 2 free throws to ice a 69-65 hard fought win. We were headed to Champaign to face the #1 team in the state of Illinois, the undefeated Benton Rangers.

One of the greatest sins in Illinois High School Boys' Basketball was scheduling the tournament on a Friday and Saturday, requiring the teams who made it to the finals to play, what most would say, were the three most important games of their young lives in two days. Honestly, that never crossed our minds at the time. That was merely an excuse and we felt that we were the best conditioned of any of the teams we played. We ran wind sprints at the end of practice and our scrimmage time was always played full court. Our pressing and "control" break were our bread and butter. We could run and loved doing it.

By the time the second game on Friday afternoon rolled around, Assembly Hall was rocking with over 16,000 fans. Our game was broadcast state-wide on radio and television. We had stayed in Farmer City the night before. Dale, Bob and I had been to this rodeo in 1964 and made certain that everyone got to bed and got a good night's rest.

Walking out from the tunnel at Assembly Hall is awe inspiring and takes your breath away at first. The crowd was going crazy and you almost had to pinch yourself to know that it wasn't a dream, a dream you had dreamed since you were a little kid. 

Benton's stars were Rich Yunkus at 6'7" and Jim Adkins at 6'5". Yunkus would later play at Georgia Tech. Adkins played at University of Alabama. Both were All-Staters. The "Runnin Rangers" were trying to complete an undefeated season. They were 31-0 and had been ranked #1 in the state most of the year. They were formidable and played a trapping defense much like Quincy. We had broken the Quincy defense by me patrolling the middle, receiving a pass from Mac or Dale and probing the remaining defenders. It was often a 3 on 2. I was having a great first half when I came down on the foot of one of the Benton players and turned my ankle. Those who have played this game know how that feels. They carried me off the floor and I was in excruciating pain. Coach Johns, one of the assistants helped me limp down to the end of the bench. I was not only in pain, but I was devastated. The biggest game of my life and I had to go and sprain my stinking ankle. Someone taped me up (might have been Mr. George Lundeen). 

The half ended and we trailed by 3 points. Coach was cool, we talked about a few adjustments. I walked around and the ankle loosened up. He asked me if I could play and I said I would try. I suppose it was the adrenaline pumping through my body, but I started the second half and felt pretty good. We pressed them and outscored them 21-10 in the third quarter, building an eight-point lead. Dale was on fire and it looked like we were going to pull off the upset. Bob and Mac were playing with 4 fouls and Dale had 3. Coach juggled Bruce and Mike in and out, but Bob and Mac both fouled out. 

Benton roared back in the 4th quarter scoring 25 points. They weren't undefeated by accident. Atkins hit a shot that tied the game with 35 seconds to go. Coach called time out. Benton was pressing us all over now and with our best ball handler out, Coach Rich Herrin, realized we were vulnerable. Coach drew up our inbounds play against their full-court press. Truth is, none of us really wanted to handle the ball, but the ball ended up in my hands. I turned and saw an opening. I drove the ball the length of the court and somehow beat Adkins to the basket. We led 71-69. Whoopee! I was going to be the hero. (Not so fast.) 

They threw the ball the length of the court and a substitute named Hill stole my glory making a shot from the corner tying the game at 71 all. I think someone inbounded the ball to me and I threw it ahead to Dale (not 100% positive on that sequence), but bottom line is, he dribbled a couple of times and hit at least a 25-foot jump shot with 8 seconds to go. Adkins got off a desperation shot that hit the rim, but did not (thankfully) go in. 

We had just won one of the most historic games in IHSA boys' basketball history. We were jumping up and down celebrating, hugging each other and the cheerleaders (I had my eye on one in particular). It was magical. We all live for moments like that. We were still alive and had to face Belleville High School and their superstar Joe Wiley. He and Dale were dueling it out to see who was going to set the new scoring record for the tournament. They also had a 6'6" and 6'5" big men. I knew we were in for a tough game. When we got back to the hotel room, I took off my shoe and looked at my ankle. Tears welled up in my eyes because I realized my tournament was over.

I had to stay in our room that night while the rest of the team went out for steaks. They did bring one back for me. I was told to elevate my ankle all night and there was a new treatment for sprained ankles—ice. So, I kept ice on it all night. It was a restless night, plus, for some unknown reason, there weren't enough beds for everyone. So, I let Dave Wood bunk in with me. I was awakened early the next morning by Coach Van Dyke. He told me we were going to see the University of Illinois head trainer, Bob Nicolette. Bob was a genius in treating injured athletes and getting them ready to play. His specialty was the use of ice and manipulation of the injured area. He must have worked on my ankle for almost an hour. He taped me up and said, "Go get 'em, pal. See how it feels in warm-ups. If you can move, you should be able to play without any danger of more serious injury. It'll probably hurt like the dickens, but if you can endure the pain, you're good to go." (Or words to that effect).

We played the first game of the afternoon. After we warmed up, Coach asked me if I could go. He told the newspapers I said, "I've never had anything hurt more, but I've never had a game I wanted to play in more." A Gipper moment—lol. So dramatic. 

Joe Wiley was amazing—a truly gifted player, but so was Dale Kelley. Bruce came off the bench and rested me when the ankle started throbbing. I would elevate it and then go back in. I played okay, got into my usual foul trouble, but was able to finish the game. Wiley ended up with 32 points, Dale had 37. I chipped in 12 points and 5 rebounds. We had a one-point lead 65-64 with a few seconds left and they had the ball out of bounds. Coach called time out and told us to make them take a tough shot, but don't foul. The ball came in to Wiley. Bob was on him. Joe took a good shot, but it clanked off and we had won. There were reports that one of the officials had choked on his whistle, that Bob had fouled Wiley. He did not. Bob Jasperson may have been the smartest player I ever have ever known who played the game of basketball. He did not foul, Wiley missed and we were headed to the State Championship game. 

We dressed and watched the first half of the Thornton-Decatur game. Jim Ard was a man amongst boys. He was 6'8", 200+ lbs. and could jump. An All-Stater, he later attended University of Cincinnati and was the Missouri Valley Conference MVP his senior year gaining All-American Honorable Mention. He was drafted in both the NBA and the ABA. He chose the ABA and played for the New York Nets. In 1976 he won a championship ring with the Boston Celtics as Dave Cowens's back up. He retired after playing 14 games in the 1977-78 season with the Chicago Bulls. His teammate was LaMarr Thomas, a Quinn Buckner prototype. At 6'2" and 200 lbs. LaMarr was All-State in football and basketball. A tremendous athlete. These guys looked impressive, but we weren't intimidated because we knew Coach Thiel had a plan.

When I met Ard and Thomas at center court for the captain's meeting, I realized Thornton was for real. Nobody made it through the gauntlet of the state tournament and reached the final game who wasn't worthy. I knew we were. We had worked hard, practiced diligently, lifted weights, ran sprints and trained. We were a tight team and so were they. I suppose what impressed me most about Jim and LaMarr was that they were really nice guys, but they both had big hands, as I recall. 

Yes, I suppose we were tired and I sure as heck was not 100%. Dale had been fabulous, as had all the rest of our team and we had certainly dodged a couple of bullets, but we were ready. Coach told us we would employ the 2-1-2 zone we had used to defeat a few of the other opponents that were bigger than we were. Paul Gilliam and Bob Landowski were the forwards for the Wildcats. They were in the 6'4"-6'5" range, I think. The 5th starter was a 6'0" guard Rich Rateree. Our main concern was Ard, but we had no idea what Rateree was about to unload. He scored 20 points in the first half. We trailed at half-time by 22 points. We were shell-shocked. They had played a box and one on Dale and switched everything. We were a turnover machine. Coach didn't yell or panic. He said we just needed to get the game to down to 10, but the way to do that was to score two points at a time. Then we would make our own run.

We did just that. We did get it back to ten, but there was no run. We were spent and when they began to stall after Ard fouled out (he also had a dunk in the game), we had no chance. Coach pulled Dale, Bob and I out with under a minute to go. We grabbed towels and hid our faces and tears from those fans who were giving us a standing ovation. 

The final was 74-60. Rateree ended up with 24 points, Thomas 16 and Ard 13. I had 13 and Dale had 12. Our cheerleaders had been crowned the best in the state, Polly Gamble was Queen of the Tournament and we walked to center court to accept the silver trophy that stands in the trophy case today as you walk into Thiel Gym. There is a black and white newspaper picture taken from behind our team before the trophy presentation. Coach has his hand on my back telling me to accept the trophy. I was red-eyed and heartbroken, but Dale was even more so. He felt he had let us down. Not a chance. Without Dale Kelley we would never have had a chance. He was amazing. Our team was amazing. I am still so proud of those guys. We were a real team. When one of us had a bad night someone else picked us up. Twenty-one straight victories—a school record. Would we have won with another day's rest? Who knows? What if I hadn't sprained my ankle? What if Rateree had been off? Ifs and buts. Were we the best Streak team of all time? How would one actually determine that? I don't honestly know, but it was a great team.

The next day the newspapers were glowing in their accolades of our grit. Zack came to our room and told us his Dad was proud of us. We left it all on the floor, every one of us. When we got back to Galesburg, we stopped in a parking lot on East Main St. They loaded us up in convertibles. The weather was ideal, like a glorious spring day. We paraded down Main Street to throngs, fans were lined up 10 deep, maybe. When we arrived at the gym, we went in and it was packed, standing room only. Coach spoke, they presented the cheerleaders and Polly, and Dale (rightfully so) presented the trophy. The fans and newspapers took pictures and we signed autographs for a long time. A sign said, "Number Two in the State, Number One in our hearts". That was certainly true that day and believe me, we felt it. 

I hate losing, but looking back on that season (captured in the scrapbook that my wife Gail, a member of that #1 cheerleading squad, made for me) I can't help but smile through tears, and be proud of what we accomplished. It was only a few moments in time, but, oh, what moments those were.