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| 1956-1957 Silver Streaks |
Galesburg basketball has been involved in many games thru the years that could be labeled as “classics.”
1931- Galesburg’s 4 OT win over Johnson City in State Semi-Finals
1935- Galesburg’s win on opening night at Steele vs eventual State Champ- Springfield
1956- Galesburg’s double-OT loss to Rockford West in Super-Sectional
1957- Galesburg’s slow down win over Rock Island
1964- Galesburg’s loss to Cobden in the Elite 8
1969- Galesburg’s upset of undefeated Proviso East
1976- Galesburg’s OT win over Richwoods
Needless to say, there are many more games that would qualify as being “classics” in both Galesburg boys and girls basketball history.
It is doubtful there was any weekend with two bigger or two better games than in December of 1956. Galesburg hosted Paris on Friday night, and then hosted Pinckneyville on Saturday night.
For those wondering what the big deal would be about Galesburg playing both Paris and Pinckneyville in a weekend, from 1930-1960 these schools were state powers.
Pinckneyville entered the games undefeated #1 ranked in UPI and #2 ranked in AP. Paris was undefeated and ranked #11 in AP. Galesburg had one loss and was ranked #7 in UPI and #9 in AP.
In 1955 Galesburg had defeated Paris in the Sweet 16, and in 1956 the Streaks beat Paris at Paris.
All three teams were coached by Illinois HS legends, who are all in the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Galesburg’s John Thiel coached 18 years for the Streaks, amassing 398 wins, 16 Regional Championships, and 8 State Appearances- including 2nd place twice, and 3rd place once. This was Thiel’s second season.
Paris’ Ernie Eveland was familiar with Galesburg, having played at Bradley and attended Lewistown HS. Under Eveland, Paris had won the State Championships in 1943 and 1947. Eveland coached at Paris for 27 years, bringing home 592 wins, 18 Regional Championships, and 9 State Appearances. One of the unique things about Eveland was that for all of his success as a basketball coach, he may have been a better cross country coach- his teams won 4 State Championships and took second once.
The star of the Paris team was Gene Smithson who would go onto to be the highly successful coach at Illinois State and then Wichita State in the 1980’s.
Pinckneyville’s Merrill “Duster” Thomas was probably one of the more confident and outspoken coaches of the era. He coached at Pinckneyville 19 years with 460 wins, 8 State appearances, one State Championship, and 4 x third place finishes.
The iconic picture of the weekend was a picture of coaching legends “Duster” Thomas and Ernie Eveland having a conversation in the lobby of the Hotel Custer on Friday afternoon. Pinckneyville was headed up to play Moline on Friday night, then play Galesburg on Saturday. Paris was to play Galesburg on Friday night. Both teams were staying at the Hotel Custer located in downtown Galesburg, just blocks from GHS.
The Silver Streaks started Elbert Kimbrough and Jimmy Range at forwards, Al Williams at center, and Albert Kimbrough and Bobby Hoffman at the guards. The first two off the bench were Frank Youngquist and Doug Mills.
For the Streaks one of the challenges was the contrast in style of Paris and Pinckneyville. Eveland wanted Paris to outrun their opponents, which was a rare style for teams in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Thomas wanted Pinckneyville to be methodical in their approach. It was not unusual for Pinckneyville to slow the game to a crawl and delay if they got the lead.
Galesburg's approach with the 1957 Streaks was to use their defensive pressure to control whatever style they were to play. Some long-time fans believe that although the ‘57 Streaks lacked height, they may have been Galesburg’s all-time most athletic team. They could run, they could press, and they could jump.
On Friday night while Pinckneyville crushed Moline 52-30, the Streaks won an exciting 58-52 game over Paris. The game was knotted at 48-48 with 4 minutes to go. Galesburg guard, Bobby Hoffman scored 6 points off two field goals and two free throws to put the Streaks up 54-48. The teams exchanged baskets at the end.
Gene Smithson led all scorers with 22 points. Al Williams had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, Albert Kimbrough with 12, Bobby Hoffman with 16, and Jimmy Range with 12.
On Saturday night vs Pinckneyville, the Panthers came out and jumped all over Galesburg. The Streaks trailed 17-9 after one, 33-20 after two, and in middle of the third were down 39-22. The great thing about having an athletic team that likes to press, you are never out of the game. The Streaks pressed and pressed until they got back into the game. Galesburg trailed 51-49 with 15 seconds to go with the ball. GHS missed a shot, fouled, and the final was 52-49.
The need to press had also resulted in a lot of fouls. Pinckneyville made 28 free throws to Galesburg’s 11 free throws.
Hoffman led the Streaks with 12, E. Kimbrough 10, D. Mills 1, A.Kimbrough 9, Williams 5 points and 8 rebounds, J.Range 7 rebounds.
Pinckneyville was picked to win State in 1957. Galesburg’s comeback and near win was certainly something Galesburg fans were proud to have seen.
Neither Paris or Pinckneyville would go to State later that year. The Streaks upset Rock Island 23-21 on their way to an Elite 8 finish at State. Galesburg eventually lost by two to Collinsville in the Elite 8.
If there are other girls or boys basketball “CLASSIC” games that I need to research- just put it in the comments at end of the blog or email me at emass70@yahoo.com
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