Talking with Jimmie: Best Gyms Thru History

Huff Gym

This week when I talked with Jimmie Carr, we took a look back at some of the great gyms and arenas the Galesburg Silver Streaks played in throughout time. First, we looked at the places the IHSA hosted the boys basketball State Tourneys. 

Huff Gym in Champaign hosted from 1926 thru 1962. Jimmie played in the 1959 State Tourney in Huff Gym. The Assembly Hall (State Farm Center) hosted State from 1963 thru 1995. The Peoria Civic Center hosted from 1996 thru 2020. And now the tourney is back at the State Farm Center in Champaign. 

Huff Gym held 8,000, Assembly Hall 16,618, Peoria Civic Center 11,049, and now the State Farm Center 15,500. 

Huff Gym

Massey- According to the internet, it was in Huff Gym in 1939 that Henry Porter, assistant executive secretary of the IHSA coined the phrase of “March Madness,” while watching a game at Huff Gym. Tell me what Huff Gym was like.

Jimmie- I remember when we went to State in 1959 that Otie Cowan and I had never been there before. In fact, I am not sure any of us had been there. We had played in Wharton Field House before but Huff Gym just seemed huge, the biggest gym that I had ever seen. 

Massey- What was the atmosphere in Huff like?

Jimmie- We had heard about the riot or near riot after the Galesburg-Collinsville game in 1957. We had been told it was because the fans were right on top of you. Once we played at Huff, I could sure see how it could have happened in ‘57, people were on the floor right on top of you. 

Massey- Was it intimidating with crowd right there?

Jimmie- At Huff, you felt the crowd. When we played Waukegan there was a lady who got all over me for the entire game. She was right there and you could hear everything she was screaming. The fans were all so close you heard the voices of Galesburg fans and Galesburg students. 

Assembly Hall (State Farm Center)

Massey- So they moved the tourney to the Assembly Hall. What were your initial impressions of the Assembly Hall?

Jimmie- It was so big and the fans were so removed from the court. It was almost more like a theater than a gym. It seemed like the players were isolated on the floor. 

Massey- Do you have any specific memories of when Galesburg played there?

Jimmie- In the ‘60’s when we played there and then in ‘76, Galesburg always seemed like we had more fans and louder fans than anyone else. One of the neat things was when the Galesburg band played there in ‘76 and they played Hi Yo Silver, it got really loud then. 

Massey- So how about the Civic Center, your thoughts?

Jimmie- I hated to see it moved to Peoria, I think the State Tourney should always be played at your flagship university. 

Peoria’s Civic Center

Massey- What are your best memories of the tourney in Peoria, I am guessing around the ‘98 team?

Jimmie- In all the years that I went to State as a player and then as an announcer, the best game I ever saw at the State Tourney was Galesburg vs. Whitney Young. We were right there up to the end. 

Massey- So for hosting State Tourney, what would be your thoughts on the best places?

Jimmie- The best place for the players was at Peoria, I believe it should be in Champaign but I have to admit Peoria had a better setup. Now today, it probably is better at Champaign with the remodeling and putting fans down closer. In terms of loud and crazy, none of them compare to Huff Gym. 

Massey- The two most common places Galesburg went to play the Supersectional were at Moline’s Wharton Field House and Bradley’s Robertson Field House. 

Jimmie- In the ‘50’s, Wharton FH was the place you wanted to play. We might have a game during the regular season at Wharton but you knew you had to be good to get to play at Wharton in the post-season. Then the same thing happened with Robertson in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s with the Sectionals seeming to always be there.

Bradley’s Robertson FH

Massey- Which had a better atmosphere?

Jimmie- No doubt, Robertson. Back then, it was special. Only good teams played at Robertson and it was a college court. The whole thing with the raised court, theater seats on the one side, and then people sitting right under the basket. It was special. But at a certain point as other places were built, it just didn’t seem impressive anymore. 

Wharton didn’t have the attraction of being a college gym, but it is a much better place to play and to watch a game than Robertson. Kids just like to go someplace for the Sectional or Super where they don’t get to play during the season.

Massey- Last gyms for you to compare- Steele Gym and Thiel Gym. How did they compare?

Jimmie- Our ‘59 team was so disappointed because we had been told we would be the first team to play on Fremont St., but then they had some kind of set back and delayed opening for a year. The new gym was just so much brighter and lighter, we wanted to play there badly. 

Steele Gym

Massey- Surprisingly, Steele and Thiel Gyms really did not have a huge difference in seating capacity. In fact, today with remodeling, Thiel holds fewer fans than Steele held. How did they compare in terms of atmosphere, loudness, and home court advantage?

Jimmie- Steele Gym was definitely louder and more intimidating place to play than Thiel Gym. There was something about the other team having to go up those steps and then walking into an arena with seats on three side of you and the fans up and over you. Steele was a special place, Galesburg always hosted the Regional back in the ‘40’s and ‘50’s. Steele Gym was where all the area schools wanted to get to play. 

Massey- You can go back thru the records during Coach Thiel’s time and they had tremendous home court record. But if you go back in history, Coach Phillips had a really long home winning streak in both the ‘30’s and ‘40’s, and then Coach Adams and Thiel had a long streak in the ‘50’s too. Obviously they both were pretty good homecourts.