1965-1966 Chicago Marshall vs New Trier- Gamechangers.film

Marshall Coach- Harvey Hartenstein

Anyone who loves sports history, will love watching the documentary of the 1965 and 1966 IHSA Super-Sectional games pitting Chicago Marshall vs. New Trier at McGaw Hall on the Northwestern University campus.

Chicago Marshall was the power of the city of Chicago and the power of Illinois at this time. Marshall had won State titles in 1958 and 1960. The ‘65 Marshall team featured Nate Byrd as point guard, Charles Conway, and All-American Rich Bradshaw. Bradshaw went onto star at Kansas University. Marshall was coached by Hall of Fame coach, Harvey Hartenstein. 

In 1965 when New Trier met Marshall in the Supers, it was New Trier’s first trip to the Supersectional. New Trier featured 6’11” Larry Rosenzweig. They were coached by John Schneiter. Coach Schneiter had won the State Championship at Decatur in 1962. 

New Trier Coach- John Schneiter

Going into the ‘65 Supersectional, Marshall was the heavy favorite. Marshall won the game 69-52.

In ‘66, Marshall was considered as good as it gets. New Trier grad, Chet Coppock, described the ‘66 Marshall team this way, “Marsahll was not the best team of Chicago, not the best team of Illinois, they were the best team in America.”

In December, Marshall beat Galesburg at Galesburg 73-62 with Rich Bradshaw leading the way. To beat Galesburg at Galesburg in those days was unheard of. Galesburg would go onto take second in State in ‘66. Unfortunately in this era, Chicago schools often lost students at semester when they reached enough credits to graduate. So while Marshall still had Rich Bradshaw, they had to find several new starters for the rest of the season.

While New Trier was surprised to be in the Supersectional in ‘65, they expected it in ‘66. In front of a sell out crowd at McGaw Hall, one side of the crowd was Marshall and one side New Trier. It was a battle of black vs white, and city vs suburb. In a close game, New Trier broke away late to win 78-60. 

With both crowds seeming to escalate to a highly charged emotional level, Coach Schneiter sent some of his players to the lockeroom before the end of the game. His vision turned correct. While there never appeared to be animosity between the players, the fans hostility escalated. As the game ended, fans became involved a major brawl with multiple injuries. 

Veteran Chicago Sun-Times reporters, Steve Tucker years later wrote a story entitled, “1966 Riot Altered State Tourney.” According to Tucker, Northwestern withdrew hosting the Super after this game and the IHSA for years after had the Public League Champs go to the Elite 8 vs. the Super-Sectional. 

There is a superb documentary on these two famous games. It includes interviews with Marshall and New Trier players, as well as footage from the two games. 

Gamechangers.film