<em>By Tom Rowe
Contributing Writer</em>
Just 161 days after the “Big Four” – Prime Ministers Georges Clemenceau (France), David Lloyd George (Great Britain), Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (Italy) and President Woodrow Wilson (United States) – spearheaded the acceptance and subsequent signing of the Treaty of Versailles (June 28, 1919) and only 28 years since Dr. James Naismith had invented the sport, the Norwich High School basketball team embarked on its two-year journey to immortality. Along that storied way, the Purple cagers compiled a record of 40-2-1, winning the New York State Interscholastic Championship Outside of New York City in 1920, while finishing runners-up a year later in 1921. For their efforts, these long-ago hardwood heroes are part of the fifth induction class of the Norwich High School Sports Hall of Fame.
Like the New York Yankees boasted the “Core Four” during their late-nineties success story, these two Tornado clubs were comprised of an “Iron Five” who saw most of the action. That handful was made up of Edwin “Buck” Burrows, Don O’Hara, Fred O’Hara, Harold “Clone” Ryan and Clarence “Jock” Taylor. Bill Sullivan, who captained the 1918-19 squad was the other main ingredient on the earlier team, while Lynn Halbert did likewise on the latter. Coach Frank Wassung, then in his fifth year at the NHS helm, opened the 1919-’20 campaign, but midway through the season Johnny Barsha assumed command and continued there through the following year.
1919-’20
Although Norwich had sported a creditable 13-5 record during the 1918-’19 campaign, Wassung must have been a little leery of the impending season as the Purple dropped three of its last four contests, two of which were to archrival Binghamton Central. But on opening night, Dec. 5, the Tornado delighted the crowd that packed the YMCA gym with a hard-fought 22-21 triumph over the Syracuse University Reserves, who made the final count closer than it was with three late baskets. The O’Hara brothers did the bulk of the scoring with 14 points between them, while Ryan added the other eight. Burrows, who had transferred to Norwich from a western New York prep school early in the 1918-’19 season, was splendid at his guard slot. As The Norwich Sun’s Perry Browne said, “Burrows played his usual good game, although not scoring any points, he played a wonderful floor game, breaking up play after play and getting the ball down to his forwards.”
With Ryan, who had scored 242 points for a 13.4 per game average the previous year, heating up the twines, Norwich easily outdistanced its next four opponents by a combined score of 172-52. In fact, the 6-foot-3 center, who poured in 32 points against Endicott, amassed 46 markers more than the Purple’s four foes with 98 points. Sporting an unblemished 5-0 log, Norwich hosted Binghamton on Jan. 30 before what Browne wrote was “the largest crowd that ever packed the YMCA gym.” Despite the huge fan base, the locals tasted defeat for the first time as Bingo, led by Van Atta’s 17 points, won out 21-15.
At this stage of the game, Johnny Barsha, a Syracuse University athlete of intercollegiate fame and captain of the Orange quintet during the past season, took the coaching reins from Wassung, who had assumed the duties of Superintendent of Norwich Schools earlier in the year. Barsha, an All-American who is presently ranked No. 65 among the all-time greatest SU players, had helped lead Syracuse to a 16-1 record during the 1917-18 season, when the Orange were voted national champions by the Helms Foundation. In fact, Syracuse won 23 straight games before suffering its first loss, a 17-16 nailbiter to the University of Pennsylvania. In that game, Penn charted only one field goal as Quaker forward George “Mike” Sweeney went 15-for-16 from the free throw line. Sweeney would later go on to lead Penn to the national title in 1920 when the Philadelphians beat the University of Chicago.
Four more lopsided triumphs followed that initial loss to Binghamton, so the stage was set for supremacy in the Southern Tier Basketball League when Norwich invaded the Parlor City on the night of March 5. Hundreds of Tornado faithful made the trip south – 400-plus by rail alone, and fans of both teams were treated to a classic. Tied at 20-20 after regulation play, Ryan put the Purple on top during the five-minute overtime, with a free throw for his 15th point of the evening but Van Atta, who also had 15 markers, followed suit. The rest is best left to the reporting of The Norwich Sun.
“With the score tied at 21-21, the great mass of people were making so much noise that referee Weiss was unable to hear the timekeeper’s whistle. Several seconds after the game had actually terminated, referee Weiss called a foul on the Norwich team which Van Atta turned into a point. Mr. Weiss cannot be blamed for this unfortunate incident as the crowd was making so much noise that he could not even hear his own whistle at times. However, the rules clearly state that the game actually terminates with the blowing of the timekeeper’s whistle and not the whistle of the referee.”
So, with Binghamton claiming victory and Norwich a tie – because of the lateness of the game (an 8:55 p.m. start) and the immense crowd – since play was halted, the ultimate decision was left to the druthers of the League Council. They found in favor of Norwich, so a third game with Binghamton was played on March 19, with the Tornado dusting their hosts 15-10. That victory not only gave the Purple the Southern Tier League trophy presented by the Binghamton Morning Sun, but the right to represent the region at the aforementioned Interscholastic State Tournament in Syracuse.
Norwich, which stayed as guests at Alpha Chi Rho fraternity and was invited to the “Block S” banquet, trounced Alexandria Bay 28-8 at Syracuse’s Archbold Gym. Ryan laid claim to half his team’s points, while Sullivan and Don O’Hara added eight and six, respectively. The following day, March 27, the Tornado captured the coveted crown with a hard-fought 18-15 victory against Ilion. Again, Ryan was the main man with 14 more markers.
Needless to say, the citizens of Norwich were giddy with delight over the Tornado’s success, and welcomed the conquering heroes with a massive parade. As was reported in The Norwich Sun, “Amid school yells, band music, clanging of bells, tooting of horns and sounding of factory whistles, the Norwich High School basketball team, victors of the state championship title, was welcomed home Monday noon from Syracuse in a noisy demonstration the like of which has not been witnessed in Norwich since that eventful day – the signing of the armistice.
“As the train bearing the victorious team pulled into the O & W station shortly after 12:30 there went up from the mammoth crowd assembled there to greet the victors yell after yell which sent a thrill through everyone gathered on the spot. The various members of the team were picked up bodily by their classmates and carried to a wagon, decorated especially for the occasion with the high school colors, and in which they rode from the station to the center of the city where a brief but fitting welcome was formally extended by Judge James P. Hill and Judge W.H. Sullivan in behalf of Norwich citizens, loyal supporters and enthusiasts of the team.”
Following the gala gathering, the team was honored at the National Hotel with a dinner. A more formal get-together was convened a few weeks later on April 19 at the Eagle Hotel in what was to become the first of many “Block N” banquets. The varsity letter “N” that so many of us were awarded for athletic achievement was begun at that banquet so as to honor the championship cagers.
Ryan, who captained that championship team, accounted for more than half of the Purple’s points, averaging 18.3 points a game. He rang up an impressive sum of 274 as Norwich outscored its opponents 492-210, for an average game score of 33-14. Ranking second for the Tornado was Don O’Hara with 102 points (6.8 ppg.), while Burrows and Sullivan added 46 and 36 markers, respectively.
