Requiem for Morehead State

The program's all-time scorer is Ricky Minard, who totaled 2,381 in four seasons, 2001-04. But the best Eagle scorer ever would be Dan Swartz, who totaled 1,925 in three seasons, 1953-56 (before freshman NCAA eligibility). He averaged 27.5 per game during his career--including 28.6 as a senior. Both are Morehead State records.

I've literally never heard of either of these guys.

In 1963, Harold Sergent made All-America and earned Ohio Valley Conference player of the year.

I've never heard of this guy.

During the 1983-84 season, Morehead State at one point won 12 straight games en route to a 25-6 finish, including an OVC tournament championship. Coach Wayne Martin was named OVC coach of the year (for the second time in three seasons). Earl Harrison and Jeff Tipton were named All-OVC, and Pate Clements was named to the conference's all-freshman team. Morehead went to the NCAA tournament, beat North Carolina A&T by one and then bowed to Louisville, 72-59.

In the winter of 1983-84, I pretty much did nothing but watch college basketball once the NFL season was over. I still wasn't old enough to have a driver's licence, and I never went on one of those dates where a parent drove me and some girl to a movie or whatever. OK? The point is that I did nothing but watch television, and usually I watched sports.

And I've never heard of any of these guys.

Rooting for the Eagles last night as they put up a decent fight against top-seeded Louisville before losing 74-54 in the first round of the NCAA tournament, I realized just how little I knew about Morehead State basketball. Not only did I grow up near Murray, one of the OVC hotbeds, I also attended Western and wrote about basketball for the college and local newspapers in Bowling Green. Then, even after moving to Washington, D.C., and Cary, N.C., I made probably a dozen or more I-64 pitstops in Morehead, at one of the exit restaurants, the university cafeteria or the downtown Mr. Gatti's. I might've even gotten my haircut once in Morehead. Still, I knew next to nothing about the Eagles--except that, for some reason, Morehead State Guy Minnifield spelled his name differently than UK Dirk and U of L Frank and that Kyle Macy coached the Eagles for some seasons recently.

In 1993, before heading out on a trip around to each of Kentucky's 120 counties, I sent out postcards to all of the local tourism offices asking for information. I got back this handwritten note back from the Rowan County clerk:

"... As to history, that is a long, drawn-out affair. If you have some extra time here you might go to the public library here. They can fill you in on that. Our famous sports sons are Joe Magrane who went to school here, played ball, etc. He now pitches for St. Louis Cards. Steve Hamilton is now director of athletics at MSU. He was one of Morehead's best baseball players, pitcher, in the NCAA, also basketball NBA All-American. I'm not a sports person. I may have things turned around. He also coached MSU baseball for several years. Another 'son' is Phil Simms, star quarterback for N.Y. Giants. We also have a TV personality who fills in for Paul Harvey. Tom Martin, I think, is the name he goes by on the air."

In any event, last night I found the Morehead State men's basketball media guide and came up to speed. Before this season, Morehead State was 12-27 all-time against Louisville, 72-93 against Eastern Kentucky, 51-102 against Murray State, 31-72 against Western and 0-8 against UK. On the other hand, the Eagles were 27-4 against Berea. And Morehead has been bad news south of the border: 26-25 against Tennessee State, 21-12 against Tennessee-Martin, 51-49 against Middle Tennessee State and 66-61 against Tennessee Tech.

Morehead State's first season of men's basketball was 1929-30. The Eagles opened with a 25-37 loss to Sue Bennett College but finished 9-3.

Still thinking about the Eagles this morning, Virginia and I got out Basketball, The Dream Game in Kentucky to see what Dave Kindred had written about Morehead State back in 1976 (it's fun that Virginia, 8 weeks old Monday, is still little enough to enjoy any book that is being shown and read to her):

"Only those with iron will and strong heart survive in the Ohio Valley Conference. With Western, Eastern, Murray State and Morehead State as members from the beginning in 1948, the OVC became basketball's Hatfield-McCoy number. To confess admiration for an opponent was to risk confinement in a dark place. Maybe in some places basketball was a game. In Bowling Green, Richmond, Morehead and Murray, it was, in the words of the former Murray State coach Cal Luther, 'an emotional binge.' Luther said, "I've often wondered what an enterprising fellow could steal during one of our home games. The whole city police force attends the games, along with half of the state police. I'm aware of this because most of them call me for tickets and I oblige where I can because it never hurts to be friends with the law.' Life in the OVC, Luther decided after 14 seasons, was 'pure hell.'

"Adron Doran, then president of Morehead State and husband of Mignon, who played the organ at home games in a roller-rinkinsh, 5,000-seat arena, once stalked an official on the court during a game. (A photographer made pictures of the happening; Doran caused the film to be confiscated and exposed.) Struck in the face by thrown ice, Western Kentucky athletic director Johnny Oldham, Diddle's successor as coach, said he wasn't going back to Morehead anymore. Why? 'Because I've been there,' Oldham said.

"... In 1952 Morehead State and Tennessee Tech and Tennessee Tech began a game at 8:15 p.m. It ended at 10:45. In legend this was 'The Night the Clock Stood Still.' The Tennessee Tech timepiece was suffering a bad case of the slows, and the teams played 60 minutes of basketball, not 40. Eight Morehead players fouled out, leaving only four on the court. Resourceful coach Ellis Johnson, the old Ashland flash of '28 and UK All-America, peeled off his sports coat, undid his tie and ran to the scorer's table, where he pounded his fist and announced, 'Coach Johnson in for Morehead!' Recountings that value color over truth had Johnson dashing up and down the court with the players the last minute and 40 seconds. The next year, on arrival at Tennessee Tech, Johnson used the arena microphone to ask all spectators to 'please synchronize your watches.' That was Johnson's last year in the OVC.

"On a foundation laid by Ellis Johnson in a 15-year coaching job (176 victories, 158 losses), Morehead State came to rank second to Western Kentucky in number of OVC championships won or shared. Bobby Laughlin's teams won four championships in 12 seasons. Bob Wright added one and Bill Harrell won two before getting into trouble with Adron Doran. With some important OVC games coming up, Harrell left his top six players at home when Morehead went to Illinois State for a non-conference game. Illinois State cried fraud, embarrassed Morehead nationally--the affair was entitled 'The Missing Six'--and Doran didn't resist when Harrell said he would resign. Morehead shared the league championship that year. Crazy league."[1]

Basketball, The Dream Game in Kentucky is a great book.

[1] Kindred, Dave Basketball, The Dream Game in Kentucky (Louisville: Data Courier, 1976) 124-126.