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10A H Hamilton amilton Herald erald--News Thursday, November 4, 2021
Together again:
HHS honors 1952 champs
By Kymbirlee Jeschke
Friday was a special day for the four remaining seniors of the 1952 Lady Bulldog State Champion Basketball team. Hamilton ISD recognized Louise Young Taylor, Tommie Harlien McCollum, Mary Jo McKandless Gromatzky and team manager Ruby Jones for their accomplishment 70 years ago at the pep rally Friday morning. While McCollum, Gromatzky and Jones live in Hamilton, Taylor, who lives in Arkansas, made a special trip for the reunion. The ladies were escorted by family members who worked together to make the reunion happen. “We just wanted this to be special for them,” said Joe Raibourn, Taylor’s nephew and reunion organizer. His cousin, Shirley Lewis, brought in the 1952 trophy complete with the net that was cut down after the state win. After the pep rally, the ladies visited their old gym, the rock gym still used by elementary students today. “My little great-grandson says, ‘Nanna I went over to the rock gym today,’” said McCollum, whose grandson attends Ann Whitney Elementary. “He thinks that’s my gym.” McCollum and Gromatzky were team captains and starters on the ’52 team. McCollum was named to the 1A-2A All-State Team. “Tommie was a good ball handler,” said Gromatzky. The Hamilton HeraldNews called McCollum the
Staff photos/Kim Hinton FAB FOUR- The four surviving members of the Hamilton High School state championship basketball team were honored by Hamilton High School during the pep rally Friday. They are, l-r, Mary Jo Gromatzky, Ruby Jones, Louise Taylor and Tommie McCollum. Below, Asa Hamilton and Sparky display the trophy, which the ladies enjoyed seeing again. “state’s best ball handler” said Gromatzky. in Gregory Gymnasium in and gave them her address. and stated her “fine dribbling “We’d never been out any- Austin. She got letters from this guy and floor work was one of the where,” added Jones. “We “Anne, Mary and I were for years.” outstanding features of the were just a bunch of country hanging out of the win“We had fried chicken tournament.” kids.” dows. There wasn’t any air for breakfast,” remembers “It was a lot of fun-lots of “We loved every minute conditioning then. Some Gromatzky. “Ted was a fun memories,” said McCollum. of it,” said McCollum. boys came by and asked my coach. He liked to treat us “When we went to state, I The team stayed at the his- name,” remembers Jones. good, and he loved to win.” In addition to McCollum, hadn’t been out of Hamilton,” toric Driskill Hotel and played “I told them Hallye Johnson
FALL BACK
Taylor, Gromatzky and Jones, the undefeated team consisted of Barbara French, Anne Witty, Nancy Roberts Panell, Vada Raibourn West, Mary Scott, Elwanda Smith Barcroft, Hallye Johnson Bottlinger, sponsor Mary Garrett and Coach Ted Jones. According to The Hamilton Herald-News, they won the district 22-AA title with 653 points scored against opponents in 12 games. Hamilton beat West Columbia 43 to 21 in the quarter finals before topping Comanche 33 to 25 in the semi-finals. Hamilton faced Morton, who boasted a 28-1 record, in the finals. The Lady Dogs claimed the state title with a 7-19 victory. Manning, a 6’2” freshman, was high scorer with 15 points. Gromatzky scored 10 points, and McCollum scored 2 points. It was a different time for women’s basketball. “We played three forwards and three guards on two ends of the court,” said Gromatzky. “There were no assistant coaches,” said McCollum, adding that Jones coached both boys and girls. According to the February issue of the Interscholastic Leaguer, 1952 was only the second year of the girls’ state basketball tournament. After their big win, the ladies were celebrated with eight banquets for their accomplishments. In March, they were recognized by UIL as one of the top 100 state teams in the last 100 years.
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