The Gymless Wonders

The Gymless Wonders

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Lon Goldsberry was another of the Wingate greats of the early years.





Lon Goldsberry
            Lon Goldsberry was another in the line of outstanding student-athletes from Wingate in the early days of basketball.  He graduated from Wingate in 1916 as a four year letterman in basketball and baseball.   He was the captain of the 1920 team that won the National Interscholastic Basketball Championship and was named a High School All-American.    After graduating from Wingate, he went on to Wabash College where he quarterbacked the football team for four years even though he did not have the opportunity to play football in high school.  He was captain of the Wabash College National Champions in 1924 and a member of the Wabash 4th Wonder Five.  He also played baseball at Wabash and helped the team win the Midwest League Championship in 1922.  After graduating from Wabash, he coached at Shortridge for a while before returning to Wabash as an assistant football coach and head baseball coach.   Lon Goldsberry was inducted into the Indiana High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 1972.  He is also a member of the Wabash College Athletic Hall of Fame and the Montgomery County Basketball Hall of Fame.

Goldsberry HOF text
Alonzo E. Goldsberry
“Goldie” a High School All American
High School—Wingate High School 1920
College—Wabash College 1924
Coached at Shortridge, Wabash College, and South Bend Adams…Captained 1920 All-Star American Championship team in an interscholastic tournament…high school All-American…also captain of Wabash College team the won national championship… in ’24 his Wabash team won state championship…also starred in baseball in both high school and college…helped Wabash win the Midwest Baseball League championship…quarterbacked Wabash’s football team 4 years…officiated basketball and football for about 10 years after graduation…moved into coaching, first at Shortridge...assistant football and head baseball coach at Wabash.

Goldsberry HOF text
Alonzo E. Goldsberry
“Goldie” a High School All American
High School—Wingate High School 1920
College—Wabash College 1924
Coached at Shortridge, Wabash College, and South Bend Adams…Captained 1920 All-Star American Championship team in an interscholastic tournament…high school All-American…also captain of Wabash College team the won national championship… in ’24 his Wabash team won state championship…also starred in baseball in both high school and college…helped Wabash win the Midwest Baseball League championship…quarterbacked Wabash’s football team 4 years…officiated basketball and football for about 10 years after graduation…moved into coaching, first at Shortridge...assistant football and head baseball coach at Wabash.

Pictured at the right are the members of the 1917-18 Wingate basketball team that won the Sectional.  Front row, L-R are H. Irwin, H. Crane,  R. Carney, Lon Goldsberry, andH. Bell.  Back row, L-R are C. Crane, H. Kimbell, Coach John Blacker, and Marion Blacker.



 The top picture is a picture of the 1917-18 basketball team.  Lon Goldsberry is top right next to Coach John Blacker.  The bottom picture is a picture of the 1920 National Interscholastic Championship team.  Goldsberry is in the middle of the picture behind the player holding the ball.  John Blacker moved on to Crawfordsville and tried to recruit Goldsberry to play for Crawfordsville.  The player standing at the far left is Marion "Bake" Blacker (no relation to the coach).  He went along to Crawfordsville and lost his last year of eligibility as the IHSAA suspended both Crawfordsville and Wingate from the Association.  Goldsberry almost got swept up in the scandal.

After graduating from Wingate, Lon Goldsberry moved on to Wabash where he had an outstanding athletic career.  He was a four year letterman and member of the 1921-22 National Championship team labeled the 3rd Wonder Five.





Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Pete Thorn--One of Homer Stonebraker's teammates on the 1914 State Championship team was Lee Norman "Pete" Thorn who later who played on the 1921-22 National Championship team before enrolling at Wabash Collegwe where he became the only Wabash athlete to win an incredible 16 letters.

Raymond Robert "Gaumy" Neal was another outstanding Wingate athlete in the middle teens.

An artist's portrait of Gaumy Neal in a DePauw jacket hanging in the DePauw fieldhouse
This is a picture of the 1915 Wingate High School baseball team.  Pete Thorn is the first player on the left and Gaumy Neal is the second player on the left.  The basketball picture below is the 1915-16 team.  Pete Thorn is seated in the middle with the ball between his feet and Gaumy Neal is standing second from right.


Gaumy Neal
            Born Raymond Robert Neal in Mellott, IN, Gaumy graduated from Wingate High School in 1916.  He was an outstanding athlete and graduated in the same class with Pete Thorn.  After graduation, he and Pete went to Wabash College where Gaumy starred on the football team even though he had not had the opportunity to play in HS.  He was a four year letterman and captained the football team in his last year, 1919.  He transferred to Washington and Jefferson after his last year of football and played on the W and J team that went to the Rose Bowl and played the University of California in 1922.  There was no explanation of the fact that he played four years of football at Wabash then a year at Washington and Jefferson.  At any rate, he returned to Wabash and graduated in 1920 after lettering in basketball in 1918, 1919, and 1920.   He played professional football with the Akron Pros in 1922 and the Hammond Pros in 1924, 1925, and 1926.  He became head football coach at DePauw University in 1930 and coached until 1945 and had a career record of 79 wins, 34 losses and 7 ties. He coached a DePauw football team in 1933 that was undefeated, untied and unscored on.  The Tigers outscored their opponents 136-0 that year.
           
Gaumy Neal was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1977, the Wabash College Hall of Fame in 1984, the DePauw University Hall of Fame in 1986, and the Washington and Jefferson Hall of Fame in 2002.  When Chet Elson, a four year starter in football at DPU and a member of the 1933 undefeated team was inducted into the DePauw Hall of Fame, he paid Robert Raymond Neal the ultimate compliment.  He said, “Gaumy Neal fed me when I was hungry, housed me when I had no place to live, and helped me when I had no money.”  Elson who came to DePauw with $7 in his pocket considered Neal a principal influence in his life.
                         Coach Neal is shown below diagramming a play for his DePauw football team.
Shelter house at the south edge of Wingate dedicated to the memory of Raymond Robert "Gaumy" Neal.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Wingate High School Building dedicated in 1907. Horse drawn school hacks brought students to school. Another view of the first school building.

Wingate High School 1950
First School building at Wingate
Wingate High School in the horse and buggy days


Homer Stonebraker led Wingate High School to its first State Championship in 1913. The first team pictured is the 1911-12 team, Homer Stonebraker's sophomore year. The 1913 title game was a five overtime game won by Wingate over South Bend Central 15-14. Forest Crane made the winning basket and finished with 6 points. Homer had 9 points.


 
Jesse Wood was the coach of the 1913 State Championship team.  He is standing on the far left.  Homer Stonebraker is kneeling in the middle and John Blacker is on his left.


Another picture of the Championship 1913 team

Jesse Wood HOF text
Jesse Wood
Coached Wingate to 19013 State Championship
High School—Bedford
College—Indiana State 1910; Purdue 1917
A baseball and football player at Bedford, which he “left” in 1906…played basketball and football at Indiana State Normal in 1910…left that school to coach tiny Wingate High School in 1912 and ’13…in that second year, Wingate posted a 21-4 record despite playing without a gymnasium…won state championship 15-14, in a 5-overtime game in which the referee had ruled that the first team to score 2 points would be the winner,,,coached Rockville to 18-6 record a year later, before returning to school. 


John Blacker was the pitcher and captain of the baseball team and guard on the basketball team.