That was also the year we started the SRA reading program. Anybody remember that? The difficulty levels were color-coded. We took a pre-test, and then started at the appropriate level. We then worked our way up the color ladder. Did we have this program for part of the year up through the 8th grade? Also that year,for the first time since 1952, the Bobcats won the state "A" basketball tournament.
The 1962 team after they won the championship
Back: Mr. Hauschild, Dave Sogn (Mgr.) 21--Reed Sanderson Dave Brust 35--Bill Gamble Doug Lakman Don Dahl (glasses) John Murphy Bruce(?) Milfs (Mgr.) Head Coach Dal Eisenbraun
It looks to me that the players who did not play in that game still have on their warm-up shirts (they are black with a big red B). When we were in 8th grade, we wore old Bobcat uniforms from the 1950's. I think we were also given these same warm-up shirts for that season.
We boys looked up to many of those players. Promininet were Ron Otterness, Henry Nelson, Gary Schutjer, Jim Nelson, Bill Gamble, and Reed Sanderson. Other members were John Murphy, Don Dahl, and Doug Lakman. Otterness was a big guy, about 6" 7'. He also had big feet, about size 16. Word was that from the age of six through sixteen, his shoe size matched his age. I believe he was a second team all-state selection. He played at SDSU when Jim Marking was coaching. Coach Marking told us that he was criticized by the SDSU students so much that he played poorly at home when he started. Thus, he was a substitute at home. When they played out of town, however, he was much more relaxed, so he was given a starting position. Bill Gamble also played some at SDSU, but was not as successful on the court as he was in the classroom. I believe he was really smart. His father was an electrical engineering professor on campus. Both of them were juniors that year. They returned next year to earn second place. Henry Nelson probably would have scored four or five points more each game if the three-point shot were in effect back then. He could shoot from way out there. He was also a fine baseball player for the Legion team. Jim Nelson was the other junior that started. When we were on the JV basketball team in 67-68, Skip Webster, our coach, would sometimes bring in alumni for us to practice against. Jim came in one time, and Skip had me guard him. He was almost quick as Tom Osterberg. I did a terrible job defending him. Gary Schutjer is still around town. He could really jump. If memory serves correctley, he was first team all-state. Reed Sanderson was the oldest of the Sanderson brothers. Laun was a year ahead of us, and Jan was a year behind us. Mr. Hauschild once told us that Reed had been struggling with his free throws, so they altered his technique. It came in handy, as he made 7 out of 7 in that championship game, which the Cats won by three, 42-39. John Murphy was also a talented musician. He played with The Talismen, who were inducted into the South Dakota Rock and Roll Music Hall of Fame a few years ago. Kevin O'Connell's brother Pat was the drummer for that group. Don Dahl's brother Doug was couple of years ahead of us. Perhaps our association with him came from Little League baseball. Doug Lakman (pronounced lake-man) was my family's next-door neighbor. His nickname was skin-head because he had short hair. Her sister Patty was a year ahead of us in school. Doug's dad and my dad worked together. At suppertime, Mr. Lakman would generally come outside and whistle very loudly, signaling Doug and Patty to get home and eat. Mrs. Lakman was very instrumental in preserving the old high school a number of years ago. Some developers wanted to raze the building, but she and others believed it should be saved and used for commercial purposes. An election was held, and since the building is still standing, you can figure out the results. Our own Mark Kratochvil has his office in what used to be the 9th grade science room of Mr. Rykhus. When the school system hired me in 1973, my first room was the former sophomore biology room.
The players on that 1962 team were role-models in a way for some of us boys. We wanted to do the same thing when we were seniors. Fortunately, we were able to achieve that goal a year earlier. Unfortunately, we were unable to duplicate that feat as seniors. Nevertheless, we had a wonderful time and provided some entertainment for the students and fans.
The Brookings Register had a nice article on this 1962 team. http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=77&story_id=14249
The two members that were missing from the reunion in Las Vegas were junior Dave Brust and senior Tim O'Connor. One of my brothers married a girl in Dave Brust's class. She thought he was very handsome. When they had a reunion in 1987, she said he still was as handsom as ever. Tim O'Connor had a brother John, who was a senior when we were sophomores. The first basketball game for us that year was at Huron. John was one of the better players on that team, but they only won a couple of games all season. We won a close game with the Huron sophomores, but the varsity was soundly beeaten. Since we got on the bus first, we decided that the best thing we could do was to console them and tell them that they played hard. I think Lee inparticular singled out John for his performance. His older brother Tim seldom played for that 1962 team. He never seemed to get relaxed out on the court. He was quite small, but quick. He's not in the picture after they won the championship. Was he bitter about something? We also scrimmaged against him our JV year, and he ran circles around me. He was much better than I remember him from six years earlier.
The 1962 team at their Las Vegas reunion
Front: Bill Iverson, Ron Otterness, Bill Gamble, Gary Schutjer, Doug Lakman
Back: Don Dahl, Jim Nelson, John Murphy, Henry Nelson, Reed Sanderson and coach Dal Eisenbraun
If you read the article, they had a 25-year reunion in 1987. That was also the last year that the Brookings boys team won the state tournament. I was fortunate to have coached them when they were 8th graders. The juniors on that team made me look like a good basketball coach. We only lost one game that season. Had I not made a coaching blunder, it may have been even better.
A key member of that championship team of 1987 was a boy named Pete Leiferman. At 6"8', he was a force. Not only was he big, but he was strong. Working on the farm will do that. This Pete was the nephew of Pete Leiferman, who was a few years younger than we were, and whose family farmed near Aurora. His mother was Kathy Leiferman, a year behind us in school. His father was our Joe Jensen. Pete had gone to school in Elkton, but transferred to Brookings in the fall of 1986 for his junior year. Thus, Pete only attended school in Brookings for two years, just as his father did. An interesting sidelight to that 1986-87 season is that, because of scheduling changes, the team was playing one less game than it was allowed. To make up for that lost game, an alumni game was scheduled. Younger alumni would play the varsity, while older alumni would play the JV team. Tom Osterberg and Bernie Hendricks returned from our team. Bill Gibbons' son Bill played, as did Wayne VandenBerg. They were in their late 20's, were part of some strong Bobcat teams in mid-70s, had size to match up with Pete, and had respectable college careers. The alumni won. Even though Tom was past his prime, he put on a dazzling display of quickness, speed, agility, dribbling, and passing. He impressed everyone in attendance, especially the high school players. They were in awe that someone "that old" could display so much athletic ability.
This story brings to mind many tales of our elementary years. Do you remember all of your teachers at Hillcrest or Central? How about the principals? Did you ever get sent to the office? Did anybody faint during music concerts? Anyone ever get hurt seriously during gym class or at recess? As always, feel free to inform the rest of us.
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