| Anderson High School Indiana State Runner-Up 1914 |
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| Leading Scorer Junior Mark McClure 13.3ppg |
| Team Captain Arlo Byrum |
| 1913-14 Season Record Opp-Score Noblesville 42-18 New Castle 29-18 Marion 29-12 Noblesville 43-11 Alumni 31-9 Lagro 60-16 Marion 27-35 Richmond 44-10 Wingate 23-21 Fairmont Acad. 29-31 Crawfordsville 27-29 Richmond 24-23 Kokomo 36-10 New Castle 47-10 Kokomo 16-30 Fairmont Acad. 32-18 State Tournement at Bloomington Marion 20-12 Tipton 22-15 Indy Manuel Tech 18-12 Rochester 19-9 Centerville 11-10 Wingate 8-36 Source: Anderson High School 1914 Yearbook, 'X-Ray' |
| Anderson High School has the distinction of being runner-up in the IHSAA state tournament more than other school. Seven times Anderson has been to the championship game only to fall just short of the ultimate prize in Indiana High School athletics. The first of those runner-up years was in 1914. This is a profile of that team. In March of 1914 Woodrow Wilson was the President of the United States. World War I was still months away from beginning and basketball fever was spreading like wildfire across the Hoosier state. In Anderson the 'old' Anderson High School building between 13th and 14th streets was brand new. The Wigwam and it's forerunner, the original Wigwam were yet to be dreamed of and the nickname of 'Indians' was yet to be adopted. The 1913-14 team was not a team of great physical attributes. There was no great size in either height or bulk. In fact the 1914 Anderson High School yearbook even stated that at the beginning of the year their prospects looked dark. However once the season began with a 42-18 whipping of Noblesville optimism began to quickly grow. The team was led by a most unlikely figure in 115lb junior, Mark McClure. The following lines from the 1914 yearbook are a great testimony of McClure's play and of his character. "Although not possessing a ponderous bulk, he has put his 115lb of energy and speed into each conflict and caged 89 field goals and 101 fouls(free throws), bringing out the applause in many a crowded gym.....Though not large or rough in play, he is an aggressive floor worker, with the ideal of team work before him..." Inspite of the early concerns about the team, Anderson won 12 of their 16 schelduled games and qualified for the state tournament at Bloomington. The State Tournament was a tough grind for Anderson due to their small size. But they fought though 5 victories in 2 days to reach the championship game against a much larger team from Wingate. The 1914 Anderson yearbook pointed out that Wingate outweighed Anderson 32lbs to a man. A 6th game in two days combined with the large and physical Wingate team proved to be way too much for Anderson. From the start Wingate had their way in the game won their second straight state title by a score of 36-8. In spite of the blowout the folks from Anderson were very proud of the accomplishment of their team and looked forward to a bright basketball future with their focus set squarly on the big prize as the closing lines in the 1914 yearbook read, "This year we have made a good record but we sincerely hope that another team may soon bring home the shield on which can so plainly be read, State Champions." It would be 21 years before Anderson's state championship dream was realized when they captured their first title in 1935. Before finally capturing the dream of being state champs they would twice more be runners-up in 1918 and 1921. The 1918 tournament being of particular heartbreak, losing the championship game in overtime. |
| 1913-14 Team Scoring Mark McClure Forward 279pts(89FG,101FT) Bernard Vermillion Center 145pts(46FG,53FT) Levi Hale Forward 125pts(60FG, 5FT) Rex Kessler Forward 44pts(22FG) Arlo Byrum Team Captain Guard 18pts(9FG) Alfred Olvey Forward 8pts(4FG) Paul Jones Guard 4pts(2FG) Roland Miller Guard 2pts(FG) Firman Davis Center 4pts(2FG) Source:Anderson High School 1914 Yearbook, 'X-Ray' |
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| Anderson High School's 1912 building. Home of the 1914 State Runner-Up team. Photo taken shortly after the arson fire in the summer of 1999. The building was razed shortly afterward. |