McPherson Globe Refiners

Last updated

McPherson Globe Refiners
Leagues AAU 1934–1936
Founded1933
Folded1937
Arena McPherson Convention Center, McPherson, Kansas
Capacity1,000
Team colors Red, white
  
OwnershipLario Oil & Gas Company
Championships1936 AAU Tournament 1st
1935 AAU Tournament 2nd
1936 US Olympic tryouts 2nd

The McPherson Globe Refiners were an amateur basketball team in the 1930s. The Refiners contributed six members to the 1936 United States men's Olympic basketball team, the first team to win the Olympic gold medal. [1] [2]

Contents

History

Due to an oil discovery in McPherson County, Kansas, in the late 1920s, [3] Lario Oil & Gas Company had its subsidiary, the Globe Oil & Refining Company, constructed an oil refinery in McPherson. [4] The refinery was built in 1933, and soon was producing 200,000 gallons of gasoline per day. This output necessitated a marketing campaign to promote the growing retail gasoline business. Lario, like many in the early radio days and before television, sponsored AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) basketball teams to generate excitement for their product in the sport sections of widely read newspapers. For a small sponsorship fee, Lario Oil & Gas was able to reach many more consumers than by conventional advertising. [5]

1933–34 season

In its first year, the Globe Refinery started modestly with town team basketball drawn from the community, population 5,000. The Globe Refiners found success against other town teams from the surrounding area, and got a measure of themselves with stiffer competition in the form of AAU affiliated teams. The AAU teams offered players a steady depression-era job, and the opportunity for those who had used up college eligibility to continue to improve their game skills. The AAU teams also allowed individuals to retain their amateur status. The Refiners entered the 1934 AAU National Tournament where they were bounced out in an early round. [6]

1934–35 season

Enter Gene Johnson, a fiery and innovative AAU coach to make his sales pitch to Lario management. For an outlay of $1,500, Johnson promised to recruit, train, and coach the Globe Refinery team to national success. Lario would get outstanding publicity and marketing value, and Johnson would get back to his native Kansas, where he earlier found success coaching at Wichita (State) University. [7]

Johnson gathered top talent in the form of Joe Fortenberry as well as several players Johnson coached as Wichita Shockers. Fortenberry had leaping ability, and ran the court well for a 6'8" center. Johnson had another coach-on-the-floor, as his brother Francis directed both the zone pressure and fast break attacks. The attacking play upset many basketball traditions, which in the sport's first 40 years, was a slow and methodical game. The McPherson Globe Refiners were criticized for playing "bad" basketball with its fast and aggressive style. [8] But in the tough AAU Missouri Valley League, the McPherson Globe Refiners won outright against more noteworthy rivals from Denver and Kansas City. [9]

The Globe Refiners carried this success to a second place finish in the 1935 AAU National Tournament. [10]

1935–36 season

The Globe Refiners season started with high hopes, and by August 1936, a farm boy from McPherson County Kansas, Bill Wheatley, accepted the first Olympic gold medal from another Kansan, Dr. James Naismith. [11] [12] [13] The McPherson Globe Refiners played a national schedule with barnstorming road trips to Louisiana, Washington, DC, and Madison Square Garden in New York City. Along the way to a 40 win, 6 loss year, the Refiners won the AAU Missouri Valley League for a second year running. [14]

By mid-March, the McPherson Globe Refiners were the favorites in the AAU National, contested in Denver's City Auditorium. Naismith presided over the opening ceremonies, delivering his take on the game he invented some 45 years earlier to the 500 competitors divided among 54 teams. [15] Before sold out crowds, the Refiners won matches in the opening rounds knowing that getting to the AAU Final meant entry into the US Olympic tryouts, and the chance to make the 1936 US basketball team. The Globe Refiners triumphed in the AAU semi final over the Kansas City Trailers securing their tryouts berth, then beat the Universal Pictures Universals 47 to 35 in the 1936 AAU Final. [16]

1936 US Olympic tryouts

Since basketball first became an Olympic medal sport in 1936, a new and national playoff system was developed for the US basketball team selection. The amateur ruling bodies devised a 10 regional district playoff system for college and university entrants, which later evolved into the March Madness of the NCAA's Final Four. Joining Universal Pictures and the McPherson team in Madison Square Garden were the five colleges advancing from the district playoffs: [17]

As winner of the YMCA National, the Wilmerding (PA) YMCA team earned the eighth and last slot. The quarter final winners were McPherson outscoring Temple, Universal Pictures over Arkansas, Washington beating DePaul, and the YMCA team besting Utah State. The semi final games were important because the US Olympic team would be chosen from those two winners. In the opener, the Universal movie men from California beat Wilmerding by 13, 42–29. [18] The Globe Refiners qualified by out-running Washington 48 to 30. In an all AAU and extremely close final, Universal Pictures prevailed 44–43 over McPherson. [19] [20]

The 1936 United States Olympic Basketball team were an assembly of seven Universal Pictures Universals, six McPherson Globe Refiners, and one Huskie from Washington's third place team. On the strength of his team's tryout victory, Jimmy Needles became the head coach of the first United States men's Olympic basketball team, with Gene Johnson serving as his assistant. [17]

Notable players

McPherson Globe Refiners legacy

Related Research Articles

McPherson, Kansas City in McPherson County, Kansas

McPherson is a city in and the county seat of McPherson County, Kansas, United States, in the central part of the state.

Phog Allen American football and basketball coach

Forrest Clare "Phog" Allen was an American basketball coach. Known as the "Father of Basketball Coaching," he served as the head basketball coach at Baker University (1905–1908), the University of Kansas, Haskell Institute—now Haskell Indian Nations University (1908–1909), and Warrensburg Teachers College—now the University of Central Missouri (1912–1919), compiling a career college basketball record of 746–264. In his 39 seasons at the helm of the Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball program, his teams won 24 conference championships and three national titles. The Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively recognized Allen's 1921–22 and 1922–23 Kansas teams as national champions. Allen's 1951–52 squad won the 1952 NCAA Tournament and his Jayhawks were runners-up in the NCAA Tournament in 1940 and 1953. His 590 wins are the most of any coach in the history of the storied Kansas basketball program.

Jim Pollard American basketball player and coach

James Clifford Pollard was an American professional basketball player and coach. As a player in the National Basketball Association (NBA), Pollard was considered one of the best forwards in the 1950s and was known for his leaping ability, earning him the nickname "The Kangaroo Kid". A five-time NBA champion and four-time NBA All-Star, Pollard spent his entire eight-year professional career with the Minneapolis Lakers.

Bob Kurland American basketball player

Robert Albert Kurland was a 7 feet (2.1 m) American basketball center, who played for the two-time NCAA champion Oklahoma A&M Aggies basketball team. He led the U.S. basketball team to gold medals in two Summer Olympics, and led his AAU team to three national titles. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

James R. Needles was an American basketball coach best known for being the United States' first Olympic basketball coach in 1936.

Arthur C. "Dutch" Lonborg was a basketball, American football and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator.

William C. "Skinny" Johnson was an American basketball player during the 1930s. As a 6-4 (192 cm) center Johnson was among the tallest players of his time. The Oklahoma City native attended the University of Kansas (1929–33), where he was a three-year letterwinner under coach Phog Allen. He was named First-Team Big Six Conference twice as well as Second-Team Big Six Conference (1931) once. During the 1930s he played amateur basketball with several AAU teams. He briefly coached collegiate basketball at Cleveland Chiropractic College (1937) in Kansas City, Missouri as well. On May 2, 1977, Johnson was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player.

The following are the basketball events of the year 1993 throughout the world.

Joe Fortenberry American basketball player

Joe Cephis Fortenberry was an American basketball player who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics. He was a captain of the American basketball team, which won the gold medal in the first Olympics to include basketball.

The following are the basketball events of the year 1936 throughout the world.

Bud Browning American basketball coach

Omar M. "Bud" Browning was an American basketball coach. In 1948, he became the United States' second Summer Olympics men's basketball head coach. Browning led 1948 USA team to a final record of 8–0, en route to a gold medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics basketball tournament, in London. Browning became the winning-est coach in AAU tournament history, when his teams won AAU championships in 1962 and 1963.

Jimmy McNatt

James Carlos McNatt was an All-American basketball player for the Oklahoma Sooners and the AAU's Phillips 66ers. At Oklahoma, McNatt led his team to the first-ever NCAA Final Four in 1939, and at Phillips 66, McNatt guided the 66ers to four consecutive AAU national championships. He was a two-time All-American at Oklahoma and a four-time AAU All-American for Phillips 66. The speedy player came to be known by his nickname “Scat” McNatt, a moniker originally traced back to the term “Boy Scats” which sportswriters had used to describe McNatt's fast-breaking, sophomore-led 1937-38 Oklahoma Sooners basketball team. McNatt grew up in Norman, Oklahoma, attended Norman High School, and then opted to stay in his hometown to play basketball for the University of Oklahoma.

Gene Johnson (coach)

Eugene Raymond Johnson was an American football and basketball coach. Some sources list him as the head coach of the 1936 United States Olympic Basketball team and other sources give that honor to Jimmy Needles and state that Johnson was the assistant coach. His innovations in basketball include being credited with creating the full court press.

AAU Mens Basketball All-Americans

The Amateur Athletic Union Men's Basketball All-Americans were players who competed in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) between 1920–21 and 1967–68 and were chosen as the best players in the league during their respective seasons. Founded in 1888, the Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit, volunteer, sports organizations in the United States. It is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.

Phillips 66ers

The Phillips 66ers were an amateur basketball team located in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and sponsored and run by the Phillips Petroleum Company. The 66ers were a national phenomenon that grew from a small-town team to an organization of accomplished amateur athletes receiving national and worldwide attention. Under the sponsorship of the company's owner, Frank Phillips, the team, which began playing in 1919, participated in the Amateur Athletic Union, the nation's premier basketball league before the National Basketball Association. Between 1920 and 1950, some of the strongest basketball teams in the United States were sponsored by corporations—Phillips 66, 20th Century Fox, Safeway Inc., Caterpillar Inc., and others.

The following are the basketball events of the year 1991 throughout the world.

The following are the basketball events of the year 1988 throughout the world.

The 1936 United States men's Olympic basketball team competed in the Games of the XI Olympiad in Berlin, representing the United States of America, and was coached by Jimmy Needles of the Amateur Athletic Union's Universal Pictures team. Gene Smith of Wichita University assisted Needles, while Joe Reilly served as the team's director. 1936 was the first year that basketball was an official medal sport. The U.S. won the first gold medal, defeating Canada, 19–8, in a gold medal match played outdoors on a clay and sand court in the rain. James Naismith, the game's inventor, watched many of the 1936 Olympic basketball matches, and helped award medals at the end of the basketball competition.

Vickers Petroleum

Vickers Petroleum Company was an oil company founded by John A. (Jack) Vickers, Sr. In 1918, Vickers established a refinery in Potwin, Kansas to process the output of recently discovered oil fields in Butler County.

References

  1. ↑ Hughes, Rich (2011). Netting Out Basketball 1936. Victoria, BC Canada: FriesenPress. pp. 49–102.
  2. 1 2 Cunningham, Carson (2009). American Hoops: US Men's Olympic Basketball from Berlin to Beijing . Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. pp.  1–28.
  3. ↑ Miner, Craig (1987). Discovery! Cycles of Change in the Kansas Oil & Gas Industry 1860-1987. Newton, KS: KIOGA – Mennonite Press. p. 185.
  4. ↑ "Globe Builds the McPherson Refinery".
  5. ↑ Grundman, Adolph (2004). The Golden Age of Amateur Basketball . Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. pp.  1–25.
  6. ↑ Hughes, Rich (2011). Netting Out Basketball 1936. Victoria, BC: Friesen Press. pp. 66–69.
  7. ↑ Letter to Gene Johnson, June 1, 1934; in the Linn and Mary Peterson Collection; McPherson Public Library; McPherson, KS.
  8. 1 2 "Olympic Basketballers". Time Magazine pages 63–64. April 13, 1936.
  9. ↑ Grundman, Adolph (2004). The Golden Age of Amateur Basketball . Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. pp.  38.
  10. ↑ "Big Time Basketball". McPherson Daily Republican. March 25, 1935. p. 7.
  11. ↑ Rains, Rob (2009). James Naismith: the Man who Invented Basketball . Temple University Press. pp.  161.
  12. ↑ "Olympic Basketball's Muddy Beginnings". International Olympic Committee. August 28, 2017.
  13. ↑ "US Olympic Basketball Team Wins Gold in Berlin". Sports History Today.
  14. ↑ "McPherson Clinches Title". McPherson Daily Republican. March 2, 1936. p. 1.
  15. ↑ "AAU Tournament". McPherson Daily Republican. March 18, 1936. p. 7.
  16. ↑ Parsons, C.L. (May 1936). "1936 National AAU Basketball Tournament". The Amateur Athlete. pp. 7, 13.
  17. 1 2 Bingham, J. Lyman (1936). Spalding Official Basketball Guide 1936–37. New York: American Sports Publishing Company. pp. 72–75.
  18. ↑ Hughes, Rich (2011). Netting Out Basketball 1936. Victoria, BC: Friesen Press. pp. 167–189.
  19. ↑ "McPherson Had No Fire". New York Times. April 6, 1936. p. 25.
  20. ↑ Bingham, J. Lyman (1936). Olympic Games Basketball Report in the Report of the American Olympic Committee Games of the XI Olympiad. p. 168.
  21. ↑ Elliott, Mal (August 21, 1983). ""Golden Legacy: Victories in 1936 Olympics made name for Kansas' Basketball Prowess"". The Wichita Eagle. p. 3D.
  22. ↑ Eugene R. Johnson file notes; Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.
  23. ↑ Daley, Arthur J. (March 10, 1936). "Awesome Kansas Giants Reverse Basketball Lay Up Process". The New York Times .
  24. ↑ Grundman, Adolph (2004). The Golden Age of Amateur Basketball . Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. pp.  39 and 46.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.