A sign in front of the Hutchinson Sports Arena advertises the National Junior College Basketball Tournament, which gets underway Saturday CREDIT RICHARD SHANK
By Richard Shank
Seventy-six years ago this week, in March 1949, the sporting eyes of the nation were on Hutchinson as the city hosted its first National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Basketball Tournament in Memorial Hall. The noon tipoff this Saturday will mark the 75th time the event has been held in Hutchinson. The 2020 tournament was canceled because of COVID-19.
With a seating capacity of 2,400 in 1949, Memorial Hall (then Convention Hall) was packed to the rafters with temporary seating set up on the stage to accommodate the overflow crowds. This past week, we attended a musical performance at Memorial Hall, and gazing out across the sprawling facility, it was easy to imagine how much excitement must have been generated in the old downtown palace. Memorial Hall is approaching its 114th birthday at a time when city leaders debate its preservation or demolition.
From what has been reported, the first NJCAA tournament was held in 1948 in Springfield, Missouri, with less than satisfactory results. Hutchinson Junior College Coach Charles Sesher, a legend in the coaching profession and a first-class promoter for the college he represented, suggested the tournament be moved to Hutchinson. Soon, Sesher signed up the American Legion to provide the manpower to make it happen and the venue to hold the games. And, as they say, the rest is history.
It has been reported that Hutchinson trailblazers Bob Gilliland, Bud Obee, and Guy Holt worked with Sesher to close the deal.
The tournament has produced its share of stories worth repeating. As the first tournament approached, the NJCAA faced a dilemma that needed to be solved with no time to spare. New York’s representative could not make the trip to Hutchinson because of a blizzard that had struck the East Coast.
Tournament officials drove across town and asked Sesher to suit up the Blue Dragons to fill the void, even though Hutchinson’s record was a paltry 10-9. The Hutchinson five made quick work of their first three opponents, each game earning the right to face Tyler, Texas, for the national championship, a game they lost 66-64 in what the local media dubbed a real “nail biter.”
When a team was unable to travel to Hutchinson in 1957, the locals were asked a second time to fill the void, and they won fifth place.
Kansas played a key role in developing the concept of large arenas and fieldhouses as venues for basketball games, and Salt City was at the forefront of that movement.
Thanks to Kansas State University President Dr. Milton Eisenhower (Ike’s brother), who worked with the school’s charismatic basketball coach, Jack Gardner, the school built Ahearn Field House, which was dedicated in 1951. At the time, it was the largest on-campus fieldhouse in the nation.
Hutchinson thought it would be wise to find a better spot to play the NJCAA tournament and passed a bond election for an approximately 6,500-seat arena on the Hutchinson Community
College campus. The Sports Arena was dedicated in 1952. Down the road in Wichita, Coach Ralph Miller moved across town from East High School to Wichita State, and plans were soon drawn for the fieldhouse, which now bears the name Charles Koch Arena.
Then, Kansas University in Lawrence joined the crowd-building Allen Fieldhouse, which was dedicated in 1955, and the new arena at Wichita State. Allen Fieldhouse was completed just in time to welcome superstar Wilt Chamberlain to the team. Sports writers from that era dubbed KU’s new fieldhouse “the house Wilt built.”
The management of the NJCAA tournament is, perhaps, much the same as when it started. Approximately 200 volunteers donate their time in a few dozen jobs, including parking, serving as a team host for the 24 teams playing in the tournament, singers for the national anthem, coordinators for half-time entertainment, workers in the concession stand, staff in the gift store, and others selling programs. As one volunteer was heard to say, “The NJCAA Tournament is, perhaps, Hutchinson’s finest example of teamwork, and no one who volunteers seeks recognition or pay.”
Ron Chadwick serves as Chairman of the tournament, having learned from his late father, Chad Chadwick, who was a volunteer for about a half-century. For Ron, the tournament chairman’s position almost becomes a full-time job three months before tip-off.
There is a one-day pause in games on Thursday, March 27, but most are up early to attend the American Legion Pancake Feed, an event that raises thousands of dollars for HCC student scholarships.
On the last day of the tournament, the event’s leadership committee traditionally meets for breakfast, not to savor the success of the eight-day-long event, but to start the planning for
next year. In particular, the group wants feedback on needed improvements and what went right.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the American Legion, which has provided volunteers, some of whom work tirelessly to make the tournament run flawlessly like a well-oiled machine.
The American Legion’s motto is “Veterans Strengthening America.” In Hutchinson, the Lysle Rishel Post 68 has practiced what it preaches for three-quarters of a century. Legionnaires, you have done Hutchinson proud, and our community is grateful for all you have done and continue to do.
