It’s mid-March in Indiana, so that means “Hoosier Hysteria” and “March Madness” are in full swing. With the downright balmy weather we had for most of winter, perhaps you’ve gotten plenty of bonus outside time to work on your hook shot.
As one of the resident hoops fans on staff at the Bartholomew County Public Library, I wanted to share with you some great local resources on basketball that we have available.
If you’re interested in the history of the game on the high-school level, take a trip to the Indiana Room at the main library. A wide-ranging resource on the topic is the book, “Hoosiers All” by Emerson Houck (Indiana Room 796.323 Hou). In addition to providing a history on the development of the game in the state and discussing some of the dominant teams in the history of the Indiana High School Athletic Association, the author really enjoys discussing the mascots and other team name quirks, such as the Shoals Jug Rox, the Frankfort Hot Dogs, the Logansport Berries and the Washington Hatchets.
The book closes with several informative appendices, and the one on his favorite mascot names actually features all three Bartholomew County public high schools.
He mentions the Jets, the Olympi-Annes and the Bull Frogs as a non-basketball honorable mention. Since it is currently boys tournament season, you may also want to check out the book “Tourney Time” by Bill May (Indiana Room 796.323 May). It covers every game in the boys IHSAA tournament of the single-class era.
As I’ve gone to basketball games for my family and local high school teams, one of my favorite parts is seeing all the classic gyms: the different styles of architecture, their sheer size, the historic mementos and much more. As you might know, all but one of the 15 largest high school gyms in the country are located in this state.
The book “Hoosier Temples” by Donald Hamilton (Indiana Room 796.323 Ham) features classic photographs of these gyms and tells the story of their different design features.
Who is the biggest basketball name associated with Columbus? Chuck Taylor would be on the short list.
Read through the title “Chuck Taylor, All Star” by Abraham Aamidor (Indiana Room Biography, Taylor). Before Taylor helped patent the signature Converse “All-Star” shoes, still popular today and experiencing a recent local resurgence, he was a basketball player right here in Columbus. This book details his life as a player, promoter and ambassador for the game.
Wanting to do some local research on basketball here in Columbus? The Republic has now been digitized and the public library now has searchable access to the full run of the newspaper. Find out what the local teams have done through the years or relive your own playing glory days.
Be sure to also explore the library’s online resources for great reads on basketball and sports in general. Our resources page (mybcpl.org/ resources) has eBooks, audiobooks and more to download. We have services such as Overdrive and Hoopla for your online book needs and Zinio for reading current magazines online. Let us know if you need help finding your next great read.
And enjoy the madness.
