Last game Almont’s Church Street gym

Late in the evening of April 18, 1927, a fire was discovered in the school on Church Street. By the time the fire was put out, the school building was a total loss.

The community passed a bond issue to replace the school building. The design for the new school was state-of-the-art for the late 1920s. It included indoor restrooms, water fountains, terrazzo floors, science lab, library, kindergarten room with a built-in goldfish pond, and a combination auditorium and gymnasium.

Compared to today’s gymnasiums, the 1927 gym was extremely small. The stage was on the south end of the gym floor. When a play was performed on the stage, the gym floor would be covered with folding chairs and be the primary seating for the play. There was also seating in the balcony at the north end–six or seven rows of seats–and a single row along the east and west walls.

The basketball court was only about 70 feet long and about 45 feet wide. There was just enough room along the east and west walls for a single row of folding chairs for the players and coaches. Sitting in those chairs required the players to sit up. If they slouched, their legs would extend out onto the court and trip the referees if one ran by. The stage curved out under the south basket. The south basket could be detached from the stage and swung up out of the way for the performances on the stage. The front of the stage was covered with a six-inch thick pad to protect the players if they ran into the stage. The other baskets–north end and the ones at mid-court on the east and west wall–were hung from the balcony railing.

Because of the small size of the court, the ten second line was not at the half-court line. There were two ten second lines that were located between the center court jump circle and the free-throw circles. Additionally, there was a dash line three feet in from the out-of-bounds line. When passing the ball in, the ball had to be caught inside the dashed line. The space between the dashed line and the out-of-bounds line was considered to be out-of-bounds until the ball was caught inside the dashed line.

At the time the building opened in 1928, it was one of only a few gymnasiums located in actual school buildings. Most schools played their basketball games in gymnasiums that were not part of their schools.

In 1964, the State Fire Marshall issued citations for a number of fire code issues. The net result of these citations was that the 1927 gymnasium had to be replaced. In 1965, the community passed a bond issue to add needed classrooms, cafeteria, heating plant, and a modern gymnasium. The addition was completed and ready for occupancy for the beginning of the 1967-1968 school year.

On February 14, 1967, the last Varsity basketball game was played in the 1927 gymnasium. The game was against the Brown City Green Devils. In early January, the Varsity had defeated Brown City by a score of 81 to 66. On this night, the team defeated Brown City by a score of 102 to 62–handing them their worst loss of the season. The victory moved the team into a tie for first place in the Southern Thumb Association with Capac and Armada with two games remaining in the season.

On that Tuesday night in February, the team took a 61 to 24 half-time lead and coasted to the win with the starting five playing less than half the game.

The 102 points marked the second time that the team had scored more than 100 points. On January 13, 1967, the team had defeated Dryden by a score of 105 (school Varsity record which still stands) to 61.

Dick McEwan and John Schulte were the leading scorers with 18 and 17 points respectively. Also in double figures were Bob Hamilton with 13, Al Currey with 12 and Frank Bacholzky with 10. Also contributing were John Bacholzky with 9, Paul Bowman 6, Jim Wade 4, Jim Barnett 3, and Russ Weyer with 2. Terry Wallace’s and Dale Duckert’s scoring are not reported in the newspaper article about this game but between them they scored eight points. Dale severely injured his ankle in the second quarter.

The team won the last two league games of the season against Dryden (75 to 50) and Memphis (67-61) and was co-champion of the league. This was the only league championship won during the 1960s.

The championship was a fitting end for the gymnasium which served the community for forty years.

Copies of the Almont Historical Society’s various books can be purchased by contacting Jim Wade at 810-796-3355 or jrwade49@ gmail.com or stopping by the museum on Saturdays from 1-4 p.m.