By Bill Herr

This is the second in a series of four columns about the four greatest Pirate men's basketball games I ever saw. In the first column, Ron Lora and Jim (Spike) Berry wrote about the game against State-Ranked Bellefontaine (Fourth in Class A) in which the Pirates prevailed in the old Bluffton High School gym. In this column Spike Berry writes about a second game in that same 1954-1955 year, the tournament game with Bluffton going against undefeated Willshire.

The Bluffion-Willshire Game

Spike Berry: Thirteen teams played in the Non County Tournament with three teams going to the District at the Celina Field House. The Bluffton Pirates made the trip as one of the three teams, the first trip for the Pirates since 1942. We played the game at the Celina Field House, and 69 years later the Celina team still plays there.

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Our opponent was the Wildcats from Willshire. They are now a part of the Parkway School District. There was a lot of hype for the Willshire game. There was a great deal of excitement with fans, students, players and coaches. Willshire had a great team ranked third in the State as a class "B" team. There were only two classes, A and B. The Wildcats record was 22-0 and they were not tested the whole season. They were led by a 6 foot 11inch (yes, I said 6-11) center by the name of Gary Kesler. That's when the foul line was shaped like a key and was close to the basket.

We had a great week of practice as Jack Fields and I talked Coach Joe Harris into allowing us to run and fast break. Kesler was averaging 28 points per game but was out of shape and could not keep up. He was the All-Ohio big man. Coach had me jump center, as he thought Kesler would tip the ball to our big guys. When we went to the center circle I was looking right at his belt buckle. He laughed and he was actually eating a candy bar.

When the game started we started to run and run we did. We raced to a 21-6 lead because of our fast break. The big guy was sucking up air. We were still up by 10 points at the half. In the locker room at half Coach Harris wanted to sit on the lead. Jack and I still wanted to run, but Coach was still the Coach.

Slowing it down allowed Kesler to breathe again. Willshire caught up with us and then we had to foul and lost 64-54. It was a great game. The moral of the story is once you start running don't stop.

Bill Herr: The Bluffton fans were ecstatic in the first half against Willshire as the Pirates ran off to a large lead. It was just as agonizing the second half as Willshire crept up and eventually took the lead. But the Pirates gave the Wildcats all they could handle and as Spike indicated it was a great game. In the next season, the 1955-1956 season, Fields, Berry and Lora were on the All Western Buckeye League team. 

Some may wonder how that Pirate team of 1954-1955 would compete against the top teams of today. Here is a rundown on the athleticism of the starters on that team. Spike Berry was the first string quarterback on the Pirates football teams. At Bluffton College he quarterbacked football teams that were undefeated four straight years. Jim Matter was offered a full football scholarship to Cincinnati University. He was a rugged fullback. In 1956 Joe Urich was the best middle linebacker in the Northwest Conference and quarterbacked the Pirates his senior year. The team was the first Pirate football team to win the Northwest Conference title, having tied Elida for that honor. He went to Miami University of Ohio on a full football scholarship. Jack Fields didn't attend a college, but he was considered the best running back in the Northwest Conference. Ron Lora played tackle for the Pirates football team because he had trouble seeing at night. But at Bluffton College he used contacts and earned All-Mid-Ohio League honors as an offensive end.

That is why I believe the Pirate basketball team of 1954-1955 was a great team and could compete with the excellent basketball teams of today. And in my opinion they played in two of the greatest Pirate games ever.

Bill Herr taught high school mathematics and science for 32 years. After retiring from teaching, he began a nursing home ministry. He served as chaplain at a nursing home for 24 years. He has since written columns relating to sports memories from high school experiences and columns relating to experiences at the nursing home.