Was the 1923-24 Lilly High School [or LWHS] basketball team the best in its 45-year history?



1923-24 team: William (Swites) Wheldon, coach; Leo (Spike) Smith, Les Piper, Paul (Red) Eckenrode, Hugh Conrad, Carmen (Piggie) Iappalucci, Julius Yingling, Martin George


… a little history of Lilly basketball


Just 25 years after their memorable season, members of what is arguably the greatest basketball team in its history met to recalled those years. 


The old clipping from 71 years ago, circa 1950s, shows members of that team and its coaches at a reunion in March. The story is one that is special because the team compiled the best record of any team in history. 


The Raiders, though they were not called by that moniker in 1924, started their basketball season in 1921. My dad was one of those first players, but it was not an easy task. 


The coach, or coaches


According to Pennsylvania school law, the coach of any athlete had to be a professional employee, either a teacher or a principal. Therefore, an unlikely man emerged to start the program in 1921. His name was Thomas (Prof) Duffy, but the irony is that Mr. Duffy, who hailed from the hard-coal regions of north-east Pa., had never played basketball. Nor did he know much about it. 


However, he was nominally the coach of the team,


Lilly High School’s first basketball team was organized by Mr. Duffy in 1921, his first year at the school. A local hall was rented, but after one week’s practice, the school was without a floor. The owners of the hall felt a game as rough as basketball should be played outside. As a result, all games were played away from home and practice, when possible, was held on the school playground. 


A hall was secured the following year, and Lilly has had smoother sailing since then. 


“ ’24 cage team among best in Lilly school’s history,” Johnstown Tribune, March 22, 1950


So, the true coach of the team was William (Swites) Wheldon, who worked for the state highway department. He was nominally Mr. Duffy’s assistant, but he handled the X’s and O’s.


Fast forward to 1923-24


That team had a starting team of Carmen (Piggie) Iappalucci, Hugh Conrad, both forwards; Leo (Spike) Smith, the big man, center; Les Piper and Paul (Red) Eckenrode, the guards. 


The location of the games was the Opera House in the Lower End of town, near where the GBU hall is presently located. 


The game was very different. After the teams scored, they would return to the midcourt for another jump ball. Consequently, the scores were much lower than in later years. 


What made the 1923-24 team, which compiled a 24-3 record, tough was that Spike Smith was big for his day, maybe 6-foot-1, and he was a bull under the bucket. The team actually had five guards who were very quick — the other four starters. 


How successful were they?


The story in the Tribune makes no bones about how good the team was,


LILLY — Lilly High School’s 1924 basketball squad, one of the first developed at the school, still rates as one of the greatest turned out here. 


The Red Raiders won 24 of 27 games during that campaign and met every school in the are with the exception of Johnstown High. Included on their schedule was Windber, Conemaugh, Westmont, Ferndale, Ebensburg, Boswell, Leechburg, Portage, Cresson, and Gallitzin. 


“ ’24 cage team among best in Lilly school’s history,” Johnstown Tribune, March 22, 1950


No team in LHS or LWHS history had as good a record as that team, even though the 1959 team reached the PIAA Class C state championship game. 


[In reality, the scholastic record of the team was 23-2. So, they really had only two losses.]


The biggest win


The greatest win in school history to that point was one against a college team,


Lilly also met the Juniata College junior varsity in a pair of contests, winning one …


Westmont and Boswell were the only scholastic teams to conquer the Raiders during the 1924 season, and both losses were absorbed in away games. The loss to Juniata was the only one suffered at home in four years — 1922, 1923, 1924, and 1925. It was later avenged, 27-21, on the Huntingdon High School court. The win over the college junior varsity was considered the greatest victory in the school’s young history. 


“ ’24 cage team among best in Lilly school’s history,” Johnstown Tribune, March 22, 1950


The team had a chance to earn its 25th win of the season against St. Joe’s of Renovo, but the game was cancelled because of the KKK riot on April 5.


Here is the link to that story,


http://hughbradyconrad.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-1923-24-lilly-high-school.html


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