The Near Miss

May 26th, 2008 | webmaster | Sports

By Tommy Chandler

In golf it’s a lip out for the win on the seventy-second hole; in baseball it’s hitting the foul pole in deep left field for strike two, behind by three, bases loaded, only to be followed by a called third strike; in football it’s a field goal to win that hits the upright and bounces away; and in fishing it’s the big one that snapped the line just as it was being hauled in the boat. But, for the 1960 boy’s basketball team at Bladenboro High School it was The Near Miss! At least that’s what I’m going to call it!

I was an eighth grader then, soaking up all the hype of entering high school at the end of summer. I didn’t know what that would bring, but the excitement of graduating from kiddie school and moving in with the big boys and girls was the dream of things I could only imagine. I couldn’t wait!

My brother, Joe, was a senior that year. He’d soon be off to college and the start of a new time in his life. Graduating from high school was a ticket out of town for many, a new start for all who traveled down that road. And soon, even though four years didn’t sound all that soon, I’d get my chance.

But, the winter of ’59-’60 was very special for everyone in Bladenboro. Hurricane Hazel and the Beast were long since behind us. There seemed to be nothing more exciting that year than what was happening with the boys and girls basketball teams at good old BHS, home of the Bulldogs. What happened was, to say the least, unbelievably unique and unheard of in these parts.

Bladenboro’s hated rival Elizabethtown was coming off a near miracle football season in that it was undefeated and unscored on until the state championship game, which it lost. Was there any way the Bulldogs could duplicate such success? The answer was YES!

Ernest Atkinson had come to town in the mid-50’s to teach and coach young and impressionable boys and girls who worked hard to don the blue and gold uniforms of our honored school. And with him came good things that had never happened quite like those that were about to come down the pipe.

Prior to the ’60 season, Coach took the ’59 boys team to places it hadn’t been to, what seemed like, a lifetime of seasons. After winning the conference championship with a team made up of Jerry Lennon, Billy Smith, Richard Ransom, Jon Hasbrouck and others they moved on to the district playoffs in Clinton.

Their first game found them beating an undefeated Hobbton team many thought would go on to take the state championship. But, Coach Atkinson’s boys had other ideas, and dreams. They took out a taller and arguably more talented Hobbton team and moved on to a Saturday night game with Clinton. They found themselves with a twenty point lead at half-time only to see it crumble to ten after the third quarter. Terry Holland, the star center who later played at Davidson, took over the game and Bladenboro came up short losing their shot at the state playoffs. I cried, and so did a lot of other people. The photos I have at home remind me of that disappointing night.

The 1960 team had new stars in Robert Hester, Branton Edwards, Ronnie Cox, Joseph Hall, James Parrish, and others and with no drop off in talent and desire. Many thought it was impossible to do what they did that year winning all twenty regular season games and two tournament victories to take the Waccamaw Conference crown and establish a 22-0 record.

What made things more unique was that the girls team, coached by football genius Frank Thompson, the man who took Bladenboro from 6-man to 11-man football, went through the season with a perfect 22-0 season as well. Unfortunately, there were no district or state tournaments to play. Their season was done. But, let’s also remember that Coach Thompson
guided the ‘61 team to another 22-0 season giving him a 44-0 streak. Not bad!

The ’60 boy’s team moved on Winston-Salem only to find who else but Hobbton, a nine loss team many considered not worthy of being there, standing in their way and poised for revenge. And they got it! What was originally a late game for the Bulldogs was changed at the last minute to the early game. Our fans didn’t get there to the game until about half time and found the score decidedly in Hobbton’s favor. We all figured the boys were against the world all by themselves because there were no fans in the stands. The second half was much different but the Hobbton lead was too much to overcome. Hobbton went on to win the state championship that weekend. Bladenboro’s end came with winning the third-place consolation game over a heavily favored Winston-Salem team.

And therein is the Near Miss, one that came long before the championship of the early ‘90’s and this year’s WBHS title. Congrats to the Knights, by the way!

Many of us won’t forget our team’s run to notoriety. I haven’t heard much about it since, maybe it’s just been too long. But, to me, the memories are still fresh. My brother’s black and white photos of that weekend are still in the family photo drawer and I see them from time to time reminding me of generations long ago.

If you’re my age or older and were in Bladenboro in 1960 you’ll undoubtedly remember the shear enjoyment of watching our teams come away with victory after victory, night after night. No groans, no moans, no worries of inflation, high gas prices, high unemployment, or significant crime, just genuine excitement week after week for an entire sports season. Sure, Vietnam was out there, and we had boys over there. But, it seemed not to matter so much. At least it didn’t to most of us eighth graders.

These and other memories of Bladenboro are to be enjoyed and rekindled. The days when every storefront was a vibrant business to all who walked the streets six days a week are not quite the same so I’m told. But, the memories of the town and the young people playing sports for the school and sparing us from more important responsibilities will live on and on.

The Near Miss is long gone. But none of us who were there will ever forget it. The fiftieth anniversary is just around the corner and it’ll be great to see all the old guys. And maybe, just maybe the girls will be there, too. How could we ever forget them!

Go Bulldogs!