Monday (March 18) marks the 70th anniversary of a true David-and-Goliath basketball battle.
The Bowen Bulldogs faced the Chicago DuSable Panthers in the 1954 Illinois State High School Tournament. There was no division between big schools and little ones then.
DuSable had almost 2,200 students, compared with just 93 at Bowen. But fifth-year Coach Jim Lewis and his 10 players showed doubters and detractors just how great a small-town team can be.
The Bulldogs were Hancock County’s first entrant in the 47 years of the state basketball tourney. They got to the Sweet 16 by winning their own district, the Carthage regional and the Macomb sectional.
Bowen’s allotment of 553 tickets for the state tournament was scooped up fast, with some fans getting in line at four o’clock in the morning. The Jackson Funeral Home was overwhelmed with telephone calls after media and fans learned the unmarried Lewis had an apartment there.
The town gave the team a rousing send-off that stretched six miles to Augusta. Just about every business – from Peg’s Dairy Dipper to The Lyric Theatre – was closed for the game.
The Bulldogs stayed at the Inman Hotel in downtown Champaign, which is now an apartment building. The afternoon game took place before 7,000 fans at George Huff Gym. It’s still used as a sports center by the University of Illinois.
Bowen played well against heavily-favored DuSable, but the undefeated Panthers started to pull away late in the third quarter and won 87 to 64. Despite the defeat, the Bulldogs made quite the impression.
DuSable shot a then-record 110 times during the game. Two days later, they would lose to Mount Vernon in the state championship.
Bowen finished the season with a record of 30 wins and three losses. Lewis went on to coach and teach science at Augusta, LaHarpe and Macomb before finishing his career in Florida. He was named to the Basketball Museum of Illinois in 1982 and died in 2003.
Bowen and Augusta schools merged in 1970 to form the Southeastern school district.
*The players from the 1954 Bulldogs were John Henson, Don Totsch (pronounced TOE-ssh with a long “o”), Roger McMahan, Robert Bilderback, Max Scott, Robert Wells, Bill Welch, John Sowder, Harold Veach and Max Williams.
*WGEM Radio 1440 AM and 105.1 FM carried the Bowen game with Rick Weaver broadcasting. There is footage on YouTube of the championship game, but it does not involve Bowen.
BOWEN
Player FG-FGA FT-FTA Pts PF
Robert Bilderback 4 16 8 10 16 3
John Henson 3 20 4 4 10 4
Roger McMahan 4 6 3 6 11 2
John Sowder 3 6 1 2 7 0
Don Totsch 8 19 4 10 20 4
Robert Wills 0 0 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 22 67 20 32 64 13
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