Basketball team of 1934-35 plus the History of New Richmond Basketball and the 1934 team which won the only sectional.

History of New Richmond Basketball

            In the early days of basketball in Montgomery, New Richmond was very competitive featuring rugged farm boys who played the very physical game of basketball as well as any of the boys in the County.  They lost to Wingate in the first game of the sectional in 1915, 32-22, but due to the different format were able to play in the state tournament anyway and advanced to the Elite Eight.   They were led that year by their four year starter at center, James Alexander who had a single game high of 62 points which remains the all-time record for New Richmond.

            After losing to Wingate in the final game of the very first Montgomery County Tournament 16-14, the lads from New Richmond came back the second year and won its only County  Crown by defeating Waveland 31-23.  New Richmond won its only sectional in 1934 by beating Darlington 34-24.  The Cardinals had several three-year lettermen in 1934-1936, including Bob Montgomery, Harold Olin, Dick Bible, and Elmer Perry.  The Olin family of Coal Creek Township has been prominent in basketball since the early days of the Wingate State Championships teams of 1913 and 1914.  There were three Olin brothers, Leland, Lester and Leverett in that generation of Wingate athletics.  Leland and Lester made their marks in the athletic fortunes of both Wingate and New Richmond in the early days.  Leland played on the 1913 and 1914 State Championship teams and Lester whose interests ran more to football attended Butler University to play that sport under the legendary Tony Hinkle.  Lester returned to New Richmond to coach his nephew, Harold (Leland’s son) on the 1934 Cardinal team that won New Richmond’s only sectional title.  Harold then went to Central Normal College at Danville to get his degree and a teacher’s license.  He then coached at West Lebanon in Warren County and Jackson Twp. In Tippecanoe County before settling at Mt. Comfort where he coached baseball and track and started the football program which evolved into a very successful program at the consolidation with Vernon Twp., which became Mt. Vernon.  Harold’s brother, Darrell, played basketball at New Richmond in the late 30’s and then watched his son, Denny, become the third generation of Olins to play basketball in Coal Creek Township.  He played for the consolidation when New Richmond and Wingate consolidated to become Coal Creek Central Township in 1954.

            Some of their outstanding players of the late 40’s and early 50’s were Albert Bair, the career leading scorer, Dick Stephenson, Bob Matricia, and Charles Moody.  These four appear in the top ten in the major scoring categories of Career Points, Single Season Points, and Single Game Points.

Albert Bair 1953

            Al Bair was a throwback to the early days of New Richmond basketball.  He was a big, strong, farm boy, who could score with either hand and rebound with the best of them at 6’3.  In his 70 game career, he scored 780 points to top the career scoring list.  Bair tallied 331 points his senior year for and average of 16 points per game as he led the Cardinals to a 14-5 record under Coach Frank Allhands.  He had a high game of 29 points against Romney in his senior year and was a four year letterman for the Cardinals.

Dick Stephenson 1953

            Dick Stephenson was second on the career scoring list to his teammate Al Bair.  The two formed a powerful inside-outside combination.  Stephenson, also a four year letterman, scored 653 points in his 69 game career and tallied 289 his senior year for a 15.2 average.  He did his teammate one better in the 1952-53 season as he had a single game high of 30 points against Romney, which remains the Cardinal record.

Bob Matricia 1951

            Bob Matricia was another four year letterman and teammate of Bair and Stephenson for two years.  Matricia, the playmaker of the Cardinals during the early 50’s still was able to score 395 points in his 61 game Cardinal career.  He scored 225 points his senior year for an average of 11.8 per game.  He scored 26 points against Waynetown his senior year to place him on third all-time list behind his buddies Stephenson and Bair.

Charles Moody 1949

            Charles Moody was a star for the Cardinals in the late 40’s leading the Cards to a three year record of 31-18 under Coach George Windler.  Moody scored 407 points in his 55 game career for an average of 7.4 points per game.  He ranks 8^th and 9^th on the single season scoring list as he tallied 190 points in 1948-49 and 185 in 1947-48.  He had a single game high of 22 versus Wingate in his senior year.

James Alexander 1915

            In his four years “in the ring,” as his senior yearbook put it, nobody could keep up with James Alexander.  He once scored 62 points in a single game and led his team to a spot in the Elite Eight in the 1915 State Tournament.  He was a four year letterman for New Richmond in those early days.