| Gary
Orth remembers the words he heard in 1960 at the National
Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)
pre-tournament banquet in Kansas City. The
speaker said, "You'll remember this 50 years from
now." recounted Orth. He was right.
The
1960 Oakland City University basketball men will be feted
Saturday night, nearly 50 years after they became the first
and only Mighty Oaks team to reach the 32-team NAIA
tournament finals.
They
will be honored during the 6 p.m. OCU Athletic Hall of Fame
banquet in Suhrheinrich Student Center, where Orth, 1990's
basketball player, Stuart Love and 1998 Indiana collegiate
cross country champion Krystal Kearby Kunkel will be
enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
The
Hall of Fame electees and 1960 returnees will be introduced
between the women's and men's games of Saturday's 1 p.m.
basketball doubleheader against Urbana in Johnson Center.
OCU
Alumni Relations Director Susan Sullivan said all but one
living member of the 1960 Mighty Oaks plan to attend.
Kenny Gray and Larry Meyer have passed on, as have head
coach Delbert "Chief" Disler and assistant Nick
Goble. Tom Nordhorn won't make the trip from
Florida due to health problems.
"That
team was a super bunch of guys," said retired North
Gibson Schools Supt Dick Cochren, a freshman that season
along with John Deen and current Mighty Oaks coach Charlie
Brauser. “All
those guys were local, from Plainville and Mount Vernon and
places in between. Bill Slatton,
Carroll Edrington and Tom Nordhorn had been in military
service. Coach Disler (gave them scholarships so they
could finish their education.”
Joe
Todrank, Gordon Barnett and Vesper Hill also plan to attend
Saturday. Team managers Jerry Aydt and Jerry Osman are also
expected to attend.
“All
the 1960 guys went into various fields, had good careers and
impacted lives,” Cochren said.
Their impact preceded graduation.
“That
team helped me grow,” Brauser said.
“Most
of the guys were three years older. We were a group that
listened, due to our respect for Mr. Disler. When he told us
something, we knew we’d better do it.”
Orth,
a senior that season, remembers the 1960 Mighty Oaks as “a
group that felt we could win them all. We won 19 games.
“We
were very excited to go to Kansas City. After getting a
first-round bye out there, we played Wofford, which was
seeded eighth. They beat us 86-85 in double-overtime.”
Brauser
remembers Todrank, enshrined in the OCU Athletic Hall of
Fame in 2003, as “a great guard who pretty well ran the
club out front. Orth and Barnett were our two big guys —
Gary stood 6-foot-6 and Gordon 6-5 and they were both rock
solid. “
Gray
at guard and Nordhorn at forward completed the starting
lineup.
“I
kid Joe Todrank that I spent my entire freshman year chasing
him around in practice,” Cochren said.
“We
had a lot of fun and learned a lot from the older guys. Bill
Slatton and Tom Nordhorn were six years older than Charlie,
John Deen and I.”
|
