Idaho Legends of the game

[Lauren A. Scrafford]

Looking through these years I was able to piece together the records for most of the years between the articles that I do have and some of the yearbooks that I have. Luckily I have most of the 1959 stories, and I was able to verify the scores of a few games that I couldn't find. I will post the record for you. Also some of the stories gave the standings of the Panhandle Conference in which Kellogg ended up 9-1 with the one loss to Wallace on January 16, 1959. I can scan some of the stories if you would like plus you may use the 2 photos I posted as long as Billy Hope gets credit as the photographer and the Kellogg Evening News is mentioned.

best,
Lauren Scrafford[/quote]

Dave:

The regular season record was 18 wins and 1 loss(to Wallace). The Panhandle Conference Record was 7-1 as the league slipped to 5 teams from 6 as St.Maries dropped down in classification. I errored that I have every game. I am missing 4 stories from the season and the exact scores of those games, though I have the opponents.

Here are the non league games from December 5th 1958 through January 3rd 1959 in which Kellogg went 8 wins and 0 losses.

Kellogg 61 West Valley 57. Wombolt 27 Porter 23. Score closer than game as Kellogg ran in reserves in 4th quarter.
Kellogg 60 Missoula 55. Porter 21, Wombolt 13, Jennings 10. Missoula won the Montana state championship.
Kellogg 60 Lewiston 46. Wombolt 21, Porter 20, James 7.
Kellogg 60 Moscow 37. Porter 20, Wombolt 15. Very easy win.
Kellogg 62 North Central 43. Porter 20, Milionis 13, James and Wombolt 12 each.
Kellogg defeated North Central again in Spokane somehow this story was lost.
Kellogg 66 John Rogers 59. Wombolt 19, Jennings 16, Porter 14, Kampii 9. Late rally by Rogers made this game close.
Kellogg defeated West Valley again in Spokane on January 3rd 1959 to make the Cats 8 wins and no losses.

League Play started on January 9th, 1959.
Kellogg 84 Sandpoint 42. Porter 20, Wombolt 17, James 11, Milionis 10. Kellogg led at half 48-14. All 15 played.
Kellogg 59 Wallace 64. Porter 24, James 14. The upset discussed, cussed and rehashed.
Kellogg 77 CDA 43. Wombolt 28, Porter 24, Milinois 10, Jennings 8. Easy win at home.
Kellogg 77 Bonners Ferry 37. Wombolt 23, Porter 18, Milinois 12, James 10, Jennings 8. Another easy win.
Kellogg defeated Moscow no story or box score.
Kellogg 62 Lewiston 52. Wombolt 24, Porter 18, James 11. Kellogg blew away the Bengals in the 3rd Period in Lewiston.
Kellogg defeated Sandpoint a second time and I have the score as 83-43 but no story or box score.
Kellogg 74 Wallace 49. Wombolt 27, Porter 24, James 8. Kellogg easily won and led 39-19 at halftime.
Kellogg 62 CDA 52. Wombolt 28, Porter 26. Porter sank 12 of 15 free throws as CDA kept trying to get the ball back.
Kellogg 76 Bonners Ferry 42. Porter 27, Wombolt 22, James 8. Easy win at Bonners.
Kellogg 65 John Rogers 59. Wombolt 20, Porter 19, Milionis 17. Close win at new field house at Rogers in last game.

End of regular season 18 wins and 1 loss.

District Tournament CDA March 5-7, 1959.

Kellogg winers of the Panhandle Conference had a bye while CDA had to win 2 games to get to the Wildcats on March 7,]
1959.

Kellogg 73 CDA 56. Wombolt 31, Porter 25, Milionis 10, James 3, Jennings and Seagraves 2 each while Kampii and Rember played but did not score. Kellogg built a large 42-21 halftime lead but Coeur d' Alene made it 54-42 at the end of the 3rd by outscoring Kellogg 21-12 in the 3rd Quarter.

Regional Tournament March 20-21, 1959 CDA Idaho

Kellogg defeated Moscow and CDA defeated Lewiston to advance to the championship game on March 21st.

On March 22nd 1959
Lewiston defeated Moscow 46-33 in the consolation game for 3rd place.
Kellogg 51 defeated CDA 34 for the North championship. Porter 22, Milionis 10, Wombolt 9, James 8, Jennings 2 and Exum played but did not score.
The first quarter was close as it ended with the score 11 points for each team. Kellogg led at halftime 23-15. Both teams scored 11 again in the 3rd and Kellogg put away CDA in the 4th quarter. Wombolt fouled out late in the game.

State Championship Game March 28th, 1959; NIJC Gym Coeur d' Alene, Idaho.

Pocatello came into the game with a 22-2 record while the Wildcats had a 21-1 record including tournament play.
Kellogg actually was 22-1 as they defeated the Whitworth College Freshman team in a non sanctioned game at Kellogg.

Kellogg 61 Pocatello 46. Porter 18, Wombolt 15, Jennings and James 10 each. Milionis 8 and Kampii played but didn't score. James controlled the boards and the team played excellent defense. Many observers worried about the speed of Pocatello but Jennings and Milionis matched them and ended up controlling the game tempo. Porter missed his first 2 free throws in the 1st Quarter, but after that the Wildcats were 13 of 13 from the line the rest of the game. Kellogg led 27-22 at the half. Linde closed it to within 3 to start the second half for Pocatello, but after that Kellogg pulled away and led 41-31 at the end of the 3rd.

In retrospect this was a very very good team that defeated Missoula, who would become the Montana State Champs and all of the Spokane Schools they played including West Valley twice, North Central twice and John Rogers twice. John Rogers went to the Washington State Tournament and did well.

I hope this helps and sorry about the 3 missing scores.
I may have them somewhere but at the present we are remodeling this house and I am not totally organized.
Lauren

[Lauren A. Scrafford]

While digging through some more stuff last night, I found this photo of the 1955-56 Kellogg Wildcats State Champions.
Once again Billy Hope photo with AP and Kellogg Evening News copyrights, from my personal collection.

This was a really good team that was probably one of the most well balanced teams that Kellogg ever had.

Front Row: Mgr Bill Tiger, #32 Bill Frazier, #34 Paul Hodgeman, #35 Paul Anderson, #23 Bill McPheters, #25 George Luckhardt, #24 Larry Bauman, Mgr. Ronnie Miller.
Second Row: #22 Clair Gray, #43 Jack Wombolt, #42 Dave Maple, #44 Tom Fleshman, #54 Rolly Williams, #45 Bill Scott, #33 Dave Damiano, #53 Ken Callihan and coach Ed Heimstra.

Insert of Dave Damiano and Rolly Williams.

best,
Lauren Scrafford

[David Roberts]

Hail to the Wildcats...

The 1959 Kellogg Wildcats have been selected as the 2009 Idaho State Legends of the Game!

Now the real work starts, we need to notify all team members and Coach Heimstra. All are invited to the ceremony at half time of the 5A championship at the Idaho Center Saturday March 7th.

I received notice from the State yesterday and a notice was also being sent to the principal of KHS.

[Lauren A. Scrafford]

Hail to the Wildcats...

The 1959 Kellogg Wildcats have been selected as the 2009 Idaho State Legends of the Game!

Now the real work starts, we need to notify all team members and Coach Heimstra. All are invited to the ceremony at half time of the 5A championship at the Idaho Center Saturday March 7th.

I received notice from the State yesterday and a notice was also being sent to the principal of KHS.

David:

Thank you for all you did in getting this done.. I am sure glad they picked Kellogg and my dad sure would have been proud of that team. He loved Kellogg and the Kellogg Wildcats. We can argue which was the best Kellogg team, but the 1959 was a great team led by a great coach.

thank you again,
Lauren Scrafford

[Simon Miller]

Hail to the Wildcats...

The 1959 Kellogg Wildcats have been selected as the 2009 Idaho State Legends of the Game!

Now the real work starts, we need to notify all team members and Coach Heimstra. All are invited to the ceremony at half time of the 5A championship at the Idaho Center Saturday March 7th.

I received notice from the State yesterday and a notice was also being sent to the principal of KHS.

Coach Roberts... that is outstanding news. I have been so busy this Fall with back to school stuff I also missed all the great facts and figures that Lauren provided. Wow, great stuff guys.

Congrats to the 1959 Wildcats! This is great.

On that note, Lauren, I would love to see you doing more historical type stuff like this but I understand the hesitation as our site has been less than rock steady. But I would love to move towards creating a historical archive online. That would be just awesome. I know that FisherRock could assist here too.

Good stuff. Thanks David for making it all happen!

[Ken Lagerquist]

Awesome news. In my opinion, with the '59 team becoming this years winner, it makes all those other great Kellogg teams winners too, this also Makes the town of Kellogg a winner. Congrats to the '59 team.

[Lauren A. Scrafford]

[quote="Lauren A. Scrafford"][quote="David Roberts"]Hail to the Wildcats...

The 1959 Kellogg Wildcats have been selected as the 2009 Idaho State Legends of the Game!

While going through some information yesterday, I found the selections for the High School All American Squads from 1955-1980. Scholastic Magazine started this after the 1955-56 High School basketball season. Kellogg had 2 selections in the 1950's. Rollie Williams from the 1955-56 season and Rich Porter from the 1958-59 season, both from Idaho State Championship teams. There were only 30 players selected each season, which included every high school in the country, an outstanding honor for those chosen.

Lauren Scrafford

[Mike Nordin]

My Dad, who went to school with those guys, will be pleased. Its a nice hat tip to kellogg alums.

[Lauren A. Scrafford]

[

On that note, Lauren, I would love to see you doing more historical type stuff like this but I understand the hesitation as our site has been less than rock steady. But I would love to move towards creating a historical archive online. That would be just awesome. I know that FisherRock could assist here too.

Simon:

Thank you. Maybe I could do some stuff this winter when I have more time. Still working on this house.. Planning a quick trip on the week of the 27th to Idaho and Oregon. If I have some time I may make it to Kellogg for a few hours.

Lauren

[jeff wombolt]

To whom is reading,

I have just returned from Nampa where I attended the "Legends of the game" ceremony. The 1959 men's basketball team was fortunate to receive this wonderful honor. I've been reading about the nomination from this board during the past year. Our team was deeply appeciative of Dave Roberts efforts in our nomination. We were all very happy he was able to attend the dinner and festivities at the Nampa Center.

Our teams selection was very difficult. Growing up in Kellogg during those years, I was able to see almost all the games. All of the teams beginning with the'53-'54 were exceptional. The early teams ability to win stimulated the youngsters to practice and work hard---the later success was their legacy.

After reading the posts from Lauren Scrafford, I thought I would set the record straight. Most all of her posts from her dad were right out of the paper and very accurate. Andy was at all the games, did post game interviews and wrote accurately in the paper. He was a great gentleman as was his brother Bob. Porter and I played a couple of summers on the townmen's baseball team. Bob was the fleetfooted catcher. A good line drive off the right field fence would guarantee a single.

One point I would like to bring to Lauren's attention. Just a short time before the tournaments started we did have a scrimmage. Heimstra had contacted the governing body of high school athletics in Boise and complained that the changing of the proposed tournament change from a sixteen team tourny to two regional tournaments one in the south and one in the north. Heimstra got the O.K.(have to post a follow up--no room).

[jeff wombolt]

continuation
Heimstra then contacted the Washington State University coach to see about a scrimmage we could have. The time being between our last conference game and the beginning of the tournaments. WSU was recruiting Rich Porter and believed that may help influence his choice of a college. Their were some stipulations on the scrimmage. Supposedly their would be no tickets sold, no attendance and no score kept. Heimstra closed the gym including blinds on the glass at the far end of the gym. However, the WSU Cougars wanted the score kept. Two of the local officials refereed the game(we won't mention their names). I emphasize that their were no other people in the gym(Mr Faraca kept score as he did at all our games). At that time no freshman could be on the varsity. Freshman leagues were common in all conferences and the Cougars were one of the best if not the best Pacific Coast Conf. team that year.

As you could imagine the college team was not too excited about playing a bunch of high school yahoos. They played pretty ratty early thinking there wouldn't be much of a problem. However after the game got going they became very serious. (continued)

[jeff wombolt]

hopefully last continuation.
The game moved along rapidly and at half time we were about ten points ahead. After halftime the Cougs decided they had better pour it on. By the time the forth quarter ended the score was tied. Coach Heimstra suggested the normal three minute overtime but the Cougs wanted to play ten minutes. We obliged. At the end of the ten minute overtime they had lost by ten points.
Both teams showered in the same locker room. Real quiet in there. Most all of the Coug players were all state from Oregon, Wash, and Cal. I checked a 6'9" player from Canada. In closing I would tell you that the next year all five of these freshman started for the Cougars in their Pacific Coast Conference game.
Now you know the whole story. Andy Scrafford was not allowed in the gym or you would have known about this a long time ago.
Out team cannot thank Dave Roberts enough for giving us a great weekend.
Jeff Wombolt class of "59

[Mike Nordin]

All I have to say is, wow!

[Mike Dye]

My thoughts exactly.....

[Hank Rauenhorst]

I can't believe you haven't told me this story before!!! That is one for the ages. I hope to see you on the course when we can play some golf. Maybe 2 or 3 more months and we can play!

[Matt Morgan]

Unreal.

Coach Roberts, thanks for doing what you did here. Very nice.

[Ken Lagerquist]

Awesome stuff Jeff. these old time stories are some good ones, thats for sure

[Gwen Johnson]

http://www.shoshonenewspress.com/articl ... 034950.txt

Legends Remembered
Posted: Monday, Mar 16, 2009 - 08:32:24 am PDT
By NICK ROTUNNO


On page 76 of the 1959 Kellogg High School yearbook, there’s a black-and-white photograph of the boys basketball team.

They’re a good-looking, clean-shaven squad, short hair and broad shoulders, three rows of slight grins and wide smiles. The players pose by the gymnasium bleachers, white jerseys and old-school short shorts, flanked by two managers on the right — whose checkerboard plaid jackets seem just a little out of place.

To the left, standing tall and at ease, is head coach Ed Hiemstra. His shirt is neatly tucked, his hair buzzed, an all-business military man with a stone jaw, a football player’s build. He’s smiling too, and for good reason.

One of the most successful coaches in Kellogg history, Hiemstra guided the confident boys on page 76 to an official record of 22-1 in the winter of 1958-59, and roamed the sidelines as the Wildcats won the AAA state championship at North Idaho College, beating Pocatello 61-46 — capping an unforgettable, and downright legendary, high school basketball season.

50 years later, that same group of talented ballplayers was honored as Legends of the Game in a March 7 ceremony at the Idaho Center in Nampa, during halftime of the 2009 state 5A championship game. For the coach and his team it was a heartwarming moment, and five decades after the greatest game of their KHS careers, the ‘59 Wildcats were once again at center stage, playing to the crowd in a packed arena.

And the memories flooded in — memories of a darn good team, a hard-nosed coach, and the ephemeral glory of one beautiful night in March.

“Other than the fact that we all got along really well, we played team ball,” recalled Louie Jennings, the starting point guard on the championship squad. “It was really a team-oriented thing. It wasn’t just about one or two players. It was a team concept. During some of those games that were close, some of those kids on the bench never got to play. They accepted it real well. There was no complaints, no bickering.”

“Just a fun season,” added Denny Seagraves, a junior guard in ‘59. “And I think basically everyone felt that. Bus trips we had a ball. We got along fine. And we always seemed to be happy and laughing.”

That joviality comes as no surprise; after all, a winning team is usually in a good mood, and the 1958-59 Wildcats were clearly winners. But those 22 victories, that Idaho state title, certainly didn’t come easy. And only after Kellogg had proven itself — by taking on big schools, small schools, even a few college kids — were the Silver Valley boys able to call themselves champions.

The Season

Coach Ed Hiemstra assembled one difficult schedule for the 1958-59 season — Kellogg challenged all comers that winter, facing a gauntlet of top-notch competitors from Idaho and beyond.

The Wildcats handled Missoula, the eventual Montana state champs; took down John Rogers twice, a team that would place third in the state of Washington; and solidly beat high-caliber squads from Coeur d’ Alene, Lewiston and Bonners Ferry.

“Coeur d’ Alene was tough,” Seagraves recalled. “Coeur d’ Alene was darn tough.”

With the best starting five in the state and a corral of talented reserves, Kellogg routinely whipped schools far bigger than KHS — often scoring close to 80 points when the team was really clicking. And the shooting touch of senior co-captains Rich Porter and Jeff Wombolt, who would both go on to play college basketball at the University of Idaho, provided a one-two punch that nobody could contain.

“Porter was very, very good,” said Wombolt, remembering his teammate’s incomparable skill. “He could handle the ball, shoot the ball. He was without a doubt one of the best high school players in the history of Idaho basketball.”

Wombolt, of course, was no slouch himself, and the big forward was more than just a scorer; he was also a cerebral leader.

“Jeff was so smart,” Seagraves said. “The moves he made... he just knew what to do. You’d never see him make a mistake.”

As the pair of captains led Kellogg through the teeth of the schedule, the reserves settled into their roles as well, making the Wildcats a well-rounded, selfless group. Their only goal was to win, no matter the competition, and Hiemstra made sure his team never took its eyes off the prize, always running a tight ship during every game and every practice.

Ex-military and a former player in the National Football League, Hiemstra was a solidly-built, soldierly coach; the kind of disciplinarian who could really breathe fire. His methods weren’t subtle, but they sure worked.

“[Hiemstra] was a great coach, to begin with,” Jennings remembered. “And he got the most out of us to begin with. He wanted to win, he didn’t like losing. He was stern, you know, didn’t want any clowning around. He was business, all business, and when he had something to say you better listen. There wasn’t any horseplay at all. When we practiced, he expected us to do what he wanted us to do.”

Those practices were tough, and the boys went head-to-head. As quality subs jostled with the five starters, the scrimmages could get intense.

“It was just a good team,” Wombolt said. “The toughest games we had were in practice. We had guards and big guys under the baskets that were tough to play against every night. Playing against Rodney Kampi every night [a 6’9” reserve forward]... that was the best education I had for going on and playing college ball. He was a great competitor.”

Pitted against one another — fiery players under the steel glare of a no-nonsense coach — the Wildcats honed their edge, always ready for the next game. But sometimes, the hard-core practices weren’t enough.

After the regular season finished and before the playoffs began, Kellogg found itself in the unusual situation of having no scheduled games. This didn’t sit well with the head coach.

“Hiemstra figured that was very poor for our team to sit around, so he wanted a scrimmage,” Wombolt recalled.

And what a scrimmage he found. With a quick call to the Idaho Athletic Association, Hiemstra set up a game with the Washington State freshman team. It would be his high school boys against a college squad, as a slight tune-up for the playoff stretch. There were rules, though: no spectators, no paid admissions, behind closed doors or else. Hiemstra complied, and the Wildcats hosted WSU in a hotly-contested, clandestine scrimmage that needed 10 minutes of overtime to decide a winner.

The winner was Kellogg High School.

The Game of Their Lives

After three months of regular season play, the Wildcats were on a roll, and ready to bowl through the district playoffs.

Kellogg had only recorded one loss all year: to bitter rival Wallace, 64-59, on the Miners’ home floor. It was a tough pill to swallow, and 50 years after the fact, the defeat still sticks in Jennings’ craw.

“To this day, I don’t know how we lost to them,” he said, shaking his head. “But we did.”

“That was a night that I shot poorly,” Wombolt recalled. “I think I was two-for-21 from the field.”

The Wildcats had a chance for revenge a month later, though, and crushed Wallace 74-49 at Andrews Gymnasium, in a vindicating contest the team took personally. Three wins later and it was time for districts, which the league-champion Wildcats won easily. Next came the AAA state tournament, a few more dominating performances, and the stage was set for the 1959 title game: Kellogg from the north region, and Pocatello from the south.

Silver Valley residents flocked to North Idaho College, and the gym was filled an hour and a half before tip-off, with a couple thousand fans crowding the bleachers and standing on the sidelines.

“You couldn’t get that many people in there,” Seagraves said (the NIC gym wasn’t huge). “But everybody in Kellogg supported us. All the business people were just wonderful to us.”

A superstitious bunch, the Wildcats wore their lucky hats on the bus ride to Coeur d’ Alene, and also received an auspicious horseshoe from Mrs. Art Sheldon, Kellogg’s biggest fan — a kindly old woman who never missed a game, home or away, all season long. With hats and horseshoe in tow, the boys were ready for the game of their lives, and zeroed in on the task at hand.

“All we could do was just focus on one thing, and one thing only, and that was to beat Pocatello,” Jennings said. “There wasn’t anything on our mind other than that. We went out there, and did our business, and basically that was it. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. It’s just that we had good talent. The kids that I played with, they knew what they were doing.”

Winning was a part of who they were, and the Wildcats weren’t intimidated by the bright lights; they had all the confidence that they would ever need.

“We might have been a little bit cocky,” Seagraves confessed. “But we had the record to show for it.”

Kellogg shot out to an early lead, and was up by 10 at halftime. Pocatello made a second-half run, closing the deficit to three points, but the Wildcats buckled down and started making shots. Midway through the fourth quarter Kellogg was up 19, and the game was all but over.

It was 61-46 as the clock ran down to zero, and the celebration was on. The boys from the little school in the Silver Valley, the tight-knit clan that grew up playing ball in the tiny Kellogg YMCA, had done the impossible.

The Wildcats were Idaho state champions.

Legendary

Down in Nampa last weekend, the 1958-59 KHS team was fittingly honored. The players lined up at center court, receiving commemorative plaques and medals as the crowd roared its support.

Dave Roberts, a former Kellogg player and coach, nominated the ‘59 team for the Idaho High School Activities Association Legends of the Game honors. The players also received a beautiful banner, celebrating their state title, that will hang in storied Andrews Gymnasium; a gym that was but a few years old when these Wildcats last plied its hardwood.

Reunited after all these years, reveling in the ageless joy of a championship and the youthful camaraderie of a high school basketball team, the Wildcats — all of whom are now in their late 60’s — were moved by the occasion.

And Coach Hiemstra, 91 years old, was also on hand to enjoy the ceremony he earned. The event was a lovely tribute.

“It was a surreal experience,” Wombolt said. “It was handled so well... and the fans stood up and cheered. It really brought back a lot of memories. Just a real wonderful experience. I think it was a real tear-jerker.”

“You get down on the floor, and you can’t hear anything anyway,” said Seagraves with a smile, recalling the applause. “A small place, playing all these bigger schools... that’s a pretty good accomplishment.”

Even the stoic Jennings, the unflappable point guard, found it hard to suppress his emotions.

“To see all those kids again, down there at Nampa...” he said. “It was good to see every one of them. But to see them, you think back 50 years, and you think, man, it’s impossible. But there it was.”

[Wally Baade]

Not bragging but I will shoot any Ex KHS Basketball player a game of HORSE and some shoot around games
any day of the week. Who still has their touch? Come on and play this old YMCA B Baller a game or two.
You might get surprised. (Or maybe I will). I have never stopped loving the game. ROLLIE WILLIAMS was my
All Time favorite Center and overall best athlete. Rich Porter had the best Jump Shot ever. Jeff Wombolt
had two brothers that trained him well and was always a fine player. I doubt that there will ever be a coach as good as ED HEIMSTRA. I thought the world of him. Congratulations class of 59 players..Hard to argue with that record.
Jeff, Great story about the WSU game.
Any shooters want to try me in Shoot-Around, give me a call if you are in Tacoma or Lakewood WA. I will take
you out to the local Air Force Base or Army Gym for a work-out. Then I will buy you lunch. call me 253 584 7310.

Wally Baade