1946: Last Time Le Mars Competed For State Championship

(Le Mars) — Although having been to the state tournament on several occassions, the last time the Le Mars Boys Basketball team competed for the Championship trophy was back in 1946.  KLEM news thought it would be nostalgic to go back in the archives and research what was said about that Bulldog team. Some facts and some folklore.  According to the Le Mars Community High School Year Book, there were a couple of articles featuring the 1946 Basketball team.  The starting five was comprised of Sylvester Wilhemi, Don Johnson, Bill Haas, Dick Carey and Eldon Clement.  The reserves comprised of Jim Lorenzson, Dan Walbers, Lee Lambert, Jim Schultz and Fred Bos.  During that time, it was thought that Le Mars had one of the tallest teams in the state with its starters measuring 6-3, 6-5, 6-2, 6-5 and 6-2.  Getting to the championship game Le Mars had to first beat Livermore, Marshalltown, and Waverly.  The 1946 State Championship game matched the Le Mars Bulldogs with Iowa City.  Le Mars lost the state championship in a heartbreaking game when the Iowa City boys put six points through the hoop with only a minute to go in the game.  The game was a see-saw battle, all the way, and it appeared as though the Le Mars team had the game in the bag with only one minute to go and an advantage of five points.  It was agreed by all who saw the game that it was one of the fastest and most exciting games that had ever been seen.  The high scorer of the game for Le Mars was Eldon Clement who scored 17 points.  Folklore says Clement was at the free-throw line with the opportunity to win the game, but unfortunately the ball bounced off the rim causing the Bulldogs to instead bring home the Runner-up trophy.  It has been said that Clement was feeling so distraught about missing the shot, that he chose not to travel with the team on their return trip back to Le Mars.  Another article dating back to 1946 says the post-war years were marked by many happier occasions from the student and alumni point of view.  In March of 1946, the basketball team went to the finals of the state tournament, losing to Iowa City by one point in a close, heart-breaking game.  But the team was welcomed home as enthusiastically as if they had been the victors.  Their performance opened a decade of success in the school’s athletics and its other activities.

 

Thanks to Le Mars Community High School and the Plymouth County Historical Museum for their assistance with this story.