GREENWAY 1952 BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM
TOURNAMENT HONORS
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Back: Harold Speers, Glen Norman, John Dean, Bob Ward, Earl Gatewood, Troy Walls-Coach
Middle: Byron Webb, Bill Copeland, Bradley Benson, Doyle Speers, Winfred Wright, Jimmy Millikin Front: Junior Norman, Gayle Kegley, Harrison Bateman, Sam Ward, Billy Powell
Middle: Byron Webb, Bill Copeland, Bradley Benson, Doyle Speers, Winfred Wright, Jimmy Millikin Front: Junior Norman, Gayle Kegley, Harrison Bateman, Sam Ward, Billy Powell
Two of the players on the team were named All-State: Bob Ward was named captain of the team and Harold Speers was named to the second team.
Three of the players on the team were named to the NEA tournament team: Bob Ward, Harold Speers, and Dewayne Gatewood. In this tournament, Greenway set four records for that era:
Made 16 of 18 free-throws for 87.5%
Earl Wayne Gatewood set an individual record of 6 for 6 free-throws
Most points in four games 233 points
Most points scored by two teams in a single game Greenway 72, Hardy 49 Total 121
Two of the losses during the season were to Puxico, Missouri. The Puxico team was the undefeated State Champions in Missouri the previous year and that year were said to be the best high school team in the United States by various sports authorities. They had also won their district title and averaged 104 points per game.
Greenway only lost three (3) games to teams from Arkansas: one to Dyess in the district tournament [also a semi-finalist in the state tournament] and one to Valley Springs in the semifinals of the state tournament. Valley Springs was the eventual winner of the state tournament for the third consecutive year. The third loss was to Greene County Tech in a game in which Greenway was represented by their ‘junior varsity’ since the varsity team was involved in a tournament game with another school.
During the season, Greenway had significant victories such as follows:
They defeated Leachville two times. In the NEA invitational, Greenway was seeded #1 in the “B” division and Leachville was seeded # 1 in the “A” division. Two weeks before the tournament, Greenway defeated Leachville for the first defeat Leachville had suffered at home in three years. Greenway won the “B” division and Leachville won the “A” division of the NEA.
Also, in the NEA tourney, Greenway defeated Brookland, a team that had not lost a game that year.
In the state tournament, Greenway had a 54-53 win over the Jessieville team. A few weeks earlier the great Jessieville team defeated the Little Rock Tigers.
Three of the players on the team were named to the NEA tournament team: Bob Ward, Harold Speers, and Dewayne Gatewood. In this tournament, Greenway set four records for that era:
Made 16 of 18 free-throws for 87.5%
Earl Wayne Gatewood set an individual record of 6 for 6 free-throws
Most points in four games 233 points
Most points scored by two teams in a single game Greenway 72, Hardy 49 Total 121
Two of the losses during the season were to Puxico, Missouri. The Puxico team was the undefeated State Champions in Missouri the previous year and that year were said to be the best high school team in the United States by various sports authorities. They had also won their district title and averaged 104 points per game.
Greenway only lost three (3) games to teams from Arkansas: one to Dyess in the district tournament [also a semi-finalist in the state tournament] and one to Valley Springs in the semifinals of the state tournament. Valley Springs was the eventual winner of the state tournament for the third consecutive year. The third loss was to Greene County Tech in a game in which Greenway was represented by their ‘junior varsity’ since the varsity team was involved in a tournament game with another school.
During the season, Greenway had significant victories such as follows:
They defeated Leachville two times. In the NEA invitational, Greenway was seeded #1 in the “B” division and Leachville was seeded # 1 in the “A” division. Two weeks before the tournament, Greenway defeated Leachville for the first defeat Leachville had suffered at home in three years. Greenway won the “B” division and Leachville won the “A” division of the NEA.
Also, in the NEA tourney, Greenway defeated Brookland, a team that had not lost a game that year.
In the state tournament, Greenway had a 54-53 win over the Jessieville team. A few weeks earlier the great Jessieville team defeated the Little Rock Tigers.