The Broncos of 1945

The Ashville Broncos quest for the Ohio Class B basketball championship in 1945 lifted the hopes and spirits of a war weary, heavy-hearted rural community. 

The Great Depression was at an end. The U.S. economy began to improve in the early 1940’s, aided by a build-up of U.S. manufacturing to support the allies and strengthen the U.S. military.  However, the war brought about new fears and doubts. The most pressing concern centered on the lives of the young men and women fighting for the preservation of the republic in far away lands. There was a new phenomenon known as “the home-front”.  There was money to spend but nothing to buy.  The bare necessities were rationed to support the war effort, and manufacturing of consumer goods was converted to the production of war machinery.   

“The Broncos of 1945” describes the real-life encounters of young boys growing up in three small neighboring communities, and experiencing the innocence and camaraderie of small-town life in the depression and war era.  Many meaningful personal and family circumstances brought about an early maturity in their young lives, and forever changed their perspectives on life.  This book shares some of those experiences.

            Playing pickup games of basketball solidified the friendships among those who were to become “The Broncos of 1945.”  Mentored in the skills of basketball by older brothers, uncles, and cousins; instilled with a competitive spirit through pride of family and community, and inspired by the Bronco basketball tradition of Ashville High School, the boys bonded in their love for the game. They played basketball in the alleys, backyards, and barns regardless of weather or playing conditions. A basketball was a luxury but a necessity, and sometimes the only ball available was an old laced ball with an inflated rubber bladder.  The backboards were usually of pine secured to a telephone pole, garage, or barn siding. 

Russ Gregg and Dick Messick shared a boyhood dream to play in the Ohio high school basketball state tournament. In the sixth grade, new home room teacher, Lawrence Fullen, a former high school basketball coach at a nearby school, introduced disciplined defense techniques and team oriented basketball to Russ, Dick and their friends. Fullen instilled confidence in their athletic skills and motivated them to give more attention to improving their academics. 

The book begins with descriptions and accounts of the character, history, and anomaly of the three neighboring communities, Ashville, Millport, and South Bloomfield.  They were the birthplaces and lifelong residences of the players on the Bronco team of 1945. A brief history of the basketball tradition of Ashville-Harrison High School is relevant to understanding the importance of the game to the players and the communities, and how the kinship of the 1945 team relates to that tradition. 

            The boys residing in Ashville and Millport attended elementary school, grades one through eight at Ashville with a total enrollment of 257 students.  South Bloomfield had its own elementary school, a two-story brick building with an enrollment of 70 students in two classrooms.  In 1940, both the junior high team of Ashville and the team of South Bloomfield defeated all foes.  Interest in the match-up of the undefeated junior high teams equaled that of the high school county tournament for fans in the local communities.   

            Great expectations awaited the boys who were promoted from South Bloomfield and Ashville elementary schools in the fall of 1940 and united as freshmen at Ashville High School. An unusual turn of events led to Lawrence Fullen being promoted to high school athletic director in August 1942, the beginning of the sophomore year for Russ, Dick, and their life-long friends.  At that point, the dream of playing in the state finals began to become a realistic goal.

            It was not an easy time for the new coach when the basketball season opened in the fall of 1942. The rationing of gasoline, restriction on production of tires for domestic consumption, along with the suspension of school buses for transportation of athletic teams led to the cancellation of the county basketball league. Teams were not prohibited from playing basketball but scheduling and transportation were the responsibility of the school.  The new coach had to develop a new schedule in a short period of time. In addition, the upperclassmen were not ready to move aside for the yearlings. Yet the counsel, discipline, and wisdom of their youthful coach guided the boys toward the fulfillment of their mutual dreams.