The Enterprise recently carried the front-page story of the Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School Boys’ Basketball team winning the Class C State Title. The “Bulldogs” had a perfect season, winning every game.

That is indeed cause for celebration — a tribute to the team, to their coach, to the school and to the community that supports and cheers them on.

The Enterprise story reminded me of my years at Berne-Knox (as it was then called). I graduated in 1962.  It was (and still is) a wonderful school and it gave us a great start in life. B-K  had baseball, soccer, and cross-country teams (girls’ interscholastic sports teams were mostly in the future).

But it was basketball that counted for most. Being on the team made you special (I never played but served as manager). 

At-home games were all played in the school gym (now the elementary gym — the spacious secondary school gym, where games are played now, was more than a decade in the future). The bleachers and even the doorways were always full of very enthusiastic fans. 

Attendance at away games (B-K was in the Schoharie league then, so most of our opponents were Schoharie County schools) was always high, too, even in cold, snowy weather. People loved supporting their team.

There were three high points in the 1961-1962 year. One, a two-day tournament at Delhi on December 27-28, 1961 (B-K won one and lost one). Two, as I recall, on March 2, 1962, beating our great rival, Cobleskill, at home. Three, making it to the Class D championship game (we were D then, not C like now), only to lose to Northville. 

Attached is a photo of the 1961-1962 basketball team. Several of the young men pictured in the photo still live in the area.

The energy behind B-K’s sports achievements was “Coach” — Coach Ray “Pete” Shaul. Coach Shaul taught athletic skills but much more than that — sportsmanship, character, and personal discipline. He also taught physical education and drivers’ education.

Shaul was a major influence on lots of us in his many years at the school. The varsity gym in the secondary school is named in his honor.

The story of this year’s team also reminded me of the 1986 movie “Hoosiers.” It is set in the small town of “Hickory, Indiana,” whose varsity basketball team — the “Hickory Huskers” — triumph in the state championship game in 1952. Hickory is not a real place — the film was inspired by the story of the Milan, Indiana, team, which actually did achieve the state championship, in 1954.

In the film, Hickory is basically a farming community, much like the Hilltowns in the 1950s. The school building in the film looks somewhat like Berne-Knox’s original (built in 1932); its hallways and classrooms seem very familiar.

Its gym (and the gyms of some of the other teams it plays in the film) look a lot like our gym. As it happens, the film’s Hickory gym footage was actually shot at the high school gym in Nineveh, Indiana, which  was constructed in 1936, four years after ours.

Coach Dale, who also teaches civics and history, inspires the team members, focuses on the fundamentals of the game, enforces discipline (for example, “Pass four times before shooting”), and builds the players into a real team.

He stresses the value of “team” — not just five players, but those players functioning as one. He inspires them to meet seemingly insurmountable odds. He tells them, “If you put your effort and concentration into playing to your potential, to be the best that you can be, I don’t care what the scoreboard says at the end of the game; in my book we’re gonna be winners.”

Along the way, he meets problems. Townspeople are disappointed that Hickory’s best player, Jimmy Chitwood, left the team at the end of the last season. The Huskers lose their first few games. The townspeople actually hold a meeting to vote on whether Coach Dale can stay. At the meeting, Jimmy Chitwood announces he will resume playing, but only if Coach stays. The meeting votes to keep him.

Coach Dale persists. He inspires the team. With Jimmy back in action, the Huskers get better and start winning. Hickory fans are always enthusiastic (just like B-K’s in my time and B-K-W’s now).

Hickory wins its final, championship game, against South Bend Central, 42-40, when Jimmy Chitwood makes the final shot right at the buzzer. (This was directly borrowed from Milan’s real experience; they won the 1954 state championship, 32-30, on a last-second shot).

Of course, the mission of schools is education, and learning and academic excellence always merit celebration. That is for another time.

This very brief selection from high school basketball suggests several things:

— It demonstrates that great coaches can have a great influence on students;

— It affirms the community’s support for, and pride in, its school;

— It is a confirmation of the importance of competitive sports in schools in building team approaches, confidence, and character;

— It shows how older students (in this case, the players on the championship team) can be models for and inspire younger students to strive for greatness; and

— It is a reminder of the importance of public education generally. 

The Bulldogs have won the championship! But everyone in Berne, Knox, and Westerlo should, with justification, feel proud. Their triumph is in a sense the towns’ triumph as well.

Editor’s note: Bruce W. Dearstyne grew up in Berne. He is a historian and now lives in Guilderland.