A love of basketball was one. Thanks to that shot, Milan defeated Muncie Central High School 32-30 and made "Hoosier Hysteria" history. Plump grew up surrounded by a different kind of chaos himself, the youngest of six kids, raised by his father and older siblings after his mom died when he was 5. Heck, he might be more popular. . The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Bobby Plump. So when another family member got Plump's number, he called and set up the meeting that was sure to give Plump another opportunity to tell some of his boundless, entertaining tales of yesteryear as he seems to do every tourney season. Plump, whose winning shot in the 1954 state championship game for little Milan High became the inspiration for Hoosiers, said he didnt know a thing about the NCAA Tournament back in those days. The only factual thing in that movie is the last 18 seconds when the ball is thrown, said Plump. The truth is, while Indiana was a state obsessed with high school basketball, it was also a land devoid of dramatic tensions a place where arguments between friends were soon resolved and relationships swiftly healed. He remembers his dad getting out of the car in Sunman and walking the final 8 miles home. When the fieldhouse historian invited him to join Hoosiers screenwriter Angelo Pizzo at the Villanova-Baylor regional semifinal game to celebrate the 35th year since the movies release, Plump couldnt resist. Bobby and some of the others had been playing barnyard basketball together since they were young boys. Still based in the Indiana city where it began, the company makes products used by millions of women every year. The night of the Butler-Gonzaga game in 2013, the night they met, Plump invited Honaker to his restaurant in Broad Ripple for lunch. Sixty years ago today, on March 20, 1954, Bobby Plump hit the game-winning jumper to lead his tiny-town Milan Indians to a 32-30 victory over the mighty Muncie Central Bearcats in the 1954 Indiana boys basketball championship before 15,000 fans at Butler (not yet Hinkle) Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. On Saturday, the eight state finalists wont even have center stage to themselves. The ramp at Hinkle in 2014? That was 2012. That's why, just before the buzzer sounded at the 1954 state tournament, Bobby's last shot - which Nelson describes in his book Indiana Legends as "a stunning, 15-foot jump shot he scored against seemingly invincible Muncie Central" - instantly became iconic. He changed my life, Honaker says. Those are tangible. He put Indiana on the map.. And this became known as the shot that rang around the world. And here, while Plump and Butcher became role models for all the little schools that never made it, the single-tourney class lessons remain as vivid today as they were when the stars were playing. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Open space managers gearing up for more e-bikes on Front Range trails, In first six months in Congress, Pettersen seeks to spread opioid policies shaped in Colorado, Relatives of slain man gather in Douglas County to celebrate his life, be his voice, Two climbers injured in 60-foot fall in Pitkin County, A 194-room, $26 million hotel is slated to be Denver's next homeless shelter, Deion Sanders, Big 12 switch have CU Buffs fans, administrators singing from same hymnal again. Plump doesnt turn down many. Take a look at the some of the best head-to-head plays from the season! From that point on, Kohlmeier says, he became like a big brother to me.. If Butcher had won the 1974-75 title, instead of finishing second, his name might be on that list, too. Plump was selected Indiana's coveted "Mr. Basketball" in 1954, the award bestowed upon Indiana's most outstanding senior basketball player as voted on by the press. Also, see our Twitter feed and our Facebook page for regular updates. The boy is 10 years old, and his old man gives him a gift, a book about Indiana basketball by Phillip M. Hoose: Hoosiers: The Fabulous Basketball Life of Indiana. The boys old man had some redeeming qualities, of course. Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania breaks world record in womens 50-meter breaststroke. More than 30,000 screaming fans lined the streets for these unlikely tiny-town champs. INDIANAPOLIS A boy grows up in Kentucky, the oldest of three kids, the son of an alcoholic father. Most fans naturally link Plump with Hinkle Fieldhouse because of the last-second shot he made in 1954 to give Milan High School the state championship inside the venerable arena on the Butler campus. In every sport, there are brief moments, good and bad, frozen in memory. As the operator of the weather site paulpoteet.com, Paul delivers forecasts on the internet and is a go-to guy for media clients ranging from newspapers such as The Indianapolis Star and The Lafayette Courier-Journal to radio stations WZPL-FM (99.5) and WQME-FM (98.7). We are an independently produced program and are self-supporting through organizational sponsorships and individual contributions. Bobby Gene Plump (born September 9, 1936) is a member of the Milan High School basketball team, who won the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) state tournament in 1954. It teaches you how to handle the ball, Plump said. Unlike the fictional Hickory Huskers team in Hoosiers, the Milan team in 1954 did not exactly burst from obscurity. The family has moved. Acknowledgments also to Garry Chilluffo, Mark Szobody, Marsh Davis, Sharon Gamble, Doris Bond, Laura Yeo, Leah Cody, Carol Simmons, Gary BraVard, Clayton Ryan, Jed Duvall, Lockerbie Pub, Richard Sullivan, Pam Fraizer, Tom Rea, Lorraine Vavul and Jeanne Blake. At age 84, the affable, silver-haired Plump remains one of the state's top basketball ambassadors and nothing, not a pandemic or an . Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Theyre human. Or perhaps just to meet Plump. You cant make a movie about everybody hugging and loving and kissing, Plump said, so it was largely fictionalized, with his characters name changed to Jimmy Chitwood. After turning down on offer to play for Red Auerbachs Boston Celtics in 1957, Butchers father, Jack, returned to his little hometown and became the winningest prep coach in state history. Butler . Hinkle Fieldhouse is one of six venues hosting NCAA Tournament games later this week. This was March, and he and his wife are out, watching little Butler knock off Florida for a spot in a second consecutive Final Four. Visit our website to learn how you can support us financially. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) One big shot turned Bobby Plump into an instant celebrity. He will live in sevendifferent states because his old man cant hold down a job, and every day is hard, but some are worse than others. Finally, he blew the whistle.. Former Indianapolis Mayor William Hudnut spoke with great enthusiasm to our guests ("History matters!" Achievements 1954 Indiana Mr. Basketball 1954 IHSAA State championship 1954 Trester Medal for Mental Attitude 1957 Most Valuable Player (Butler) 1958 Most Valuable Player (Butler) 1958 Member College Basketball All Star Team 1981 Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee. 8 Gonzaga, but thats not what Honaker remembers most. Filmmakers reproduced it perfectly, he said, but the rest of the script needed conflict. People couldnt wait to get the paper and track the brackets and youd come up with your own final four. His parents divorce along the way. When Paul Poteet joins Nelson, he will draw comparisons and contrasts among other wicked winter seasons. Plump was also named one of the most noteworthy Hoosiers of the 20th century by Indianapolis Monthly Magazine. What about Roger Schroder, a senior guard? Around the state, Plump is revered for other reasons. At Plumps namesake watering hole in the Broad Ripple neighborhood of Indianapolis, he served me the biggest pork tenderloin sandwich I have ever seen. 475 free throws made still a Butler career record. Photos and memorabilia also are exhibited at the Milan 54-Hoosiers Museum in the town that USA Today once called "arguably the most famous small town in high school sports history." By request, we are publishing the answer to the March 1 History Mystery for readers who did not get a chance to hear the show. The call-in number is (317) 788-3314. And Plump, later named that year's Mr. Basketball, was no Jimmy Chitwood. Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. Plump has this effect on people. Plump was also named one of the most noteworthy . I was dribbling around, hamming it up and then I went right over to the bench, did a reverse pivot and threw it right to him. "Theyve jumped on board like never before. Saturdays, noon to 1 p.m. Heck, he might be more popular. College basketball great John Wooden, who died just shy of 100 years old in 2010, often dwelt on a shot he missed, Plump said. You dont see that level of expectation in the NBA today. Like, the day hes sitting across from his father, drunk on scotch, out of work again, and his old man is saying he wants to kill himself. Graham Honaker isnt sure this is enough. It didnt take long to raise $70,000, with 35donors from all over the country, friends and strangers, teammates from Milan and actors from the movie Hoosiers.. None other than the multimedia meteorologist often dubbed "Indiana's Weatherman." He has a job in college athletics. After being named Indiana's "Mr. Basketball" of 1954, Bobby played hoops as a Bulldog for legendary coach Tony Hinkle at Butler. Plumps shot for Milan is one of the most famous in basketball history. Everything you need to know about the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023. They watched Plump and his high school teammate, Ray Craft, emerge as stars on Tony Hinkles Butler Bulldogs. I never experienced that before. And my wife, Jenine? He works at Butler, raising funds for the university, for facilities, for Hinkle Fieldhouse. RotoWire breaks down a 12-team mock draft for the upcoming 2023-24 season. Its not just the Milan 1954 story, not just the shot he hit, though thats where it all starts. He still carved out a niche in Indiana lore that rivals Plumps last shot. The Milan High School backcourt ace is known around the world for hitting "The Shot," a jump shot made in the final seconds of the 1954 Indiana high school championship game against Muncie Central that Milan won 32-30. Hes reading this book, and he gets to the chapter about Milan, and he starts to read about Bobby Plump, and its like hes reading about himself. High School: Milan. Finally, an image of Bobby Plump's winning shot. Angelo and I were looking at the plays and the development of the plays, it was just really neat.". Career: Bobby Plump was part of the legendary Milan team that won the IHSAA State Tournament in 1954. Schroder is right. Coming from the little town of Pierceville and going to Milan, we didnt even get news from Indianapolis, he said. Bobby Plump and Indiana basketball is one and the same, Jordan said. One big shot turned Bobby Plump into an instant celebrity. Michael Jordan's run as an NBA owner ends as the league's Board of Governors reportedly approve his sale of the Hornets. For those who need a refresher: In 1954, the year "David slew Goliath" in Indiana, Milan High School in Ripley County was one of the smallest schools in the state, with about 160 students and a class of 27 seniors. Bobby, Shover tells Plump when he comes to the phone, Im the director of the Indiana All-Star Game, and I have something to tell you.. Its why, when Butler named a Hinkle Fieldhouse ramp after him during its renovation of 2014, a small gathering became something enormous. At the end of the Loogootees semi-state championship victory over Seymour, an assistant coach suggested it was time for Butcher to deliver on a promise to honor his father. He was also one of the 50 greatest sports figures from Indiana in the 20th century, according to Sports Illustrated. The ramp, the scholarship? Plump says, his words followed by his trademark chuckle. He caught it. played by Gene Hackman who was 55 when the movie was being filmed. They have three children - Tari, Kelli and Jonathan - and seven grandchildren. Plump was also named one of the most noteworthy Hoosiers of the 20th century by Indianapolis Monthly Magazine. Instead of seeing it sideways, you can see plays develop. An independent forecaster, Paul also owns Weather History Research, a business hired by insurance companies and law firms seeking historic weather data. Now 64, Butcher can still rattle off the wins from that season like they just happened, even if the final moment was a loss. "It was my 16th birthday," he says. Bobby Gene Plump (born September 9, 1936) was a member of the Milan High School basketball team that won the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) State Tournament in 1954. Consider this: When Paul and Patty left for the Iditarod last week, it was colder across central Indiana (at 6 degrees) than in Alaska, where temps were in the low 20s. Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. He talked about missing that free throw until the day he died, Plump said. Honakers idea, too. Mitch Daniels and Hoosiers screenwriter Angelo Pizzo attended a ceremony at which a ramp at Hinkle was named in Plump's honor. (Jimmy Chitwoods final shot is here, in case youd like to compare it with Plumps bucket.). Finally the drama resumed. A boy grows up in West Virginia, in Florida, in Louisiana. Plump first played the game on a wooden backboard nailed to a smokehouse in his hometown of Pierceville, Ind., population 45. What does Rollin Cutter, a sophomore on the title team, remember? All Rights Reserved. The basketball player who led underdog Milan High School to the championship in Indiana's state tournament in 1954 - a victory that inspired the movie Hoosiers - will join Nelson in studio to share insights (and separate facts from folklore and myths) as we mark the 60th anniversary of the "Milan Miracle. Before March Madness, there was Hoosier Hysteria and it reigned supreme. It was sixty years ago today. Known for his wit and boundless energy, Paul has been a busy man this winter, which has included 54.7 inches of snow as of Sunday evening in Indianapolis. At least not in the state championship game. The 2023 enshrinement ceremony will be held Saturday, August 12 in Springfield, Mass. The family patriarch grew up in Indiana and always dreamed of meeting Plump. While 14,160 fans. The boy is 10, remember. These things weve done at Butler …. That iconic Milan water tower that honors State Champs 1954, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. We met on St. Patricks Day and our conversation was interrupted by well-wishers, autograph hunters and people hoping to take a photo where the famous Plump talks about his last shot. And this is what Graham Honaker tells me. I've had quite a a few requests mainly from fans," he said. Bobby Plump, right, during the 1954 Indiana state high school tournament semifinal. ", Of the final shot, author Phillip Hoose later wrote: "As the ball sailed through, Goliath buckled, Excalibur slipped free from the rock, and Indiana's dream came true.".
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