Almont North Dakota
1906 Centennial 2006
Almont Basketball
by Allen Fallgren
This is a
story about a basketball tournament. Nothing very exciting about that.
At least, that’s what most people would say. But the tournament
of 1952 will long be remembered by the Almont Community.
The Almont team had done well in the three
tournaments held previous to the one in 1952. In 1949 the team won second
place honors, and in 1950 it received the first place trophy. In 1951 Almont
again placed second. Joel Johnson, Obert Barstad, and Dale Harper played
on the team during those years, but graduated in 1951 leaving Roger Becklund
and Ray Olin as the only experienced members of the 1952 team.
Basketball provides most of the recreation
during the winter months. Not only is playing fun, but much of the enjoyment
comes from traveling to the different towns in the district. The boys and
girls also spend much of their time practicing.
Among the different men that have coached the basketball teams are Mr.
Bosworth, Mr. Shanks, and Pete Lenhardt. At the present Mr. Holle is
coaching both the boys’ and girls’ team.
The basketball court at Almont is one of the
nicest in the district, except for the new one which was built at Center.
The Almont floor has one distinct advantage over most of the others, and
that is the spectators are set back away from the floor, so they aren’t
in the way of the players.
The first game of the tournament was on the
morning of February 22. Almont was to play Selfridge, the tournament favorite.
Everyone was keyed up to some extent, and possibly just a little bit doubtful
about the outcome. Some were probably thinking, “sure I’d like
to see Almont win, but golly, we just don’t have the players.”
Just before the game, after everyone was dressed,
the coach said a few words.
“I know some of you think we don’t
have much of a chance out there. It’s true that we’ve lost quite
a few games, but don’t let that bother you. It’s hard to tell
just what can happen in basketball. This is a new game, no one is ahead,
so I want everyone of you to be doing your very best. I don’t have
to tell you to pass the ball around. You’ve been doing that, and you’ve
been showing swell teamwork the whole year.
“Roger, you’re center, LeRoy and
Jerry, play guard, and Leonard and Ray, you start as forwards.”
The whistle blew, and both teams walked toward
the center of the court. the centers shook hands and then jumped for the
tip off. the game was on.
It was close all the way, with the crowd screaming and yelling for the
team they wanted to win. Roger tipped in a rebound for two points. LeRoy
sank a long one, and Jerry patted him on the back. Maybe he said something
too, but you would never have heard it above the roar of the crowd.
Then there was only a minute left, and the score read Selfridge 46,
Almont 47. Almont stalled till the buzzer sounded, ending the game.
The Almont Eagles left the floor feeling surprised and happy.
“Great game, fellas.”
“Never thought we’d do it.”
“Man! Rog’ was really hot on his
shots.”
“Hope we can win tonight.”
“Ha! Don’t look for two miracles,
boys.”
And the conversation is cut off as the team
enters the dressing room. The next game would be with Center in the evening.
After the boys had eaten dinner they went
up to the Lewis and Clark Hotel and rested during the afternoon. Supper
was a very small meal, and before the game the players walked around a few
blocks to let the food settle. Then they went to the Memorial Building for
the Championship game.
The Second Game
“....and that’s the starting line
up for Center. Now for Almont we have Roger Becklund starting as Center.”
There were some cheers from the Almont side
of the floor. Then the loudspeaker announced the rest of the line up. It
was the same team that started the previous game with Selfridge.
At his home Marshall Feland edged up a little
closer to the radio. He played on the team the whole season, and now, just
when tournament time came around he caught a bad cold and had to stay in
bed.
The guards and forwards took their respective
places on the floor and the referee tossed up the ball for the tip off.
Center got the ball and raced down the court. Their fast break worked, and
Center got the first two points of the game.
“Looks bad for Almont,” remarked
one of the men on the sidelines.”
His partner replied, “Yes, Almont was
pretty lucky to have won that game this morning, I guess. Still, you never
know. It seems as though all the teams from Almont have a lot of spirit.
They may win yet.”
The first quarter was all Center’s.
When the buzzer sounded bringing the first eight minutes to an end, Center
held a 7 point lead.
Then the second quarter began. This time Almont
really came back strong, not only holding their own against the other team,
but by the time the first half was over, the score was tied, 25 all.
It was a tired Almont team that retired from the
floor. Up in the dressing room towels were passed around among the players
leaning back on bench or lying on the floor. They all knew that if they
were to win against Center they would have to play even harder during the
second half.
Then they had three minutes left to get out
on the floor and shoot a few shots before the second half would begin.
During the third quarter Almont scored only
four points, and Center took the lead again by a score of 36 to 29. But
in the final minutes of the game something happened. Basket after basket
was made, until with two minutes remaining in the game, Almont was two points
ahead. With ten seconds to go, Almont found an opening and scored another
basket.
“This is something you dream about,” remarked
on Almont spectator.
The crowd was responding with a great deal
of cheering, both for Almont and Center. Then, just as the final gun sounded
ending the game Almont intercepted a pass and scored their last two points.
The final score was Almont 46, Center 40. Quite a game for a Class “C” tournament.
So Almont, the team that most certainly shouldn’t
have made a showing in the tournament walked away with the first place trophy.
It was presented to Roger Becklund, and all the team crowded around him
to see it. He graduated that year and now is studying to become a doctor.
But I think that whenever anyone asks him what his greatest thrill was,
he’ll say that it was the time he received the first place trophy
in Mandan.
Webmasters personal note:
Allen asked so I will answer. Yes, to that point in my life it was the
greatest thrill I ever had plus it fulfilled my greatest desire
in life at that time. However as we go through life things change
in relative value such as getting married, having children, etc.
However winning that tournament is still my greatest sports thrill
and still ranks high overall. I might add that team of 2 seniors,
one sophomore and 6 or 7 freshmen lost 7 of its first 8 games and
won 7 of its last 8 games before the tournament. We lost to Selfridge
twice by 25 to 30 points each time and once to Center by 25 points
before beating them in the regular seasons final game by one point.
Mr. Holle was right--at the beginning of the game the score is
0-0. It was a good lesson in life for all of us on that team that
hard work, determination and teamwork pays off in life. Roger Becklund