(This is excerpt #9 from the book currently being written by Greg Eckerle called “Cat Tales: Jasper Sports Stories.” Eckerle can be reached at gregeckerle@twc.com.) Ironically, two starters on Jasper’s 1957 basketball team, Jerry Birge and John Hoffman, were neighbors and also had fathers who were well-known referees – Cyril Birge and Bob Hoffman, future…
(This is excerpt #8 from the book currently being written by Greg Eckerle called “Cat Tales: Jasper Sports Stories.” Eckerle can be reached at gregeckerle@twc.com.) What made Jasper’s Cyril Birge such a highly-respected basketball official? His son Jerry told me it was his ability to let players play, that he let the contact go just…
(This is excerpt #7 from the book currently being written by Greg Eckerle called “Cat Tales: Jasper Sports Stories.” Eckerle can be reached at gregeckerle@twc.com.) One of the most unusual incidents in Hall of Famer Cyril Birge’s officiating career happened at the 1956 semi-state at Lafayette, when Lafayette beat Gary. “I worked the game, and…
(This is excerpt #6 from the book currently being written by Greg Eckerle called “Cat Tales: Jasper Sports Stories.” Eckerle can be reached at gregeckerle@twc.com.) The 1954 basketball state championship game that Jasper’s Cyril Birge officiated was viewed beforehand as a boring mismatch – tiny Milan versus big city Muncie Central. But the completely unexpected outcome,…
(This is excerpt #5 from the book currently being written by Greg Eckerle called “Cat Tales: Jasper Sports Stories.” Eckerle can be reached at gregeckerle@twc.com.) From the high of the 1934 Indiana basketball Final Four to the low of losing Eddie Rottet, his best friend, and also losing his dream Purdue basketball scholarship because of illness,…
(This is excerpt #4 from the book currently being written by Greg Eckerle called “Cat Tales: Jasper Sports Stories.” Eckerle can be reached at gregeckerle@twc.com) The city-wide exhilaration at Jasper’s unprecedented run to Indiana’s 1934 basketball Final Four was squashed just five months later with the devastating news that star guard Eddie Rottet had died….
(This is excerpt #3 from the book currently being written called “Cat Tales: Jasper Sports Stories.”) The 1934 Jasper basketball team, on their way to a gaudy 29-2 record, blasted through the postseason sectional, winning by margins of 22, 23, 16, and 16. Eager to claim the school’s first-ever regional crown, the team was hit…
The 1934 Jasper Wildcats, who still hold the school’s best all-time record for boys’ basketball at 29-2, broke out of the gate fast with eight straight victories. However, in the Mitchell game, star Eddie Rottet fell and broke his collarbone after being clipped while shooting. The Cats’ only regular season loss came in the next…
When Cyril Birge, 93, walked into the gathering of noted athletes, coaches, officials, and sportswriters in Huntingburg in 2008, they all stood to gather round and greet him. The annual meeting of this group was dubbed The Legends. But those there knew Cyril was the legend among legends. They stood for no one else. That…
