1964-65 -- 3-12

                         1963-64 Little Giants-- 5-12

               1962-63 Little Giants--9-9

         1961-62 Little Giants--6-12

   1960-61 Little Giants--15-7 NCAA Tournament

†

                  1959-60 Little Giants--14-7 NCAA Tournament

    1958-59 Little Giants--13-8 NCAA Tournament

     1957-58 Little Giants 13-9 NCAA Tournament

                1956-57 Little Giants 8-10

†

            1955-56 Little Giants 6-17

              1954-55 Little Giants 12-6-1

Rex McCoy

Rex McCoy was the first of Coach Brock's players to score over 1000 pts.  He scored 1001 points in 80 games during his career from 1951-1955.  He was named captain and MVP his senior year.

Look at the faces on these Little Giants.  Did they

have a good time?

Coach Brock at center court.

The Wonder Five minus Whitey Wilcox.  Jim Price, Duane Axel,

Bill Boone, and Charlie West.

More than Basketball

Dear Bill:

I came to Wabash in the fall of 1955 from Kansas City, Missouri which is less than an hour from the University of Kansas.  While Jayhawk fans were and are fanatic about basketball, my initial encounters with Hoosier basketball fans was a real eye opener.  I went to a Crawfordsville High School game when the season started and had to leave at half-time because the noise was so deafening.  My freshman year at Wabash was successful academically, but frustrating in terms of athletics.  As you can see in the 1955-56 team picture I do not appear.  However, by January of that season I had worked my way into the lineup.  What stands out most clearly about that year was the conversation I had with Coach Brock after the season ended.  I confessed to frustration that our record of 6 wins and 17 losses represented more losses than I had experienced in all of my high school years.  He was very encouraging and talked about how he thought things would improve the next year, and they did.

I have had more opportunities than most to be reminded of the years I spent at Wabash having served on the Board of the National Association of Wabash Men and the Board of Trustees.  I did not become actively involved with the College until after my ten year Class Reunion.  Since then I have continued to enjoy connecting with the College and other alums.  As the years have passed specific memories fade, but there are a few that stand out in my mind.  One that I am sure others are not aware of is that after my sophomore year we did not have home and home contracts with  Sewanee and Southwestern in Tennessee.  At that time, city ordinances in Nashville and Memphis prohibited interracial athletic contests.  Brock and I had a conversation about this during my freshman year and contracts for those trips were discontinued.

This was the beginning of a very special relationship I had with Coach Brock that has lasted up to now.  He understood that I had special issues I had to address on and off the court.  Yet, he never gave me any special breaks.  For example, to avoid any embarrassment, he did not take me with the team to Tennessee in my sophomore year for the last of those contracted games.  Shortly before the trip Brock told me he wanted me to shoot 100 shots a day while the team was gone.  I told him that it was semester break and I was going home. This running conversation continued until the team left and I went home.  The Sunday after semester break I showed for practice as scheduled and everything seemed OK, but I knew the other shoe would drop any moment.  We played Ohio Wesleyan on Monday evening.  I was not in the starting lineup.  I sat through the 1st half and through the second half.  Brock never said a word to me and I never said a word to him.  What added insult to injury was we won by 22 points!!  When I returned for my 25th Class reunion I saw Coach as usually do when I get to C' ville.  I finally asked him if we had been losing that game would he have played me.  Predictably, his response was, NO! 

Little things about my teammates stick in my mind.  I recall the way that Tommy Bennett always shot free throws from an angle. Charlie Bowerman always shot his free throws underhanded.  The year we set the record for team free throw shooting percentage started very innocently.  Tommy was then a junior and Charlie was a sophomore, but they were very competitive.  We usually shot about 100 free throws in intervals of 20 during practices.  Tommy and Charlie started shooting for Cokes.  Then the competition caught on and the whole team became very competitive at each practice to see who could make the most out of 100.  The key to setting the record was not just Tommy and Charlie who were excellent free throw shooters, but it was the guys who would come into the game off the bench and hit 1 for 1, or 2 for 2. 

The team enjoyed much more success in my junior and senior years going 13-9 and 13-8 respectively.  We usually played teams from schools much larger than the 500 men at Wabash.  We usually gave away a lot of height and weight to our opponents.  Sherm Franz was a tall 6-5, but he was slight.  I remember many nights after games when he would take off his game jersey his chest would be covered with black and blue marks.  But he never complained.  He was a real warrior!  So was Ben Fellerhoff who was a burly 6-3.  Ben would take on anybody under the boards.  One night when we were playing in the U.S. Marine Christmas tournament in  Quantico, we met St. Michaels from Winooski, VT.  They had a huge 6-8 center named Hank Gretowski.  I drove down the lane against him and got slammed to the floor.  I jumped up looking for who had hit me and Benny grabbed me.  When I saw who it was I continued to struggle, but I whispered to Ben, "Don't let me go!"

These are only fleeting memories. The guy on our team who had the most phenomenal memory for stats and opponent strengths was JohntHollett.  He devoured the sports page every day and not just about basketball.  We should get Hollett to his his recall button and I am sure he will remember incidents, events and people we have long forgotten.  My greatest thrills were the times we beat DePauw and Butler.  My greatest disappointment was the double overtime loss to Evansville in 1958 during the NCAA tournament.  No one was prouder than I when Wabash won the NCAA Division III Basketball Championship in 1982 partly because we had demonstrated in the late ' 50's and early ' 60's that Wabash could revive its winning tradition in basketball.

A few years ago I was visiting the College and dropped by basketball practice.  Wally Cox, a star guard for Butler in the late ' 50's was there watching his son who played at Wabash.  We had a wonderful visit talking about our respective teammates and what they had done after college.  Not once during that conversation did we mention wins and losses.  It was clear to both of us that we had shared an experience that was very special and that few other college students enjoyed who did not participate in varsity sports!

Bob Wedgeworth '59

                                                                                                        Charlie  Bowerman--1961

Two Hall of Famers--Charlie Bowerman and Coach Brock

                                                Rusty Nichols--1963

Coach Nichols during a timeout. 

After a Hall of Fame career which saw him elected MVP of the Little Giants during his junior and senior years, Rusty Nichols took over the coaching reins and coached the Little Giants for 7 years. 

                                                 Tom Bennett--1960

Tom Bennett '60

                                           Bob Wedgeworth--1959

Bob Wedgeworth--A great teammate

                                          Benny Fellerhoff--1959

Tim Werbe 1965

         Tim Werbe Dazzles four Dannies                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                            Coach 1957

Coach Bob L. Brock

Coach Brock himself was elected to the Wabash College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989.  During a 12 year coaching career, Coach Brock won 114 games.  During the 4 year period of 1957-58 to 1960-61, the Brockmen won 55 games while losing only 31.  They qualified for the NCAA tournament all four years.  During the period of 1958-59 to 1960-61, his Little Giants defeated Butler 5 out the 6 contests they played including the memorable 5 overtime game of 1960. 

Posted by Bill Boone '60 on February 12, 2007 09:37 AM

Dear Bob,

 I regret that I will not be joining you and the Brock Era players in person, but being half a world away makes it impossible.  Please know that I am most certainly with you in spirit, and you will be in my thoughts on February 17.  I am so happy that we got to visit at homecoming last fall.

 This letter is going to be a trip down my memory lane with fond reminiscences about the team and our time together.  I feel so privileged to have played for an NCAA College Division school where each of us played for the love of the game, and not because of a scholarship.  I also appreciated the amazing support of faculty who attended both practices and games, offering both interest and encouragement.  All this was a part of the climate that you were instrumental in creating.

 I’ll never forget the second day of practice in my freshman year, when coming down from a rebound, I tore the cartilage in my right knee.  Prompt surgery resulted in complete rehabilitation that continues to this day.  I was back on the court in early January and was excited about the opportunity to start several games and earn a letter as a freshman.

 Did I ever thank you for being instrumental in helping me get a job cleaning the varsity locker room once a week?  This additional income ($40 a month) for a struggling scholarship student was a significant help. 

 Some trip highlights include:

•         The southern trip when we played Southwestern in Memphis and we walked from the hotel to the gym (opera house) in our uniforms and warm ups, since there were no dressing rooms.  A converted opera house, while it had no dressing rooms, it did have spotlights, which were focused on each player as he was introduced, thus making us the predecessors to the NBA in this aspect of showmanship.  Ours was the opening game of a double header with Ole Miss and Arkansas.

•         The trip to Quantico was special, in part, because we went by train.  Our first stop was Cincinnati where we were whisked to an elegant (at least for a kid from Scottsburg) dining room for dinner before boarding the next train for Virginia.  This was the same trip where Bucky Dennis educated some of us younger team members about issues that would have made Kinsey proud.

•         Our game against Washington of St. Louis is memorable for an incident that happened at the hotel.  Bob Wedgeworth was asked to use the employees’ elevator rather than the public elevator.  With your leadership, we insisted as a team that we would use whatever elevator Wedgie used.  The management relented, and all the Little Giants used the public elevators.  In retrospect, I’ve always been proud of that stand that we made and am grateful that this form of blatant racism is no longer an issue.

 Accomplishments that I am particularly proud of include the fact that our team set the NCAA College Division team free throw percentage record, which stood until 1992.  Others are the two years we were selected to play in the NCAA Tournament.  Finally, one of my fondest memories at Wabash was being named captain of the 58-59 team.

 Bob, you were an outstanding role model of the Wabash creed of  “always conduct yourself as a gentleman.”  You never demeaned players, but always encouraged us, and in doing so helped us to grow in skill and confidence.  I was reminded of you from the recent descriptions of Tony Dungy by his players.  You, too, created a program by doing things “the right way” and by being a good man whom we could emulate.

 I still have the letter you wrote to me at the end of the 58-59 season in which you reflected on our years together at Wabash.  You ended the letter by stating, “In my book, you are Some Little Giant.”  Now it is my turn.  Bob, in my book, you are Some Little Giant.

 With deep regret at missing your celebration, but with deepest appreciation for your influence, leadership, and friendship,

 Sherm

Eulogy for Bernard F.  (Ben) Fellerhoff

St. Bartholomew’s Church, Columbus, Indiana

November 14, 2006

By his sister, Elizabeth (Fellerhoff) Kahl

(Note: I had a sheaf of papers in my hand, but they were just copies of the obituary in the Columbus, IN newspaper. I lifted them up and spread them as I talked about the length of the eulogy. Ben played so many jokes that I had to start with something funny.)

Eulogy

“This eulogy was very difficult to prepare.  But Father stated earlier in the Mass that ‘for Christians there are no time considerations’ and 70 years is a considerable time, so sit back and relax - this is going to be a long one! (Pause)  Was that a good enough opening, Ben?

In my earliest memories, there were two brothers, Theo and Benny, born 15 months apart and practically inseparable. If Theo’s bike went down the street, you could be sure that Benny’s was right behind, with Benny pedaling furiously to catch up, and even to challenge his older brother. Or on a sunny day you would find them playing a game of baseball with the other neighborhood boys in the big field across the street. And about 5:30 you would hear the call go out over East Washington Street, “Theo! Benny! Suppertime!”

Until one Sunday afternoon when we were celebrating Theo’s graduation from 8^th grade, a river swept Theo away, and suddenly and finally there was just Benny. Theo was 13 ½ and Benny just over 12 years old.  That wound was so deep that in all his life Ben never spoke of his time growing up with Theo.  He never reminisced about their exploits—he just couldn’t do it.

But time forces us all onward. Benny entered St. Lawrence Jr. High and made the junior high basketball team. Two and ½ years later, we had a baby sister, number 6. Babies were a big thing in our house. But just before Margaret turned 1 month old, she choked on her bottle and stopped breathing. At 14 ½ Benny was asked to help try to revive his baby sister. We buried her on the day she would have been 1 month old. This, too, Ben buried deep.

That year he graduated from 9^th grade and entered high school. He was good enough at basketball to earn a spot on the mighty Muncie Central Bearcat varsity squad, so that, in his senior year, he could be part of the Milan – Muncie Central championship game, and thereby be listed among the most famous and remembered losers in the State of Indiana—and beyond!

Nonetheless, his basketball skill earned him a scholarship to Wabash College in Crawfordsville. Another major blow to end his teenage years was the death of our mother from lung cancer after Ben’s freshman year in college. He had been so close to her.

At Wabash Ben came into his own as a basketball player. He played all 4 years and was named MVP in his sophomore and junior years. In his senior year, he broke the school’s all-time scoring record. For his achievements, he was to have been inducted into the Wabash College Hall of Fame on the day of his death.

 After his graduation from Wabash came 2 years in the Army and then the years of deciding on, studying for and establishing a career as a CPA. We girls were growing up too. We tried our wings, established our own careers, and spread ourselves across the eastern United States.

 These were the busy years -- of having and raising children, of quick trips home and quick visits, checking each other out to see that we were all doing OK, trying to catch up on each others’ lives, half distracted, keeping a weather eye on the children. But that was OK, the children would eventually grow up and then there’d be time for us – wouldn’t there?

Ben had 3 wonderful, talented children, Kristin, Kara, and Kyle. And we knew you were wonderful, because he told us so – every chance he got. Being a German male, he probably didn’t tell you, but he knew every award and achievement for each of you in great detail. And when we visited, we could see how right he was. You have grown up into wonderful and talented young people.

Well,  our children grew, and this year our time seemed finally to have come. First of all, I was sent to a conference at Purdue University. My colleagues kidded me – we usually try to get a conference in a big city like San Francisco or Boston. But I just smiled— they didn’t understand–I was going home. And it turned out that Ben’s 70th birthday, April 5, was one day before the conference started. I got permission to travel one day early, the 4^th, so that I could share his birthday. We went out to his favorite restaurant at Smith Row. We had a delicious, leisurely, relaxed dinner, and I spent the next day filling his refrigerator with home-cooked meals before driving on to Purdue.

All my life, I’ve wanted Ben to visit my home in New York, if for nothing else than to show him that not all of New York State is New York City, the Eastern Liberal Establishment he was always teasing me about.We girls had always known that Ben felt safer in his own environment and didn’t like traveling a lot unless it was for business -- or golf --  so we had done the traveling. But a very close friend of his had told me at Kara’s wedding the November before that Ben wanted to visit his sisters. Well, we could arrange that! And we did.

This past June he finally made it. Mary picked him up and drove him to New York. And his entrance was typical Ben. He filled the doorway, arms braced against the door frame, looked around and exclaimed, “What!? It takes me 40 years to get here and this is all the reception I get? Where’s the parade? Where’s the band? And where are my two nieces, the 2 most beautiful girls in New York State?” If that was an obscure apology for his not having come sooner (and it was the only apology I’d likely get from him), he quickly learned it wasn’t necessary. He was, and would always be, welcome and at home in my house.

And it was a great visit. He saw his nieces and nephew in their own environment, at ease and confident young people. As daughter Amy reminded him, “ After all, Uncle Ben, you’re our only blood Uncle!” He straightened up visibly at that and said, “That’s right – I am!”  Of course, Amy didn’t know you never gave Ben an edge—he’d use it sooner or later to tease you outrageously. One of Ben’s former Wabash College teammates works just down the road from Syracuse University and I had met him several years ago, so we were pleased to invite him to our house for a reunion dinner. Ben insisted we make a specialty of his for the occasion, for which he had to call his daughter to check the recipe. And it was delicious!

From our house, we took Ben to our youngest sister’s and brother-in-law’s miniature horse farm in Ridgeville, Indiana, the place we now go back to when we say we’re going home. It is surely one of the most peaceful places on God’s green earth. Ben loved it. Of course, all that green expanse gave him slightly different ideas – he figured it’d make a great place to practice his golf swing…

Once more we got together for my son Jon’s wedding on October 21^st.  Ben didn’t think he’d be able to make it because he wasn’t feeling very well, and he didn’t think he could handle flying home. But we managed to figure a way to drive him both ways, and he came. It was the first time in 10 years that he and his 5 sisters were all together, and that made it an even happier occasion. Ben even got up and danced with the bride!

Mary and I drove him back the Monday after the wedding.  It was the 1^st time we 3 older ones had been together since we were teenagers. We were driving through no particular space and it seemed in no particular time, and we fell easily into our old roles. We commented and joked and cheerfully insulted each other across the better part of 3 states –  in other words, doing exactly what a brother and sisters are supposed to do.  

At the end of that day, we had to put him in the hospital. He insisted we take him home first to his apartment so that he could take some medication. Then he proceeded to listen to, and answer, phone calls for about 30 minutes. At one point Mary and I both found ourselves grinning at each other. Ben was acting just like our Dad, who, if he had to do something he didn’t want, would nonetheless do it on his own terms.

Two days later, on our way back to New York, Mary and I both agreed what a grace that trip had been for us. We hoped we’d have more of them – Ben had expressed a desire to come back to NY next summer and I was already plotting how to get him there. But this trip was the first  one, and we knew we’d always remember it as a special blessing.

I was to have seen him an unprecedented 4^th time this year, at his induction into Wabash’s Hall of Fame for Basketball on Friday, November 10^th. The day before, Thursday, his former teammates had put together a celebration in his honor at a hotel in Indianapolis. On Friday evening, one of them expressed a worry that the celebration had been too much for him. I've thought about that – I think that party  was just what he needed.

If Ben had to die, and we all must die sometime, what better way than on the last full day of his life, to sit among his college teammates, classmates, and even high school teammates and competitors (3 came from that victorious Milan team), and, in the company of his children, to be toasted – and roasted – to see, and hear, and feel the warm regard of these men with whom he had grown to manhood, and to know he had made his mark, he was and would be remembered. Then, to go across the way and end the day with dinner at a nearby restaurant with his children.

And, on his dying day, still looking forward to the public acknowledgement of his achieve-ments, to take a step down the hallway and suddenly be transported from here to there without time to register fear, or pain, or surprise. Can you think of a better way to die? I can't.

I was honored to be at the ceremony at Wabash College to receive Ben’s award for him. It was the last thing I could do for this brother whom I love. God is kind; it was good to sit with his coach among his teammates, his friends, to listen to their stories and feel the bond they had among themselves. I could picture Ben among them, these men who in their ready companionship had given him back something of the brotherly comradeship he had lost.

No, I never wanted to see this day. But – once again – at last – and now, for always – there are two brothers – Theo and Ben.”

Hello Little Giants…………Greetings from the desert!

Where have nearly 50 years gone? When I left Wabash in ’60, my wife Barbara and I had a 6 month old daughter Cathy. After 15 months and a Masters degree later we moved to Phoenix to begin a career in teaching (mostly English) and coaching (almost entirely basketball). My father had bought us a refrigeration unit for the ’58 Chevrolet. It worked perfectly all the way from Indianapolis to Flagstaff, AZ. About halfway between Flagstaff and Phoenix the unit quit and we drove into Phoenix in 115 degree heat. I remember opening the lower vent, only to close it very quickly. The road heat was even hotter!! We lived in a motel for a few days until we found a home to rent.

Sidenote: On the trip, we drove to Louisville to tell my 95 year old grandmother goodbye. Before we departed her house, she took me aside and asked me very seriously,

“Tommy, couldn’t you get a job in the United States?” Should have been a heads up, right?

I began at Phoenix Central High as freshman coach where the luck of the draw put me with Ken Troutt, one of the very best basketball coaches in Arizona. It was a great break.

Our second child, Randy, was born on my 24^th birthday…my greatest birthday. Also, Ed Trexler, another Hoosier, Troutt, Carl Heath (another prominent coach) and I opened the Arizona Sports Camp in 1963. It was the first sports camp in this part of the country. Our first camp had 13 students: we used red spray paint on white T-shirts (made our own stencil too) for our camp shirts. I sold out after about 5 years: the camp is still flourishing.

In the fall of ’63, I became JV coach (reserve in Hoosier terms) at Phoenix Camelback High. The varsity won the state championship, another good break for me.

 In ’64, as head coach at Mesa Westwood High (Az’s second largest high school) I was the “youngster” on a great coaching staff of the third year school. I was about to learn  that I was not as ready to be a head coach as I had thought. Our first two seasons were 7-11 and 10-11. I was distraught! We worked hard. Things got better! The next five seasons we won 12-16-19-23-22. Our program was one of the state’s best.  In ’71 I went to Mesa Community College as assistant to the man who hired me, Ed VanWinkle. He was another of my great fortunes. I learned much about coaching college basketball from him, and about defending well. He was/is tremendous…and a great friend

The children were growing and Barbara was trying to keep up with them and our teams.We lived in the Westwood area in Mesa and our children could walk to school for twelve years. They did. Each of them attended Emerson Elementary, Carson Junior High and Westwood High. Cathy was a good swimmer and Randy was a football and basketball player…later only basketball. Both were good students.

After five years at Mesa Community, Coach VanWinkle and I traded jobs (he was tired of recruiting). I was head coach for the MCC Thunderbirds for 19 years. Those were great years. I had great assistants, unbelievable student/athletes, and a supportive administration. We won 9 AZ championships in those 19 years though we were playing without full scholarships and more than half the teams not only had scholarships, but dorms.

It was fun! Over 50 players went on to NCAA D-1 teams.

In ’93 Barbara and I separated.  In ’94, Silvia Lopez, an instructor of English at MCC (she retires this spring), and I began dating. She and her parents came to the U.S. from Cuba in  '62. I have learned much from her, although I still don’t speak Spanish. We were married in June of ’95. Silvia likes to read (though she prefers professional writers to her students) and travel. We have had 11 good years…and counting.  Her mother Isabel, 97, lives a mile from us and we see her daily. Her daughter, Teresa, has completed her MA in Creative Writing at San Diego State University and currently works as a tech writer in Denver….and writes …mostly poems.

Randy and Cathy have grown up quite nicely. Cathy and her husband Chuck Mosbeck own and run True North Outposts near Emo, Ontario, Canada. It is a full service fishing camp…home camp, 7 cabins in camp, 5 outposts, planes to fly to the outposts, boats, motors and much more. Check them out  at www.tno.on.ca. Chuck runs the camp, guides hunters and flies the turbo prop plane. Cathy runs the main lodge, cooks, keeps all in line (including Gramps who has a cabin about a half mile away). Their children are nearly grown. Dallas is 24, Cody is 21 and Nicki is 15. They are all hockey players. Cody plays at Gustavus Adolphus College and Nicki is in her second year of high school varsity as a sophomore. Dallas is also at Gustavus Adolphus and wants to be a professional fisherman. They are bright, sociable and pleasant people who make us all quite proud.

Randy is head basketball coach at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga,CA.  He played at Westwood High and two years at MCC ( great for his Dad to coach), then played two years at U of CA at San Diego before going to the U of Idaho as graduate assistant and to complete his Masters in biology. He was assistant coach at U of San Diego, Pepperdine and Saint Louis U before getting the head job at SMC. He has been in D-1 basketball 19 years. He is married to Darlene Darby and they have two boys: Chase 3 and Cade 3…not a misprint and not twins. Chase was born January 14, ‘03, and Cade was born 3-months pre-mature on December 4. He is the miracle child - the first 10 weeks in the hospital. Cade is doing very well. Both are live wires!! Randy’s seasons at SMC have been 9-20 (the year before the team was 2-27), 15-15, 19-12, 25-9, 17-12. They have finished 2nd to Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference the last 3 years. Cross your fingers.

After retiring from MCC in ’96 I was out of basketball for a year before  taking over a local high school team, Gilbert, that was having difficulty. I agreed at the onset to help rebuild the program and to prepare other coaches for 2-3 years. Long story short, I stayed 7 years. We had great fun. The young coaches were very committed. We won the 5A sate championship in ’03 with no player over 6’3. Since ’04 I have been “retired.” I play golf (about a 6 index), dabble in stained glass projects, watch high school games, visit the children with Silvia, spend about 8 weeks in Canada in the summer, read …..and generally hang out.

 Look forward to the “Brock Dinner” and sharing stories.   …………….TB

Tom neglected to mention that he coached a team at Mesa Community College that had a 30 game winning streak in 1990 and was ranked #1 in the final NJCAA poll.  He was named NJCAA National Coach of the Year that year.  He went back into HS coaching for a while after retiring from Mesa Community College and coached Gilbert HS to the 5A State Championship.  Tom was a head coach at the HS and JUCO level for 33 years and ended up with a record of 711-269 for a winning pct. of .726.

Francis Bacon  '18, Frank Barnes '29, Tom Bennett '60, Charlie Bowerman '61, Karl "Nobby" Dickerson '53, Charles Englehardt '26, David Glascock '09, Ward "Piggy" Lambert, '11, Virgil Robbins '24, Maurice "Guy" Robinson '26, Sam Scheivley '41, Alva Staggs '14, Homer Stonebraker '18, and Lee "Pete" Thorn '24.

http://www.hoopshall.com/main.html

The Second Wonder Five was the 1916-17 team which had a record of 19-2.  They were coached by Paul Sheeks and included, Del Clements, Knute Caldwell, Homer Stonebraker, Frances Bacon, and Abe DeVol.  Lester Hunt is the 6th member and Sam Bliss was the manager.

The Third Wonder Five was the team of 1921-22 which had a record of 21-3 and were National Champions.  They were coached by the legendary Pete Vaughan.  The players were Fred Adam,  Paul Schanlaub, Lon Goldsberry,  John Burns, and Clyde Grater.
 

                                                                                        Pete Vaughan

The Fourth Wonder Five was the team of 1924-25.  They had a record of 18-1 and played Big Ten teams Wisconsin and Iowa, plus perennial powers, Kentucky and Notre Dame (twice).  The team members were Benny DeVol, Theron Coffel, Maurice (Shang) Chadwick, Red Robinson, and Don Burdette.

Pictured at the right is Maurice (Shang) Chadwick who was a great supporter of Wabash Basketball all his life.  Chadwick Court is named in his honor.

          The Fifth Wonder Five--1981-82  24-4  NCAA Div. 3 National Champs

Standing L-R Matt Petty, Mgr. Barry Cope, Dave Clark, Paul Haviley, Mark Lee, Dave Bromund, Jim Beagle, Merlin Nice, Trainer Bob Burkhardt, Mgr. Dan Echer,  and St. Trainer, Jim Snyder.

Seated L-R Asst. Coach Rich Clouse, Chris Denari, Teddy Parker, Co. Capt. Mike Holcomb, Head Coach Mac Petty, Co. Capt. Pete Metzelaars, Kerry Seward, Kyle Foyer, and Asst. Coach Mike Brewer.

Little Giants celebrate NCAA Div. 3 National Championship

Four of the five of the members of the Championship team of 05-06 returned the next year and were again State Champs, posting a record of 17-2.  Ralph Jones was again the coach and the 1908-07 Little Giants were Ralph Wicks, L.J.C. (Brandy) Freeman, Big Bill Sprow, Walter Gipe, and Bill Diddel.

       Benny as a freshman 1955                                     Benny hooks one in

   Opening tip against Quantico                                  1958 Little Giants

A Tribute to Benny Fellerhoff

It has been nearly 50 years since Benny Fellerhoff took off his Wabash basketball jersey for the last time.  However, his name is still prominent in the record books.  He is one of only 21 players who scored over 1,000 points for the Red and White recording 1,123 points in his four–year, 76-game career.  That number places Ben fifteenth on the all-time scoring list.  He is twelfth on the career scoring average list with a mark of 14.8.  He had high games of 43 points against Aurora in 1957 and 36 against The University of Chicago in 1956.  In his senior season, Benny led the Little Giants in scoring with 369 points and in rebounding with 189 rebounds. Part of the measure of a player is the respect and affection that teammates and coaches had for him.  The following are samples of what teammates said about Benny:

Coach Brock--"Benny was a real gentleman on and off the court. He was a fierce competitor and always thought of the team first."

John Hollett, '59--"Benny was a great teammate.  He was a hard worker and a surprisingly good passer for a big man.  I really had fun playing with him."

Duane Axel, 59--" I just remember Ben as a tough competitor.  He was really tough to go against around the basket.  You were glad to have him on your side." 

Benny Fellerhoff passed away on the morning of the Wabash Athletic Hall of Fame Inductions.  He was represented by his sister Liz Kahl and Bucky Dennis a teammate and Delt brother.  He was truly, “Some Little Giant.”