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by Matthew a. Werner (Author)
Hoosier hysteria is synonymous with Indiana's crazy love affair with basketball. For some, it harkens back to the final four teams that met as a result of a single state-wide tournament. But few teams ever made it that far. Undeterred, towns cheered raucously for their boys and on occasion, David toppled Goliath. Telephones rang off their hooks and newspaper reports buzzed as a state of euphoria swept through a small town. In 1950, LaPorte County experienced such an occasion that encompassed Hoosier hysteria in all its glory. But there is much more to this incredible untold story. The students were born into the Great Depression and grew up in the shadow of World War II. The coaches were veterans of war. A fire destroyed a school, but not its spirit. Sports writers sparred on the pages of rival newspapers and a coal strike jeopardized everything. One season. One county. Fifteen schools. The smallest school had fifteen boys to field a team; the largest-more than five-hundred boys. Industrial cities. Small towns. Long odds and upsets so surprising, they never happened before and never happened again. It was the Season of Upsets.
