Burnside High School Little Giants

Athletics

We know that Burnside High School offered boys basketball, competing with several of the schools in its area on a yearly basis. It is likely that baseball and track were also offered at the school. We are in need of the team nickname, team colors, and school fight song. Also needed are team records, accomplishments, and coach's names for Burnside High School

Boys Basketball

Burnside High School's basketball teams of the mid-1930s let the folks of the area hold their heads high. These teams won two District and one Regional Championship as well as a Hancock County Tournament Championship!

The following article was sent to us by Jenny Logan from a book titled "Hancock County History" as found in the Carthage library. The article is found on page 451 and is reprinted in its entirety. It is a FASCINATING account of a truly incredible story regarding the basketball feats of a very small town in a unique time of Illinois history.

"Little Giants Basketball Team"

Most publicized feature of the Burnside School system, and something no one will ever forget who lived in the town in the 1930's, was the Little Giants basketball team. Ralph L. Vass, Pilot Grove Township Supervisor and Chairman of the County History sub-committee, was a member of this Little Giants squad in the years of 1935, 1936, and 1937. He has written the following about it.

"This team, especially through the three years of 1936, 1937, and 1938, litterally became the wonder of the state of Illinois high school basketball. Burnside, a three-year high school, with an enrollment of between 30 and 35 through this period, with about 15 boys, without a gymnasium and forced to play all games away from home with the crowd against them, with no place to practice but an outdoor court usable only a few weeks in the early fall, built a basketball machine which ran rough-shod over all the four-year high schools of the county, and even the larger ones outside.

WIth a 20 and 1 record in 1937, Burnside won the Regional and was eliminated in the Sectional at Galesburg by a free throw in two overtimes. Knoxville was played in this game. In 1938, with a 29 to 0 record, Burnside lost to Augusta by a few points in the Regional at Carthage. High point of the 1938 season was when they beat Macomb 30 to 6, holding them scoreless the first 22 minutes of the game. Chicago papers gave the Little Giants space comparable to that accorded the University of Illinois five.

The gentlemen of the press generally considered Donald Cox, son of Coach Irwin Cox, star of the team. He was the nephew of Forrest "Shorty" Loudin, a Carthage College football coach of World War I days. "Shorty" was incapacitated by wounds received while serving in the A.E.F. on the Western Front in France in that war and was an invalid in the Cox home in Burnside at the time of his death, about the time Donald became a Little Giants basketball star.

World War II came on right after the era of this Little Giants team, and Donald became an Army man and made the Army his career for the remaining thirty years of his life, dying just a year or so before the writing of this county history. So he virtually replaced his uncle, Shorty Loudin, as a prominent athlete of this county and as an Army man. Irwin Cox, Donald's father, was a Carthage College graduate, Class of 1924, He coached five years at New Haven, Missouri, before coming to Burnside in the fall of 1929.

Another star player of the Little Giants was Tom Hull, one of the sons of Fred P. Hull, who wrote the 1959 History of Burnside. He later played on the University of Illinois baseball team as an undergraduate in that university. He is now a Springfield, Illinois, insurance executive."

The several rural schools of the township (Pilot Township) where students learned at least to read and write through the 150 years to the present era of hauling youngsters in yellow buses to town when grade schools have all been discontinued now. The buildings have been sold and torn down or put to other uses. But the familiar names of districts still remain in the people's thinking to identify rural parts of the township."

Upon sending this article about this amazing team in western Illinois, Jenny Logan offered the following story. Tom Hull told Jenny that a player on one of these incredible teams was once asked how the Burnside team could play so well when the boys had to practice outside. The player replied that it was easier playing in an indoor gym because there was no wind in there!

Scores fro games involving Burnside High School were located on a website titled "Illinois Postseason Basketball Scores." These scores are posted below.

1935-36 Carthage District Champions Coach Irwin Cox

1st Rd Beat LaHarpe 45-22

Title Game Beat Bowen 38-23

Carthage Regional Tournament

1st Rd Beat Hamilton 17-15

Semi-final lost to Carthage 22-17

Carthage lost to Colchester in title game

1936-37 20 - 1 Carthage Regional Champions Coach Irwin Cox

1st Rd Beat Bowen 46-12

Semi-final Beat Plymouth 38-6

Title Game Beat Hamilton 29-19

Galesburg Sectional Tournament

1st Rd lost to Knoxville 26-24 (2 O/Ts)

Knoxville lost to Dunlap in semi-final

Dunlap lost to Galesburg in title game

1937-38 29- 2 Plymouth District Champions Coach Irwin Cox

Hancock County Tourn. Champs

Undefeated Regular Season

Plymouth District Title Game

Beat Bowen 31-22

Carthage Regional Tourney Runner-Up

Title Game lost to Augusta 29-18

(Top 2 advance to Sectional)

Canton Sectional Tournament

1st Rd lost to Macomb 29-26

Macomb lost to Galesburg in Semi-final

Galesburg beat Canton in title game.

MEMORIES

**From Enid (Martin) Allen (Class of 1944)

As conveyed by Enid's son, Tom Allen:

"Enid's class (1944) was the last to graduate from Burnside high. There were 20 students in the entire 3-year high school her senior year. Most of the students probably went to Carthage, but some might have gone to Ferris or Colusa depending on when those schools closed.
The school colors were green and white; the basketball team was commonly referred to the "Little Green Giants" due ot the color of their uniforms, although officially they were the "Little Giants."
Although the basketball team primarily practiced outside, they occasionally practiced at the Colusa High School gym in bad weather.
During the basketball team's best years, somebody could have walked away with the town of Burnside on game nights because everybody went to the games.
Enid doesn't believe that Burnside ever had a track team, and doesn't think they had an officially sanctioned baseball team although they might have played a few games against Ferris and Colusa. They didn't have a basketball team by the time she graduated; she wasn't sure when they stopped, but remembered her older brother Richard playing. He graduated in 1941 so they at least had basketball through his freshman year of 1938-'39.
There was no school band, and therefor no school fight song.

Hopefully some of this is of interest!"

Looking for More Info

We are hopeful and area enthusiast can "fill in the blanks" regarding the Burnside High School successes and history. We are always in need of photos of the old school building and great teams. If you wish to help us out please complete a School Submission Form or Guest Commentary Form. You may also e-mail us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net or write us at:

Illinois HS Glory Days

6439 N. Neva St.

Chicago, Il. 60631