1968: The End Of The 'Golden Age'

Followers of the Blue Pirates consider teams from 1955 through 1968 to have played during the “golden age” of Williamsburg High School basketball. During that time the Pirates advanced to six State Championship games, winning two of them. The 1968 team is the last WHS boys’ team to have advanced to a state final, losing by only one point in the final seconds of the game.

Expectations for the 1968 team were high. The team featured three starters from the 25 – 1 1967 team, all who had averaged double figures during the 1967 campaign. These senior players, Jeff Appleman, Terry Cooper, and Tom Frye formed the nucleus of the team and were joined in the starting line-up by cousins Sam Farringer and Ed Gunnett, both seniors.

Head coach Dick Buckley was at the helm, guiding what was to be the next-to-last WHS team of his tenure before he moved on after amassing 207 victories in 10 years. His assistant, Jerry Campbell, continually shipped well-trained players to the varsity for Coach Buckley to refine.

Appleman, Cooper, and Fry provided scoring much like the three high-scoring guards on the legendary 1965 team. Having great shooting range, fine driving skills, and the ability to pull up for mid-range jump shots, these three could all score from any location on the offensive end of the floor. Appleman was a fierce competitor who could not stand losing. Cooper and Frye were also fiercely competitive and blended well with Appleman. Both Appleman and Frye were selected to the 1968 All-State Team, while Cooper became a two-year starting guard at Penn State-Altoona after high school. Teams have difficulty defending one competent scorer; but trying to defend these three WHS shooters was nearly impossible for opposing teams.

Sam Farringer was the team’s inside presence. Farringer, while averaging more than 10 points per game while playing with the three shooting stars, was a strong rebounder and defensive player. His presence helped the team advance to the State Championship game.

Ed Gunnett, who had made the All-State football team as a quarterback, quarterbacked the 1968 basketball team as its point guard. Gunnett possessed an uncanny ability to find whichever shooter was open and deliver pinpoint passes to them for high-quality shots.

The team boasted two senior reserve players: Terry Farringer and Dan Rhule. Farringer’s quick hands gave the starters fits during practices. For him, it was sad that WHS had abandoned baseball that year due to the lack of a field, since he was a high quality pitcher. Rhule came into games to give the team a boost at the defensive end, and he was a valuable member of the team.

There were five junior players who served as reserves during the 1968 campaign: Phil Barroner, Jim Farringer, Barry Gordon, Terry Hetrick, and Jack Shaffer. The nucleus of the 1969 Blue Pirates was formed from this group of players. Barroner was a tough defensive player. Farringer and Shaffer were fine outside shooters. Hetrick was a 6’5” post player, whose career was plagued by a series of injuries. Gordon, also a post player, led the county in scoring during the 1969 season and performed admirably during the 1968 season when called upon. Even today, when playing 60-and-over basketball at the Y, Gordon’s deadly shooting makes him difficult to defend.

The1968 team finished its season with a 25-3 record, its only blemishes coming at the hands of Windber at the Windber Christmas Tournament, an up-and-coming Laurel Valley team on its home floor (a loss that was avenged during the District 6 playoffs), and to Mt. Penn in a heart-breaking 62-61 one-point loss in the State Championship game.

The legacy of the 1968 team is that it is the last WHS boys’ basketball team to advance to a State Championship game. Although many fine teams and wonderful players have played basketball at Williamsburg following the 1968 season, most loyal WHS basketball fans consider 1968 the end of WHS’s golden age of basketball. Loyal WHS fans need to remember what this wonderful team and its coaches and players accomplished during the 1968 season.

Note: The Herald thanks Mr. Tate for this series of articles on Williamsburg basketball's golden years.