The 1959–60 Morrison Cove High School Basketball Team

John Bush was raised in Martinsburg and graduated from Central High in 1961. He spent most of his adult life in the Pacific Northwest. He has many memories as a boy in the 1950s that give some insight to the people and culture of Martinsburg in the 1950s. John likes to tell stories and over the years he has repeated the stories of his youth many times. His belief is that those years in Martinsburg influenced him all of his life. Some of the stories are historical in nature, some are colorful, and some are personal. He wishes that you enjoy them.

In a Morrisons Cove Herald article many years after 1959, there was a piece on the best Cove High basketball teams. The 1959–60 basketball team’s coach, Sherman Croft, was interviewed about his team. He noted that he had in the fall of 1959 inherited several good players from Coach Frank Moore, and besides the six top players there were several excellent reserve guys who provided considerable depth. The team was the last Cove High team, because consolidation with Roaring Spring and East Freedom into Central High occurred in the fall of 1960. Along with Robert Davis, a classmate of mine, I served as basketball manager for the team that year before the consolidation. I also was the manager in 1958–59. I recall that the opposition fans called me ‘ball boy.’ Sitting on the bench and traveling with the team gave me some insights to each player.

The obvious strength of the team was its balance. At the end of the season six players all averaged between 9 and 12 points per game. Opposing teams had to prepare to defend several good shooters instead of two or three. Reagan Carper was the point guard; he was the ‘Energizer Bunny’ and director of both the offense and defense. He was not the best outside shooter, but could penetrate, was quick on the fast break, a great defender, and was very sure handed. Lowell Ritchey was the shooting guard who could drop jump shots beyond the key on both sides of the court. Steve Park was the power forward. He had a jump shot that was difficult to guard because he would shoot with his arms high above his head. He was not fat but was a big young man who could defend and get rebounds. Like most of his teammates he was very sure handed. The other forward was Ronnie Smith. Unlike Steve, he was thin and a very smooth player. He could shoot from the right side and was quick enough to help the guards bring up the ball if necessary. Many opposing offensive players underestimated Ron’s ability and had their shots blocked or knocked away. I always thought that Ron was the best all around athlete I saw play at Cove High. He was also an excellent baseball player and played first base like he had been born there.

At center was Bill Replogle who was tall, thin, and lanky. Some people referred to Bill as ‘the tube.’ He may not have been as athletic as other starters and seemed clumsy at times. However, he was always focused and played hard. On defense he was a major problem for the opposing offense with his long arms and ability to get rebounds. On offense he often scored with two handed shots close to the rim. He was fouled a lot and although not the best shooter, made enough foul shots to slow down the pushing and shoving by the opposition. Dick Replogle (not related to Bill) was the sixth man who played a lot, replacing both Ritchey and Carper at times. He could penetrate a bit, and his jump shots were quick and hard to defend. He played with a

a lot of energy and scored nearly as many times as the other guards. The most important role that Dick played was that due to the constant rotation, the guards were well-rested and they always exhibited a lot of energy from the beginning to the end of the game. Some of the other bench players who provided rest for the first six players were Bill Metzler, Wilbur Rhodes, Cary Ritchey, and Clayton Pheasant.

Coach Croft’s team dominated the league and soon became the talk of the town. The Herald had large, black and white, top-quality photos of the six players posted in their office windows. Other stores often cut out headlines and posted the most recent newspaper article about the team in their windows. On my newspaper route, I was often stopped and asked about details from older customers who had not been at the games. The girls at school talked about the basketball players all the time. Boys who were not generally interested in high school sports also got wrapped up in supporting the team. If you had access to a car, getting a date for a home game was easy because they were the biggest events in town all winter. The applause and cheering was loud from standing crowds as the team entered the gym at the beginning of each game and at half time. At away games the presence of Cove High fans increased with each victory. Some people even began to wait for our bus to return from an away game and cheered as we stepped off the bus. Once after a game the bus stopped at Fouses Dairy at James Creek and we were all treated to milk shakes by parents of Cove fans. Even today, my classmates talk about the various players.

Near the end of the season, the talk of the town was about the team’s chances to reach the state finals. We won the first round of playoffs but lost to Laurel Valley in a low-scoring game. The best team doesn’t always win and I still believe we were the better team. We should have won and moved on, but it did not happen.