Where to begin? In 100 years of Kokomo Wildkat basketball, there has never been a time like 1961. Sure, Jimmy Rayl wowed the crowds in 1959, LSMFT was a crowd favorite in 1944, and the girl’s program won back-to-back state championships in the mid-1990s. ‘But those all pale in comparison to a magical moment in the history of the City of Kokomo. It was a time of sell-out crowds, stores closing on game nights, and Elvis Presley crooning his hit song “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” And that is what Wildkat fans did during the winter of 1960-1961; they fell in love with a group of young men who would forever set the standard of Kokomo basketball. It was a time when a pair of free throws meant the world to a hoops-crazy town in Central Indiana.

Joe Platt entered his 11th season as the head coach of the Kokomo Wildkats with high hopes. His boys were coming off a 23-3 campaign that saw them lose in the semi-state by four points to Bluffton. Nine players from the team returned for another season of Hoosier Hysteria, including Jim “Goose” Ligon, who was really coming into his own as a state power center. Also returning were Ronnie Hughes and Rich Scott, who were both proven scoring machines, as witnessed by each netting 31 points against Bluffton to end the prior season.

So, with the first game tip off, the eyes of Indiana were on the top-ranked Wildkats, and it didn’t take long for Kokomo to rip off its first win, a 63-26 triumph over Tipton. Frankfort made the attempt at the upset in game two, but the Hotdogs limped away with an 82-60 slaughter. Elwood, Lafayette Jefferson, and Marion each tried, and each team was turned away. Kokomo improved to 6-0 when they simply humiliated Indianapolis Shortridge, 104-47. North Central and Elkhart were both beaten by more than 20 points as the Kats were 8-0 heading into the Logansport Holiday Tournament. Kokomo downed New Castle, 76-61, and Logansport, 90-72, to claim the title and accomplish their first goal of the season - a perfect 10-0 to start.

SECOND HALF

The second half of the season started just like the first with a second blowout win over Logansport, 95-70 - it was Kokomo’s second consecutive game at the Berry Bowl. Frankfort, Connersville, Richmond, Anderson, and Peru all fell by the wayside to give Kokomo an impressive 16-0 record. The Wildkats arch-rival, Muncie Central, was the next team on the Kokomo knockout parade, but the Kats had to play this home game without the services of one of their big three, Rich Scott, who injured his knee in the Connersville game. The game turned into a classic at Memorial Gym, but despite Kokomo’s 10-point comeback, when the final horn sounded, the Kat’s fans were shocked by a 70-69 loss to the Bearcats. Kokomo’s missing link of Scott was just too much for the locals to overcome.

The Wildkats - with Scott back in the lineup -- recovered from that loss to slip by Indianapolis Arsenal Tech, 60-57, before rolling over Marion, 87-38. Their final regular season game was a 58-51 victory over New Castle, giving the Wildkats a share of the North Central Conference trophy and a 19-1 season. But up next for the Kats was the IHSAA tournament, and the Red and Blue had never tasted what it was like to be the last team standing, no matter how good their past teams were. Up to that point, the Kats had been the state final’s bridesmaid twice, while winning 35 sectionals, 19 regionals, and 4 semi-states in its first 58 years. They were a state powerhouse that most teams feared, but had never pulled the blue state championship banner to the rafters of Memorial Gymnasium. And despite a No. 1 ranking at the end of the 1960-1961 regular season, the thought was there, “Why would this year be any different?”

The Kats set their cruise control for its Kokomo Sectional wins over Delphi, 70-38, Eastern, 76-41, and Flora, 95-52. The Kokomo Regional was almost as easy, as the top-ranked Wildkats zoomed to a 95-64 win over Peru, and a 95-59 regional championship win over Noblesville. Even the Fort Wayne Semi-State was a little boring, as Kokomo downed Huntington, 85-55, and Berne, 75-63. This sent Kokomo to its second Final Four in three seasons - and a match up with Logansport for the third time since the Holiday Tournament.

As had been the case all tournament, the Berries were ousted from post-season play by the high-flying Wildkats, 87-66. To that point, no team had been closer than 10 points in any of the elimination games, and Kokomo fans thought that they finally were going to win the elusive one.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

The championship game was played on March 18, 1961, in front of a state record-setting crowd of 14,943 screaming fans on a rainy night in Indianapolis, inside the historic Butler Fieldhouse. The game pitted two state powerhouses - the Kats of Kokomo and the Redskins of Indianapolis Manual, featuring future Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer twins Dick and Tom VanArsdale. But just as quickly as the estimated 6,000 Kokomo fans could say jump ball, Ronnie Hughes hit a jumper from the corner to give Kokomo a 2-0 lead, and forced Manual to call a quick timeout because of the ease of the basket. But the Redskins marched back, and after one stanza, the Kokomo heroes trailed, 13-12, and at the half, 35-28.

The second half saw the Wildkats battle back, and at 2:39 of the third, Rich Scott hit a free throw to give Kokomo the lead, 40-39 - bringing the City of Firsts one step closer to its first state title. But, they fell behind at the end of three stanzas, 43-42, in what was turning out to be one of the greatest finales in the history of the IHSAA.

The fourth quarter may go down as one of the most exciting eight minutes of basketball in the history of Kokomo. Trailing by one at the jump, Kokomo lost the tip to Manual, and Dick VanArsdale hit a jump shot from the free throw line for two points. After Goose Ligon missed a shot for the Kats, Dick VanArsdale drove to the Manual hole, only to be rejected by a high-flying Ligon from behind. On the Kats next possessions, Hughes hit a 10-footer to cut the lead to 45-44, and they eventually knotted the score at 51-51 on a Ligon freebie. But Manual stormed back and took a 59-53 lead on a Jerry Cummings set of free throws. With 2:54 left in the contest, Kokomo got a huge break when Tom VanArsdale fouled out of the game with 17 points, meaning the Wildkats only had to stop one of the Twin Towers.

With 1:52 remaining, Ligon hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 59-55, but Coach Platt had a technical foul called on him, and Cummings hit a freebie to give Manual a huge five-point lead with just 104 seconds left in the game. After a missed jumper by Hughes, Cummings answered with his own jumper from 10-feet out, and Manual had what seemed to be an insurmountable 62-55 lead. The Kokomo faithful were stunned as they watched the Redskin fans begin to celebrate what was a sure upset state championship game win over the top-ranked Wildkats. The Redskins players and staff could also sense the end was near. A seven point lead was just too large to lose.

After Cumming’s shot, Kokomo worked the ball and found Hughes for a jumper to cut the Manual lead to 62-57. Cummings was fouled on the next possession, but he missed his freebie and Rich Scott was fouled with 56 seconds left. He missed his first shot, but Dick VanArsdale was called for a lane violation, giving Scott a second chance. He made that one, and the second, and Kokomo was back in the game, trailing by three points. Manual then brought the ball down the court, but Hughes - ever the master on the court - stole a pass and fed it to Scott, who missed his shot. Fortunately, Ligon was there to rebound it, and was fouled trying a put back. He hit the first shot, but the second bounced away and resulted in a jump ball with 24 seconds remaining: and the score, Manual 62, Kokomo 60.

The Redskins called a time out before the jump ball took place, then, after the timeout, won the jump. But, seconds later, Ligon grabbed the ball and forced another jump ball. Ligon won the tip, and Rich Scott nailed a shot from the side with 11 seconds left to tie the game, 62-62. As the Kokomo fans went crazy over the remarkable comeback, Dick VanArsdale missed a shot and Cummings was called for a personal foul as the horn sounded, sending Scott to the free throw line to win it all. Unfortunately, he missed, and the IHSAA state championship game of 1961 became an overtime event.

Kokomo controlled the overtime tip during an era when every quarter began with a jump ball, but after Scott and Ligon missed shots, Babe Pryor ripped the nets to give the Wildkats a 64-62 lead. Dick VanArsdale tied the game with a jumper, and Kokomo shooting sensation Rich Scott was called for his fifth foul and had to leave the game. Manual missed the charity shot, and Hughes drilled a jumper from the corner to make the score 66-64 in favor of Kokomo. But, with 1:46 left, Ligon fouled Dick VanArsdale for his fifth foul, and the Wildkats were without two of its top three scorers. Dick hit one of the freebies to cut the lead to 66-65. After a jump ball that was won by Manual, Dick VanArsdale was fouled by Gary Glover. VanArsdale hit one of his charity shots to tie the score at 66 with 28 seconds left in the game. Kokomo brought the ball up the court, and with 19 seconds left, Coach Platt called a timeout to set up a play that everyone in the building knew would involve Hughes.

With all eyes on Hughes, the ball found its way to him, and with just three ticks left, he was fouled by Armen Cobb. Now the whole state of Indiana watched as Hughes calmly walked up to the Butler Fieldhouse south free throw line, and released the ball. It sailed toward the basket, hit the back of the rim, bounced three times, and fell in, giving the Wildkats a  67-66 lead. He then repeated his first effort by hitting nothing but the bottom of the net for the two -point lead. A final Manual desperation shot missed, and the hard luck Kokomo Wildkats -- a team that had come so close but never made the final step up the latter - climbed to the top rung and the pinnacle of American prep basketball. They were the state champions of Indiana. They kissed the coveted trophy and held it high for an entire city to see. This wasn’t just the trophy of a group of young men named Kent Bouslog, Jim Burt, Dave Cox, Bill Decker, Ed Eisert, Clarence Foster, Gary Glover, Mike Hankins, Ronnie Hughes, Goose Ligon, John Pryor, and Rich Scott; this wasn’t a trophy for a legendary coach named of Joe Platt. This was a trophy for an entire city. A city so consumed with the game of basketball that it had to split season tickets to a 7,000 seat temple the following season. A city that would raffle off sectional tickets. A city called Kokomo - the home of a team called, Kats with a K!