Congrats on a great pick up!
I have a few tickets and programs from the Indiana hoops tournament, but my earliest pieces are only from the 1940s - stuff from the 20s and 30s is super tough. By the way, the 1928 tournament was not the first one (it actually started in 1911), but it was the first to be held in this historic venue, which was later renamed Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Mike is correct - John Wooden led Martinsville to the 1928 runner-up finish against Muncie after having led them to the state title over Muncie in '27 (and another runner-up finish in '26). He then went on to an All-American career at Purdue before beginning his legendary coaching career. Nice picture, Mike!
Anyone who has a love of sports history should try to get to a game at Butler if they're in the Indianapolis area. The fieldhouse was the largest basketball arena in the country when it was built and is a true piece of American sports history.
I grew up in Indiana (graduated from a North Central Conference high school) and am a huge fan of the state's unparalleled basketball history. Up through 1997, Indiana placed every school into one big end-of-year tournament in (I believe) all sports except for football. When you won the title you truly were the "state champion."
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