CHS Athletic Hall of Fame members (from left) Dennis Whittington, Mike Towne, Randy Wheeler and Pat Towne, with framed copies of the state championship brackets and poster commemorating their 1969 2A State Champion boys’ basketball team’s title game victory over Sutherlin. GINI DAVIS
Four members of the Creswell Bulldogs’ 1969 2A State Champion boys’ basketball team were among those who gathered in the CHS commons on Saturday, Feb. 3 to chat, snack and listen to a radio rebroadcast of the exciting, high-scoring game in which Creswell defeated defending champion Sutherlin 100-91 – a record number of points for a state championship title game.
Dennis Whittington, Mike Towne, Pat Towne and Randy Wheeler were the team members present on Saturday. Before the broadcast began they visited, posed for pictures and perused memorabilia including a framed copy of their state championship-winning bracket, a framed poster bearing photos of team members and their championship banner, and old newspaper articles trumpeting their record-setting victory.
The four, along with fellow team members Ron Goss, Larry Joslin, Lonnie Hartman, Don Heater, Ron Chambers, Gary Syphers, Tony Stringfellow and Mike Garboden, Head Coach Harland Towne and Assistant Coach Dick Gilbert were inducted into Creswell High School’s Athletic Hall of Fame in its inaugural Class of 2012.
Garboden, now deceased, was First Team All-State and MVP of the 1969 state tournament. He shot 69 percent from the field and averaged 29 points per game during the tournament.
The radio rebroadcast was sponsored by the CHS Athletic Hall of Fame Committee. The tape was provided by committee member Greg Menegat, himself a Hall of Fame inductee.
The event was free, but donations were accepted toward the Hall of Fame scholarship that will be awarded to a senior athlete at the end of the school year.
”It was just a fun, nostalgic evening,” said Hall of Fame Committee member and Hall of Fame inductee, Marcia (Bates) Costley.
