| Athletics
The boys sports of baseball, basketball, and track all earned a measure of success in IHSA competition (www.ihsa.org). Football was also offered at Benld High. School team records, and coach’s names are all items we are searching for. Benld was a member of the South Central Conference from 1935-1960.
Boys Baseball
The Benld High School diamond men earned a total of three District titles. All three titles came in back to back to back seasons in the mid 1940s. Unfortunately this is currently the only information on Benld High School baseball success that we have available.
1944-45 District Champions
1945-46 District Champions
1946-47 District Champions
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Benld Basketball Team – 1949-50 |
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Photo submitted by Donald Audi |
Boys Basketball
Basketball was the main sport at Benld High School in the 1940s and 1950s. A total of four Regional titles and six District titles were cause for many an exciting winter night in Benld. Again, unfortunately, team records and coach’s names of these and other great Benld High basketball teams are not currently available.
The team of 1949-50 is pictured to the right. Members of this team included:
from left to right: Darwin Griva, Donald Audi, Jack Tarter, Sam Anderson, Jack Contratto, Coach Adolph “Chief” Tenikat, Bernie Verna, Jim Tillis, Danny Polonius, Steve Maizel and Bob Kepler
Several scores involving Benld High School participating in the IHSA State Tournament can be viewed on a web site titled “Illinois Postseason Basketball Scores.” The link to this web site is https://sites.google.com/site/xtmi2000/ . Scores found that are from championship seasons involving Benld High School are reprinted below.
1918-19 Macoupin County Tourney Champs Coach Wm. E. Rutherford
1935-36 Macoupin County Tourney Champs Coach Glenn Hastings
1936-37 Litchfield Regional Champions Coach’s name & record needed
1st Rd Beat Mt. Olive 21-15
Semi-final Beat Litchfield 27-19
Title Game Beat Hillsboro 20 – 17
Belleville Sectional Tournament
1st Rd lost to Wood River 24-19
Collinsville beat Wood River in title game
Collinsville placed 3rd in IHSA State Tournament
1938-39 Macoupin County Tourney Champs Coach John Rosetti
1941-42 Gillespie Regional Champions Coach’s name & record needed
1st Rd Beat Medora 43-19
Semi-final Beat Gillespie 37-19
Title Game Beat Litchfield 35-32
Taylorville Sectional Tournament
1st Rd Beat Springfield Lanphier 38-30
Semi-final lost to Decatur 40-21
Decatur beat Taylorville in title game
Decatur lost in Elite 8 Rd of Tournament
1945-46 Gillespie Regional Champions Coach’s name & record needed
1st Rd Beat Carlinville 66-29
Semi-final Beat Mt. Olive 38-35
Title Game Beat Gillespie 34-33
Hillsboro Sectional Runner-Up
1st Rd Beat Teutopolis 38-36
Title Game lost to Pana 49-38
Pana lost in Sweet 16 Rd of Tournament
1947-48 Brighton District Champions Coach’s name & record needed
Semi-final Beat Palmyra 38-32
Title Game Beat Brighton 46-28
Gillespie Regional Tournament
1st Rd Beat Litchfield 52-29
Semi-final lost to Hillsboro 49-28
Hillsboro beat Gillespie in title game
Hillsboro lost in Sweet 16 Round
1948-49 Medora District Champions Coach’s name & record needed
Semi-final Beat Medora 61-25
Title Game Beat Shipman 68-37
Hillsboro Regional Tournament
1st Rd lost to Gillespie 57-44
Hillsboro beat Gillespie in title game
Hillsboro placed 2ND in IHSA State Tournament
1949-50 25 – 6 Brighton District Champions Coach Adolph “Chief” Tenikat
South Central Conference Champs
Macoupin County Tourney Champs
District Scores
Semi-final Beat Brighton 80-36
Title Game Beat Shipman 71-45
Gillespie Regional Champions
1st Rd Beat Litchfield 56-40
Semi-final Beat Hillsboro 41-38
Title Game Beat Mt. Olive 42-40
Centralia Sectional Runner-Up
Semi-Final Beat Sparta 44-37
BENLD (44): Tartar 11, Anderson 9, Audi 8, Tillas 6, Contralto 5, Derna 5.
SPARTA (37): Partington 16, Holloway 6, Burns 6, Moffat 5, Ingram 2, Nordberg 2
Title Game lost to Mt. Vernon 55-33
MOUNT VERNON (55): Hooper 19, King 12, Riley 10, Brown 7, Moore 5, Wood 2
BENLD (33): Audi 9, Zerna 7, Tartar 6, Contralto 4, Anderson 3, Tillas 2, Griva 2
Mt. Vernon won IHSA State Championship
1950-51 Medora District Champions Coach’s name & record needed
Semi-final Beat Brighton 93-48
Title Game Beat Shipman 62-33
Hillsboro Regional Tournament
1st Rd lost to Hillsboro 61-59
Gillespie beat Litchfield in title game
1951-52 Brighton District Champions Coach’s name & record needed
Semi-final Beat Medora 93-67
Title Game Beat Brighton 69-57
Gillespie Regional Tournament
1st Rd Beat Mt. Olive 54-46
Semi-final lost to Gillespie 84-46
Gillespie beat Staunton in title game
1953-54 Medora District Champions Coach’s name & record needed
Title Game Beat Shipman 86-72
Litchfield Regional Tournament
1st Rd lost to Gillespie 94-55
Litchfield beat Gillespie in title game
Litchfield lost in Sweet 16 Rd of Tournament
**The Benld boys played all comers. Check out this information from our good friend Mark Jurenga:
All-time series vs. Collinsville: Collinsville won 8-2
*Collinsville is #2 in IHSA history in wins with 1,939 after the 2006-2007 season.
Benld victories:
12/7/1940 Benld 29 Collinsville 22 (At Benld)
12/14/1943 Benld 29 Collinsville 25 (At Collinsville)
Boys Track & Field
The Benld thinclads also got into the IHSA competition winning business with three District titles of its own! All three titles came in back to back to back seasons in the early 1940s! In addition FIVE individuals and one relay team won medals at the IHSA State Meet.
1927-28 ?? Novotny 120 Yard Hurdles 5TH Place
1935-36 ?? Gorino Discus 4TH Place
1938-39 Louis Grabner Javelin 4TH Place
1940-41 Team Won the District Championship
Individual State Medalists
John Lukachik Shot Put 5TH Place
RELAY TEAMS 880 Yard Relay 3TH Place
1941-42 Team Won the DIstrict Championship
Individual State Medalist
Mike Balen Shot Put 3RD Place
1942-43 Team Won the District Championship
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1950 South Central Conference Champs |
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Courtesy of Darwin Griva |
Boys Football
Benld Township High School’s Indians competed in football as well. We don’t have all of the season records, but the photo to the right was sent to us by Darwin Griva. It is a photo of the South Central Conference Champions of 1950-51. The team was coached by future Illinois Hall of Famer Adolph “Chief” Tenikat. Coach went on to coach at Gillespie High School. This team finished the season at 6 – 1 – 2 with the loss coming in the first game of the season. All-Conference members from this team included Econe, Keppler, Verna, Anderson, and Griva. Econe was also named to the First Team Little All-State Team and Keppler earned Fourth Team Little All-State Honors!
1945 5-3-1 South Central Conference Champs Coach Adolph Tennikat
1946 8-1 South Central Conference Champs Coach Adolph Tennikat
1947 5-4 2nd place South Central Conference Coach Adolph Tennikat
1949 5-4 2nd place South Central Conference Coach Adolph Tennikat
1950 6-1-2 South Central Conference Champs Coach Adolph Tennikat
1960 4-3-1 Last team, 3rd place South Central Conference. Coach Auggie Dicenso
Last game was a 21-0 win over Gillespie, the school they would consolidate with the next year.
MEMORIES
**From Ted Chura:
“1. As told to me by me dad who was a sub: My dad graduated in 1925. That year the senior class had extra money in its Treasury. They sponsored the football team to go to Chicago and play the Chicago city champions. Everyone thought for sure that we were going to win. The coach took them out to see Rudolph Valentino. They stayed at the Drake Hotel and changed clothes in a city park where the game was played. They got one player to come back to school and join the team because he was still eligible even though he was now 20 years old. The girls tutored him. He kicked a field goal on the kick off and that was the only points we made. I was told the coach had everyone tape their fists. They threw rocks at the ref. They were so mad that they lost by only a few points that they stole some of the other guy’s clothes from the Park dressing room. Joe Saracco, who later became Superintendent of the grade school, was the quarter back and had been knocked unconscious. They carried him through the lobby of the Drake Hotel, all still in uniform. My dad said they put lineament all over his body and must have ruined the mattress.
When I was a freshman in 1952 I remember reading a blurb in the St. Louis Post Dispatch that said, “everyone remembers when Benld had its gridiron.”
Joe Saracco was my basketball coach in grade school. I set an unofficial record that year. I fouled out in the first 5 minutes. Don’t know why he left me in.
2. There used to be huge pictures of each class in the second floor hallway attesting to the excellence in typing and shorthand in the 1940s. What ever happened to all those pictures?
3. During the 1952-1953 basketball season I remember seeing Sam Anderson sink a two handed set shot from the center court line right when the buzzer was sounding the end of the fist half and again at the end of the game.
4. Don’t remember which years but the Benld High School band won the Governor’s trophy 3 years in a row at the State Fair. The high school band included many grade school players and many in my class joined the high school band for the first time when we were in fourth grade. The high school only had 104 students but with grade school students playing in the high school band it was a 70 piece marching band.
5. You can visit the Dorsey family cemetery plot fenced in at the cul-de-sac in the Benld Cemetery.
6. Superior Coal Company had four mines in the area numbered 1 through 4. However, “Mine No. 5” was the still in the woods behind the cemetery during prohibition.
7. Freshman initiation had a long tradition. It started with football practice before the school year began and lasted all year for the boys. All freshmen were expected to go out for football. The practice finally ended around 1953 after things had gotten a little out of hand.
8. Benld had a very good educational system and about half the class went on to college with many distinguishing themselves.
Because the mines were shutting down and they went to division of work, my family moved to St. Louis where I finished my last two years of high school.”
If You Have Information to Share…
…regarding the many successes and accomplishments of Benld Township High School please write to us at the address provided. We are especially anxious to share photos of the old high school building and great teams, coaches, and other accomplishments of BTHS. Photos and information can be e-mailed to us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net. You can write to us at:
Illinois HS Glory Days
6439 N. Neva St.
Chicago, Il. 60631 |
