1962-63                          Return to Year-by-Year                      HOME                 Update 7-26-2018

STATE CHAMPIONS  CLASS AA: Salina  CLASS A: Russell  CLASS B: Peabody  CLASS BB:  Durham

               Hayden won the first ever Centennial League championship going a perfect 12-0. They played some of the most exciting games ever played by a Hayden team. Topeka High was master over Hayden during the regular season. The second contest was played at Whiting Fieldhouse and the crowd noise reached record breaking decibels. Dick Fensler of the Topeka Daily Capital said the "battle was marked by bone-jarring play on both sides without even a touch of malice."

                A week later Hayden faced off against Topeka High in what Coach Bueltel called "the greatest game ever played by a Hayden team." Coach used a St. Louis University style offense that isolated Greg Bien with 2 to sometimes 4 man screens. The 2 overtime win gave Hayden a berth for the first time in the Class AA State tourney. Tournament jitters led to a first round loss to eventual champion Salina - Coach Bueltel admitted that he was as nervous as the players.  (CONTINUED below Team picture)

Team photo - first  Centennial League Champion. Courtesy of Paul Donahue estate.

Back Row: Asst. Coach Bill Quick, Lonnie Hansard, Tom Sheahan, Mike Tharp, Coach Bueltel, Ed Tucker, Mike Rees, Mike Coughlin, Asst. Coach John Bell    

Front Row: Asst Tom Turkle, Paul Donahue, Greg Bien, Jim Kamer, Don Gregg, Steve Gibbs, Gary Reser, Asst Tom Coleman.

HAYDEN vs TOPEKA HIGH         

                Ed Tucker was listed at 6' 5" and he often dominated the inside game with scoring and rebounding. His 20.9 scoring average during 1962-63 is still the highest single season scoring average in Hayden history.  His head-to-head matches with Roscoe Jackson of Topeka High were memorable. Topeka High blew out the Wildcats in the first meeting in the finals of the Christmas Tourney.  Tucker outscored Jackson 18-11, but Roscoe was a menace on defense and had a big edge in rebounding.  Topeka High stopped many attempts at feeding the ball to Tucker and Duke Jones provided the big scoring punch (26 points) for the Trojans.

                    Hayden rolled along through the Centennial League and nearly the rest of the season undefeated. Ed Tucker would set some scoring records in the process. Against Seaman he set a single game free throw record ( 18 for 21 from the line).  When Hayden played the Vikings for the second time, Ed tied a single game scoring record of 36. Greg Bien continued to pull the team together out on the floor when games got close (WRHS 2/8/63 & Kapaun 2/22/63).  Hansard, Tharp, Sheahan and Gregg were also big contributors. 

                    The final game of the regular season was against Topeka High with Whiting Field House providing Hayden a home court. Jackson won the duel against Tucker. He outscored and out rebounded Ed - but both gave it everything they had. Jackson fouled out but the Trojans hung on to give Hayden another loss. THS coach Jack Dean cautioned his players that if the two played again  in the Regional to expect a close game like the 2nd meeting. 

                    After barely squeaking by Lawrence, Coach Bueltel tried to play the psych game with his comments in the paper (TDC). "I definitely feel that the more you play a team the more you learn about them" and then he added "as for the final, the pressure is on them.  No one expects us to win. Topeka is the best there is, and that's the way we want it. There is no pressure on us."  The 2 OT win by Hayden over Topeka High was the greatest Hayden win to date. The win gave the Wildcats their first trip to a AA State tournament. 

                   Coach Bueltel added to the drama by scheduling a short practice at  6:30 PM at Hayden East  before the game at 9PM at Topeka High. The players ran thru an offense designed to keep Roscoe Jackson away from the basket. The run-shoot was abandoned and Coach Bueltel emphasized a "St. Louis University" one-man attack - the offense stacked four players in a straight line on one side of the free throw circle and let the fifth man (Greg Bien) operate on his own with some screening help from the stack. (Dick Fensler TDC). Coach later admitted that he was nearly exhausted towards the end of the second overtime and Bien's cool demeanor really helped the team hang on for the win.

               The fact that  Salina ended up winning the State Championship took some of the sting out of Hayden's first round loss. Hayden had a terrible game shooting the ball and still led after 3 quarters 34-31. Hayden collapsed in the 4th and Ed Tucker (in foul trouble) was unable to stop ALL-STATE star Jeff Elias.    

Coach Ken Bueltel   WON  18  LOST  3   Centennial League Champion        Class AA Regional Champion

Bien (15), Ed Tucker and Mike Tharp in action at the Seaman gym. (Photo actually from Dec 1961)