(NOTE: This is Part 3 in a series. Check out Wednesday’s edition of the Recorder for Part 2.)
Having taken to the media to announce its presence with authority, the Turners Falls High School basketball team had no choice but to back up all the talking it was doing.
Captain Teddy Sullivan was seeking a challenge for the 1913-14 Powertowners, particularly after a back-to-back 40-plus point victories over Athol and Deerfield. As the schedule makers would have it, he got his wish as the calendar flipped to February.
The Springfield Republican set the stage for a battle that had statewide implications. Undefeated Turners Falls would get its shot at another unbeaten, this time from the other side of the Commonwealth. Fall River High School, another squad without a loss, was lined up for a Feb. 7, 1914, battle at Hibernian Hall. The teams were set to play a best-of-three game series, spread out over the course of the next month. It was dubbed “the state championship series,” as in those days, there were no tournaments or postseason brackets. Teams would more or less unofficially claim supremacy.
“Fall River has won 11 and lost no games this year and it feels it has a just claim to the championship,” wrote the Republican on Feb. 5, 1914. “The first of the three games will be played in Turners Falls Saturday evening. The second game will be played in Fall River and the third one, if it is necessary, will be played on a neutral floor. This will be good news to the fans who are confident that the Turners Falls boys will give a good account of themselves.”
Looking to make a statement on their home floor, the Powertowners went to work. The Greenfield Recorder called it, “one of the fastest games seen here this season and also one of the roughest. Both teams were offenders in the rough stuff and there were frequent mix-ups.”
In the end, Turners’ speed won out. The hosts wore down a bigger Fall River side, taking a 29-17 lead at halftime, and ultimately pulled away for a convincing 51-22 victory. It was the 13th straight victory for the home side, which received a huge offensive performance from leading scorer Black. He went for 23 points, seven at the charity stripe along with eight field goals.
The rematch was set for Feb. 21.
There was no hangover affect for Turners. Following the big victory over their cross-state foe, the Hibernian Hallers racked up a 27-24 victory over West Springfield and tacked on a whopping 94-7 win over Deerfield, mercifully bringing that season series to a conclusion after Turners outscored the club by a 148-15 margin in two games. Another win over West Springfield, this time a comfortable 75-30 win, saw the Powertown move to a perfect 16-0 entering late February.
Not much was reported about what happened next in the local rags, but with Turners preparing to meet Fall River in Game 2 of their best-of-three series, disaster struck on Feb. 18. In a game against Greenfield, the third of the season, Turners lost its cool, and because of it, lost its first game of the year. A fight broke out, and due to an ejection of a player not identified, Greenfield was officially awarded a 2-0 victory. Just like that, the undefeated season was over.
The goal was always to win titles however, and one loss was not going to prevent that possibility, especially with another chance at Fall River on the docket.
Turners traveled across the state for its game against Fall River, walking into a gymnasium it had not quite seen before. A packed house of 900 fans filled the arena, described by the Republican as, “a peculiarly square-shaped floor.” The game was played “under no bounds rules, the upstate men were placed at a disadvantage which they were unable to overcome throughout the evening.”
Fall River used home court to its advantage, evening up the best-of-three series thanks to a 41-23 victory. For Turners, it was a second straight loss, and first true loss on the floor. The 23 points were a season low, and the 41 points allowed were by far the most through 18 games. The previous high had been 30 against West Springfield.
“The Fall River team was at its best on its own floor and held the lead from beginning to end,” wrote the Turners Falls Reporter, noting that the decisive third game would likely take place on neutral grounds in Worcester.
Black scored 23 points to set the tone, with Sullivan also playing well in defeat.
Sitting at 16-2 overall, Turners Falls’ season was on the brink. With only a couple of games remaining, the Powertown still had work to do in order to claim championships at either the Western Mass. or state level, with chief competitors like Pittsfield and Fall River still in the mix.
With March arriving, showdowns with powerhouse sides were fast approaching. With several teams looking to claim titles, and call themselves champions, whose claim would hold the most water come season’s end?
Check out Friday’s edition of the Recorder for the final part of this series.