BLOGS

TWO GRAND

The 2,000th game in the history of Wenatchee High School boys basketball is Saturday when the Panthers take on Eastmont at the Town Toyota Center.

It was 100 years, eight months and 19 days ago in 1911 that Wenatchee, under coach George Sievers, played their first interscholastic game of hoops. WHS hosted Cashmere, and the home team began their basketball program 0-1. The visitors left town 26-22 winners.

Compared to today, it was an interesting time to play a game, let alone start a season…March 22. Hard to call it the 1910-11 season, but the entire campaign for that school year consisted of that single outing.

It took 10 seasons for Wenatchee to finally have an overall winning record. They began the 1920 season 22-22 and then went 5-4 for a 27-26 mark and they’ve been on the plus side ever since. Through the 1,198 games played, the Panthers have managed a winning percentage of 52.6 with 1,051 wins and 947 losses.

Wenatchee has had 26 coaches, 580 players, 14 state appearances, six leagues, 16 league titles and has scored 96,813 points

It took nearly 55 years to play the first thousand and just under 46 years for the second. The 1,000th game was just about exactly 46 years ago. On December 18, 1965, Wenatchee topped Seattle Prep 49-43 in a Western Conference game here in town.

The following, regarding the first WHS interscholastic boys basketball game ever played, ran in my report of 1/13/10 when Wenatchee played their 100th season of hoops. From the coverage in the Wenatchee World in 1911, basketball seemed to play second fiddle to early-day prep wrestling. All spelling and punctuation printed as it was originally, including three names spelled a couple of ways.

Wenatchee World, March 21, 1911.
High School Athletes Give Exhibition Tomorrow Night Here.
Cashmere high school has heard about Wenatchee high school’s “Hope of the White Race,” Beerman, and the athletes immediately set about training one of their baby giants with the idea to thumping Wenatchee. They were more than gratified with the result they attained. In fact, they are so confident of his prowess that they have sent down a challenge to Wenatchee, saying that their man, Buell by name, guaranteed to throw any two of Wenatchee’s heavyweights in an hour. This sounded pretty sad, but Coach Sievers in his “Hope,” and tomorrow evening in the high school gymnasium the two heavyweights will clash.
Cashmere also has another man, Hutler, whom they think can throw Wenatchee’s man, Garrison. Garrison, however, has outclassed everything he as yet met and Cashmere’s man will have to “go some” to better the Wenatchee lad.
Cashmere’s basketball team will also try to wallop Wenatchee’s star aggregation. Wenatchee had demonstrated its ability against the firemen and if Cashmere has got the talent they say they have, this ought to be an extremely interesting game.
Take together this ought to prove fully as interesting an evening as the two similar events with the firemen. No one can afford to miss the wrestling match between Beerman and Buell for Cashmere. Garrison and Hutler also ought to put up a classy exhibition.
The side entrance will be used as formerly. Don’t forget the date, March 22.

Wenatchee World, March 22, 1911
EXPECTS TO CARRY OFF LAURELS
Wenatchee H. S. Athletes Not Scared by Cashmere’s Offer of Handicap
Beerman, Wenatchee’s “Hope of the White Race,” and Garrison, nicknamed the ‘American Tiger,” both feel in splendid form for their bouts tonight with the Cashmere boys.
Buell, the 200 pound lad from Cashmere, will come down filled with confidence as he has easily handled everything in Cashmere that dared go on the mat with him. The Cashmere coach thinks so much of his man that he was very condescendingly going to place his man under a handicap, i. e. he was going to have his man throw any two of Wenatchee’s heavyweights inside of an hour. This sort of talk sounds nice on paper but evidently the Cashmere coach didn’t know about Beerman or surely he would have been a little more conservative in his statements.
This heavyweight wrestling match will undoubtedly be the best match ever seen in Wenatchee.
Cashmere has another man, Hubler, whom it claims can easily handle Garrison, Wenatchee’s middleweight champion. As Garrison had demonstrated his ability to the Wenatchee fans, there are many who think his heavier opponent will be unable to throw him.
The basketball game will also be an exciting feature and will be hard fought throughout. O’Melreny promises some more brilliant baskets and when “Jimmie” gets hold of the ball, Cashmere will have to gasp.

Wenatchee World, March 23, 1911
Honors Were Evenly Divided
Cashmere Take Basketball Game but Wrestling Honors Are With Locals
Honors broke about even in the athletic meet last night at the high school gymnasium. Cashmere sent down a bunch of clean-cut, gentlemanly young fellows who carried off the honors in the basketball game, but went down to defeat in the two wrestling bouts. Cashmere’s basketball team has worked together all season and had been victorious in most of the games. In the first half the score stood 9 to 12 in favor of Cashmere, and the second half, 22 to 26 in Cashmere’s favor. The lineup was as follows: Cashmere - Deuseau C, McClimans G, Smith G, Peterson G, Casebeer F. Wenatchee - Smith C, Adams, G, Gromley G, Yocum G, Melreny F.

Lightweight Bout.
In the lightweight bout, Garrison represented the local high school and Hubler the Cashmere team. The former weighs 154 and the latter 156. Garrison won the first fall in nine minutes and the second in three. Both men were fast and spent some time sparring for holds, but Garrison winning easily in both falls. Garrison showed considerable improvement in form over his previous exhibitions. He is gaining confidence in himself and shows the effect of Coach Sievers’ training.
Heavyweights Quickly Mix
Buell of Cashmere went onto the mat in his bout with Beerman full of confidence. He is an ex-Multnomah member and had no idea but he could easily pin Beerman to the mat. He weighs 187 1-2 pounds to Berrman’s 188. He wanted to rush matters and there was no sparring for holds. This method suited Beerman and he quickly got his arms fastened around the Cashmere man and hurled him to the mat. It took but a moment to pin his shoulders, winning the fall in 1 1-4 minutes.
The second fall was in two minutes. Buell was not so anxious to mix during the second encounter, but Beerman showed his confidence in himself by doing the rush act and quickly pinning his man to the mat.
W. H. Sams refereed the bouts and gave eminent satisfaction. In the lightweight class strangle and toe-holds were barred, but the big men barred only the strangle-hold and a fifteen minute limit was placed on both bouts.

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