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1960s Historic Connections

to Wyandotte High School

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Fred Slaughter

Topeka High School, Topeka, Kansas, Class of 1960

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High School Career

  • Competed for the Topeka Trojans in basketball and track & field.
     

  • In the 1958 state title game at Ahearn Field House in Manhattan, Slaughter (then a sophomore) scored 3 points before fouling out in the 2nd quarter in Wyandotte’s 48-46 win over the Trojans. 
     

  • In the 1959 regular season, the Bulldogs defeated the Trojans twice including a 63-44 win at Topeka. Nolen Ellison led Wyandotte with 23 points & Slaughter led the Trojans with 12.
     

  • At 6’5”, Slaughter both threw the discus & ran the 100-yard dash. In the 100-yard dash, Slaughter owned a 9.9 personal record & won the 1959 Class AA 100-yard dash state title

College Career

  • Competed for the UCLA Bruins and Coach John Wooden for 3 seasons (1962-1964).
     

  • In 1962, helped the Bruins to the program’s 1st ever Final 4, where they fell to the eventual National Champion Cincinnati Bearcats 72-70 in the semifinals held at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.
     

  • In 1964, UCLA defeated the Duke Blue Devils 98-83 in the National Championship game held at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The win capped a 30-0 season earning the UCLA program and Coach John Wooden their first national championship. Inducted in the UCLA Hall of Fame in 2004.

Professional Career

  • Graduated from Columbia University Law School before becoming a pioneering sports attorney and agent primarily representing NBA players and referees

Fred Slaughter, playing for UCLA, 1962-1964.

Fred Slaughter, playing for UCLA.

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Gale Sayers *KU

Omaha Central High School, Omaha, Nebraska, Class of 1961

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High School Career

  • Competed for the Omaha Central Eagles where he earned football All-State honors in 1959 & 1960. 
     

  • Set the Nebraska high school state long jump record (24’ 10.5”) in 1961 that lasted for nearly 40 years.​

College Career

  • Played 3 seasons (1962-1964) for the Kansas Jayhawks football team and Coach Jack Mitchell finishing with 2,675 rushing yards and 3,917 all-purpose yards.
     

  • Earned All-Big 8 Conference honors (1962-1964) & 1st Team All-American honors in 1963 & 1964.
     

  • In Sayers’ 1963 & 1964 All-American seasons, his backfield mate as the Jayhawk quarterback was Wyandotte Bulldog Steve Renko (class of 1962).
     

  • Drafted in the 1st round (4th overall pick) of the 1965 NFL Draft and signed to a contract by the Chicago Bears.  Also was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1st round (5th overall pick) of the 1965 AFL Draft.

Professional Career

  • Earned 5 (1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, and 1969) 1st Team All-Pro honors.
     

  • Earned NFL Rushing yards leader in 1966 and 1969. Retired from professional football with 6 NFL records.
     

  • Named to the NFL’s 50th, 75th,  and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams.
     

  • Inducted in 1977 (age 34) as the youngest player ever into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Kansas University, 1962-1964.

Gale Sayers,playing for Kansas University

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Riney Lochmann *KU

Wichita North High School, Wichita, Kansas Class of 1962

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High School Career

  • Played for the Wichita North Redskins (now Redhawks) from 1960-1962.

    • Lochmann scored 4 points in the Redskins’ 50-38 1960 Class AA state tournament quarterfinal loss to the eventual state champion Wyandotte Bulldogs.

    • He scored 18 points in the Redskins’ 58-51 1962 Class AA state tournament quarterfinal loss to the eventual state runner-up Wyandotte Bulldogs.

College Career

  • Played 3 seasons (1963-1964 through 1965-1966) for the Kansas Jayhawks and Coach Ted Owens.

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Professional Career

  • Played 3 seasons (1967-1970) for the Dallas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association (ABA).

Riney Lochmann, playing for the Dallas Chaparrals (ABA) 1976-1970.

Riney Lochmann, playing for the Dallas Chaparrals (ABA).

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Ron Franz *KU

Bishop Ward High School, Kansas City, Kansas, Class of 1963

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High School Career

  • In the 1962-1963 season, Franz and the Ward Cyclones fell 70-42 to the Bulldog team that advanced to the state championship game unbeaten before losing to the Salina Mustangs 57-49. Franz had 13 points and 12 rebounds.  Sophomore Lucius Allen led the Bulldogs with 19 points.
     

  • Signed with the Kansas Jayhawks & Coach Ted Owens in May 1963.

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College Career

  • Competed for the Kansas Jayhawks and Coach Ted Owens in the 1964-1965, 1965-1966, and 1966-1967.  Helped the Jayhawks to Big 8 Conference titles and NCAA berths in 1966 and 1967. 
     

  • Teamed with the Jayhawks’ JoJo White and Walt Wesley in 1965-1966, helped the Jayhawks to a 23-4 season that ended with a double-overtime 81-80 loss in the Midwest Regional Finals to the eventual national champion Texas Western (now UTEP) Miners that were celebrated in the feature film “Glory Road”.
     

  • Helped the Jayhawks to a 23-4 record in the 1966-1967 season. The Jayhawks advanced to the Midwest Regional where they fell in the semifinals to Elvin Hayes & the Houston Cougars 66-53.

Ron Franz, playing for Kansas University.

Ron Franz, playing for Kansas University.

Professional Career

  • Played 7 seasons (1967-1973) in the ABA for the Oakland Oaks, New Orleans Buccaneers, Miami Floridians, Memphis Tams, and Dallas Chaparrals.

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Mike Torrez

Topeka High School, Topeka, Kansas, Class of 1964

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High School Career

  • In the era when the Topeka Trojans didn’t field a varsity baseball team, Torrez competed in basketball for the Trojans.  In his senior year of 1964, Torrez played 2 games against the eventual 1964 State Championship Bulldogs.  In the Trojans’ season opener, Torrez scored 12 points in the Trojans’ 71-39 loss at Wyandotte. George Yarnevich led Wyandotte with 21 points. On January 31, Torrez scored 11 points in a 52-45 loss to the Bulldogs at Topeka. Lucius Allen led Wyandotte with 20. 
     

  • Signed with St. Louis Cardinals as a pitcher in September 1964 as an amateur free agent.

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Professional career

  • Competed in the St. Louis Cardinal minor league baseball organization from 1964 until his major league debut in September 1967 that was too late to be included on the Cardinals’ 1967 World Series roster.
     

  • Pitched in MLB from 1967-1984 for Cardinals, Montreal Expos, Baltimore Orioles, Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, & New York Mets.
     

  • In the deciding Game 5 of the 1977 American League Championship Series against the Kansas City Royals at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, Torrez pitched 5 1/3 innings of scoreless relief in the Yankees’ 5-3 victory that sent the Yankees to the 1977 World Series.  In the 1977 World Series, Torrez was the winning pitcher in both Game 3 and the deciding Game 6 as the Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3 games to 2.
     

  • In the 1978 season, with Torrez winning 16 games, the Boston Red Sox rallied to tie the New York Yankees as co-American League East Champions with 99-63 records.  The tie forced a one-game playoff that was held at Boston’s Fenway Park with Torrez as the Red Sox starter. With Torrez pitching in the 6th inning with a 2-0 lead, Yankee Bucky Dent hit a 3-run home run over the “Green Monster” that to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish, sending them to the 1978 American League Championship Series.  

Mike Torrez, playing for St. Louis Cardinals, c. 1967.

Mike Torrez, playing for St. Louis Cardinals.

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Bill Russell

Pittsburg High School, Pittsburg, Kansas, Class of 1966

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High School Career

  • Competed as a multi-sport athlete for the Pittsburg Dragons.
     

  • Helped Pittsburg to the 1965 Class AA state tournament where they played the second (3:30 pm) quarterfinal at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence against the McPherson Bullpups. Despite 15 points and 11 rebounds from the Dragons’ 5’10” junior guard Russell, Pittsburg lost to the eventual state runner-up McPherson Bullpups 86-70.  After the session break, Lucius Allen & the eventual state champion Wyandotte Bulldogs defeated the Shawnee Mission West Vikings 77-59 in the first quarterfinal game of the evening session to advance to the semifinals.
     

  • Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 9th round (179th overall) of the 1966 MLB Draft.

Bill Russell, playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, 1969-1986.

Bill Russell, playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Professional Career

  • Played his entire career professional baseball career in the Los Angeles Dodger organization from 1969-1986.
     

  • Replaced Maury Wills as the Dodger shortstop in 1972 and remained in that position for the next 11 seasons.  The Dodger infield of Steve Garvey at 1st base, Davey Lopes at 2nd base, Ron Cey at 3rd base, and Russell at shortstop were Dodger starters as a unit for 8 ½ seasons.
     

  • Earned 4 National League pennants (1974, 1977, 1978, and 1981), a World Series title (1981), and 3 All-Star games appearances in 1973, 1976, and 1980.
     

  • Served as a Dodger Coach from 1987-1991 & 1994-1996 and Dodger Manager from 1996-1998.

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Leonard Gray *KU

Sumner High School, Kansas City, Kansas, Class of 1969

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Early Life

  • Grew up at 11th & Quindaro Boulevard.  Attended Douglass Elementary School, the former Dunbar Elementary School, & Northwest Junior High School.  Entered Sumner High School in the fall of 1966.
     

  • Gray’s younger brother Robert Gray (Wyandotte Class of 1971 - see Special Recognition, 1970) won 2 state championships (1969 & 1970).
     

  • Gray’s sister Lynne (Wyandotte Class of 1976) is the mother of Courtney & Ashley Paris who helped the Oklahoma Sooners women’s basketball team to the Final 4 in 2009.  Ashley Paris earned All-Big 12 honors & Courtney Paris earned 4-time All-American honors as the first college basketball player (man or woman) to record 2,500 points and 2,000 rebounds in their career.

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High School Career

  • Led Sumner to an undefeated 23-0 season and the 1969 Class 4A State Championship.
     

  • The Wyandotte Bulldogs captured the 1969 Class 5A Championship the same day to earn Kansas City, Kansas simultaneous State Championships in the two highest KSHSAA classes.
     

  • Signed with the Kansas Jayhawks & Coach Ted Owens in May 1969 over offers from over 100 colleges.

College Career

  • Played the 1969-70 season on the Kansas Jayhawk freshman team before transferring to Long Beach State University in the fall of 1970 to play for Coach Jerry Tarkanian.
     

  • During his 3-year career (1972-1974) for the Long Beach State, Gray helped the 49ers to a 73-10 record and 3 Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) conference Championships.
     

  • In the 1973-74 season (playing for Coach Lute Olsen), Gray helped the 49ers to a 24-2 record and was named the PCAA Player of the Year.
     

  • Despite never playing football in college, Gray was drafted as a tight end by the San Francisco 49ers in the 15th round of the 1974 NFL Draft.
     

  • Drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 26th overall pick in the 2nd round of the 1974 NBA Draft.

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Professional Career

  • Played in the NBA for the Seattle SuperSonics (now Oklahoma City Thunder) for Coach Bill Russell from 1974-76 and the Baltimore Bullets (now Washington Wizards) during 1976-77. 
     

  • Inducted into the Long Beach State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995.

Leonard Gray playing for Long Beach State, 1972-1974.

Leonard Gray playing for Long Beach State University.

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