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1964 Championship Team

Class AA State Champions

Select or scroll down to view: Season Highlights  |  Special Recognition  |  Player Accomplishments

Sitting, L- R > Manager Dennis Svetlich, Manager David Porter, Manager John Porter. --- Kneeling, L- R > Don Nelson, Tom French, Roy Holliday, Jay Wilson, Dave Welch, Keith Lindsey. --- Standing, L- R > Assistant Coach Chuck Vining, Gene Yovetich, John Arrowsmith, Fred Vaughan, Lyle Ramsey, Head Coach Walt Shublom, George Yarnevich, Lucius Allen, Rick Ramey, Assistant Coach Don Upson.

1964 Wyandotte High School Basketball State Champions team photo.
Season Highlights

Regular Season

  • The 1963-1964 Wyandotte Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 16-2 record earning their 9th straight Sunflower League title.
     

  • A key early season victory was a 51-50 overtime win over the Shawnee Mission North Indians.

    • Dave Welch hit game-winning shot with 0:55 to go.  Lucius Allen led the Bulldogs with 18 points.
       

  • The Bulldogs lost 2 regular season games with both being one-point losses in the game’s final seconds.

    • After winning the season’s first 6 games, the Bulldogs fell on January 4th to the Wichita East Blue Aces 40-39 in overtime in a Saturday afternoon game at the Wichita East gym.

      • George Yarnevich led the Bulldogs with 13 points.
         

    • On February 21st after already clinching the Sunflower League title, Wyandotte fell to the Shawnee Mission East Lancers 41-40 on a basket with :07 remaining.

      • The loss ended Wyandotte’s 31-game Sunflower League winning streak. 

      • Lucius Allen led Wyandotte with 27 points as the only Bulldog in double figures.

 

Regional Tournament @ Wyandotte High School

  • In the semifinals Wyandotte defeated the Turner Bears 56-41.

    • Wyandotte led by 7 with 5:33 left before finishing the game with a late rally.

    • George Yarnevich led with 19 points, Lucius Allen added 11 and Jay Wilson with 10.
       

  • In the finals, the Bulldogs avenged one of their two defeats of the season by routing the Shawnee Mission East Lancers 67-41. The Bulldogs led 32-23 at half.

    • George Yarnevich finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Lucius Allen added 22 points and 10 rebounds. Fred Vaughn added 12 points and 5 rebounds.
       

  • With the win, Wyandotte captured the Regional Tournament trophy for the 12th straight year.

 

State Tournament @ Allen Fieldhouse at the University of Kansas in Lawrence

  • In front of crowd of 6,000 in the quarterfinals, Wyandotte defeated the Chanute Blue Comets 75-49.

    • Lucius Allen tallied 32 points and 8 rebounds, Fred Vaughan added 14 points and George Yarnevich pitched in 13 points and 10 rebounds.

    • In another quarterfinal played earlier in the day, the Shawnee Mission North Indians upset the Wichita East Blue Aces 43-40 eliminating the other team that had defeated Wyandotte in the 1963-1964 season.
       

  • In front of a crowd of 7,000 in the semifinals, Wyandotte defeated the Manhattan Indians 47-40 to advance to the state championship game for the 12th consecutive year.

    • George Yarnevich led with 18 points & 17 rebounds. Lucius Allen added 11 points & 8 rebounds and Fred Vaughan chipped in 10 points & 8 rebounds.

    • Wyandotte led 19-18 at halftime.  A 3rd quarter Bulldog rally clinched the game.
       

  • In front of a crowd of 8,000 in the state championship game, the Bulldogs defeated the Shawnee Mission North Indians 54-48.

    • Wyandotte led by 28-25 at half as both Fred Vaughan and Lucius Allen were saddled with foul trouble.

    • Vaughan was whistled for 3 fouls in the 1st quarter & Allen notched his 4th foul before halftime.

    • George Yarnevich led with 19 points & 11 rebounds. Lucius Allen scored 13 points and Jay Wilson added 12.

    • The win was the third of the season over the Indians.
       

  • Finishing with a record of 21-2, the Bulldogs earned their 7th title in 10 years, but first since 1961.

Special Recognition
Lucius Allen-01

Lucius Allen (Junior, Class of 1965)

 

Early Life

  • Grew up at 12th & Wood Avenue. Attended Abbot School (Elementary) & Northwest Junior High School before entering Wyandotte in the fall of 1962.

  • Wasn’t chosen for the Northwest Junior High School 7th grade basketball team after tryouts but was selected for the 8th grade team the next year.

  • Developed his basketball skills at Kensington Community Center at 29th & State Avenue with the assistance of Sports Supervisor Norma Jean (Sis) McDaniel (herself a nationally renowned softball pitcher) who served the KCK Parks and Recreation Department for 42 years.

From left, Keith Lindsey, Coach Walt Shublom, Lucius Allen, 1964, Wyandotte High School Basketball, KCKS.

 L- R > Keith Lindsey, Coach Walt Shublom, & Lucius Allen, c. 1964.

High School Career

  • Contributed as a top reserve as a sophomore on the 1962-63 Bulldog team that went unbeaten until losing in the Class AA State Championship game to the Salina (now Salina Central) Mustangs. 

    • Allen recorded his first career start for the Bulldogs in the State Championship game and earned 2nd team Class AA All-Tournament.
       

  • Earned 1st Team Class AA All-State, Kansas City Star All-Metro, and Class AA State All-Tournament & Tournament MVP in both 1964 and 1965 while leading the Bulldogs to Class AA State Championships in both seasons.

    • Allen averaged 22 points and 14 rebounds per game in his Bulldog career.
       

  • Allen’s teams lost only three games in his three-season high school career.

    • In the 1963 State Championship game, Wyandotte lost to the Salina High School Mustangs 57-49.

    • In the 1963-64 regular season, Wyandotte lost at the Shawnee Mission East Lancers 41-40 on a last-second shot and at the Wichita East Blue Aces 40-39 in overtime.
       

  • Breaking Larry Comley’s previous school single-game scoring record of 39 points set in 1956, Allen set a school record of 40 points in a game against rival Ward Cyclones on January 16, 1965. 
     

  • Named to the 1965 Parade Magazine All-American 2nd team (recognized as a Top 10 player nationally).
     

  • In 1999, the Topeka Capital-Journal named Allen the greatest Kansas high school basketball player of the 20th century.
     

  • Played 1st base for the Bulldog baseball team that won the 1964 Class AA-A State Championship.
     

  • Signed to play college basketball for the UCLA Bruins (led by Head Coach John Wooden) in May 1965 in the same recruiting class as New York City native Lewis Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).

    • Wooden had his first opportunity to evaluate and recruit Allen at a 1964 Fellowship of Christian Athletes summer basketball camp in Estes Park, Colorado where both Coach Wooden and Coach Walt Shublom were clinicians.

      • Allen attended the camp with teammate Tom Tietze on a scholarship funded by the K.C.K. Downtown Kiwanis Club.

​

College & Professional Career

George Yarnevich (Senior, Class of 1964)

 

Early Life

  • Grew up at 22nd Street & Nebraska Avenue. Attended Mark Twain Elementary School and Northwest Junior High School before entering Wyandotte in the fall of 1961.
     

High School Career

  • Earned All-Area Team for Wyandotte County by the Kansas City Star.

  • Earned 1st Team Class AA All-State & Class AA State Tournament team.

  • Earned Honorable Mention All-Metro – first All-Metro team ever selected by the Kansas City Star.

  • Averaged 16 points per game as the Bulldogs team captain.

 

College Career

  • Played freshman basketball & 2 seasons of varsity basketball for the University of Kansas Jayhawks for Head Coach Ted Owens.

George Yarnevich, 1964 Wyandotte High School Basketball, KCKS.
George Yarnevich

George Yarnevich, playing for the Kansas Jayhawks, c. 1966.

Player Accomplishments

Reference Team Photo - Kneeling, from left to right

  • Dennis Svetlich, David Porter, and John Porter, Managers

​

Sitting (from left to right)

  • Don Nelson (Junior, Class of 1965)

  • Tom French (Junior, Class of 1965)

  • Roy Holliday (Senior, Class of 1964)

    • Contributed as a starting guard.

    • Earned Honorable Mention All-Area Team for Wyandotte County by the Kansas City Star.
       

  • Jay Wilson (Senior, Class of 1964)

    • Contributed as a starting guard.
      Earned Honorable Mention Class AA All-State & All-Area Team for Wyandotte County by the Kansas City Star.
       

  • Dave Welch (Senior, Class of 1964)

    • Contributed as a forward.

    • Also competed for the Bulldog football team.
       

  • Keith Lindsey (Junior, Class of 1965)


Standing (from left to right)

  • Chuck Vining, Assistant Coach
     

  • Gene Yovetich (Senior, Class of 1964)

    • Contributed as a starting forward.

    • Also competed for the Bulldog football team.
       

  • John Arrowsmith (Junior, Class of 1965)

  • Fred Vaughan (Senior, Class of 1964)

    • Contributed as a starting forward.

    • Earned Honorable Mention Class AA All-State & All-Area Team for Wyandotte County by the Kansas City Star.
       

  • Lyle Ramsey (Senior, Class of 1964)

    • Contributed as a center.
       

  • Walt Shublom, Head Coach
     

  • George Yarnevich (Senior, Class of 1964)

  • Lucius Allen (Junior, Class of 1965)

  • Rick Ramey (Sophomore, Class of 1966)

    • Also competed for the Bulldog Track & Field team.
       

  • Don Upson, Assistant Coach

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