There are three 1,000 point scorers in the Coal Creek Central record book. The scoring is led by Dick Shull a 1959 graduate who holds the career record with 1,374 points in his 74 game career for a 17.8 average. He has the single game mark of 38 against Linden in 1957-58. He also threw in 31 against Richland Twp, in 1956-57 and 30 against Waveland in the 1958-59 season.
Rick Haas is second on the list with 1,282 points in 80 games for an average of 16.0. He had single season highs of 433 in 1968-69 and 407 in 1967-68. He whipped in a single game high of 37 against Wainwright in 1968-69. Haas was a great all-around athlete for CCC lettering four times in baseball, basketball, football, and track, making him a 16-time letterman.
Gary Smith started out at Wingate where he played 40 games and scored 651 points. When the consolidation took place, he continued to blister the nets with a season high of 367 in 1953-54 and blitzed Waynetown for 34 points in that same year. He finished up at Coal Creek Central with 1,047 points for an average of 17.7 at the two schools. We’ll have more to say about Gary Smith when we write about Wingate.
Lee Fouts is the single season record-holder with an even 500 points in his senior year. He played 22 games that year and posted an average of 22.7. He finished just short of 1000 for his career netting 929 points. A fierce rebounder, he had single game highs of 36 points against New Ross in 1966-67, 31 against Southwestern that year and 30 against North Vermillion the same year. Lee Fouts went on to play basketball and football at Wabash College; he lettered four times in each sport, and is a member of the Wabash College Athletic Hall of Fame.
Bill Boone is a local sports historian who contributes to the Journal Review.
