Fifty-two years ago, a legend was born. At that time wherever one went in Montgomery County and started talking about basketball, inevitably the name of Daryl Warren would be mentioned. He is the “Legend of Linden.” Still today if you ask those who know Montgomery County basketball, “Who was the Legend of Linden?” Daryl Warren would be their quick answer. He still, after 52 years, is the leading scorer in Montgomery County-- here’s the top four, their high school, years, and their total points:
Daryl Warren – Linden – 1967-71 - 2,083
D.J. Byrd – North Montgomery – 2005 – 2009 - 1,785
Bill Greve – Waveland – 1951 – 1955 - 1,777
Matt Petty – Crawfordville – 1989- 1993 - 1,608
On the way to this scoring record, Daryl averaged 29.3 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals a game. Although this is impressive, it was not just being still number one in scoring that made Daryl a legend. It was the last county championship. An article in a Montgomery County newspaper before the tourney of 1971 featured these four players: “THE FOUR MONTGOMERY COUNTY STANDOUTS FROM FOUR DIFFERENT ERAS”
Today there would be more standouts who would fill in the gaps, but this it is how it looked in 1971.
Montgomery County is the cradle of basketball in Indiana. The game was first introduced in Crawfordsville, which is the largest city in Montgomery County. It was played in a large attic room above the “Old Terminal Tavern,” in the spring of 1893. The person who introduced Indiana to basketball was a preacher, the Reverend Nicolos McKay. What could be more Indiana than a pub and a preacher? The first game was played on Friday, March 16, 1894 in the Crawfordsville YMCA, where Crawfordsville beat Lafayette 45 to 21. The first Indiana High School basketball tournament was won by Crawfordsville of Montgomery County in 1911. Wingate, also in Montgomery County won the 1913 and 1914 state championship. The first county basketball tournament was also won by Wingate in 1932, and then in 1971 came the last county championship.
12 years ago in 2011, a book for the Linden 40th reunion was written about, “The Last County Championship.” It was written about the 1971 Championship, which was won by the Linden Bulldogs. However, It was not just about Linden, but all 8 county schools, their coaches, and some of the players on each team.
The book gained popularity not only in Montgomery County but throughout surrounding counties. Eventually it was brought to the attention of the HOF board by Larry Randall, an associate volunteer, and Chris May, the director of the Hall. Today it’s nestled someplace in the Hall. The book was written by Tom Speaker and Dave White.
One newspaper article in the book, before the ’71 tournament, summed up the feelings of many. It was written by Dick Ham, sportswriter for the Lafayette Journal Courier.
FINAL TOURNEY IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY
The consolidation influx, which has invaded every nook and cranny of the Indiana high school sports scene, is about to strike its most severe blow in Montgomery County by next year and bring an end to another fine old basketball tradition.
Before all this happens, though, Montgomery County fans will have one last tournament and it will be viewed with mixed emotions by the old-timers and youngsters.
Welcome to the fold Montgomery fans. You were one of the last in the business to hold out as a hotbed of county basketball, but now progress has relegated you to the also-rans with Tippecanoe, Newton, Benton, White and all other to whom county tourney was a January watchword.
Invitational’s and Holiday events just can’t fill the void…the old rivalries die and with them go the greatest of Indiana hardwood traditions.
Headed for those mothballs are a host of memories and a flock of jerseys bearing the names of Darlington Indians, Coal Creek Bearcats, Ladoga Canners, Linden Bulldogs, New Ross Blue Jays, New Market Flyers, Waveland Hornets and Waynetown Gladiators.
Then came the tournament. Let’s go back to Thursday, January 20, 1971, and follow the descriptions in the book and follow the Linden Bulldogs in their path to winning the “Last County Championship.” The authors of the book were able to get tapes of the live broadcasts of the last two games of the tournament and portions of this will be replayed.
GAME 1: LINDEN 80 – NEW ROSS 71
Every team in the county was competitive. No team could be taken for granted, as this tournament like most, one loss and you’re a spectator. New Ross was not an exception. However, they were a fine team coached by a fiery and personal competitor, Mike Mitchell….
In the final quarter it was a free throw shooting contest. With neither team hitting their free throws consistently. Although not hitting his free throws, Daryl Warren the most valuable player in the county scored 38 points to lead the way.
Now it was on to the second round on Saturday morning and Linden’s fiercest rival Darlington. Linden and Darlington are nine miles apart, and it is not unusual for cousin to play against cousin. In fact, Linden’s leading player will match up with his cousin Charlie Warren, one of the leading players for the Darlington Indians. It was time for the “Civil War.”
Daryl Warren: The Legend of Linden is a book that was written by Tom Speaker and parts of that book will be featured in upcoming editions of Journal Review Sport
