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Basketball battle on Christmas Day 1910 drew thousands
StoryDiscussionBasketball battle on Christmas Day 1910 drew thousands
By LORNA THACKERAY Of The Gazette Staff The Billings Gazette | Posted: Saturday, December 25, 2010 12:20 am | No Comments Posted
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A team photo published in The Gazette shows the Triple B's basketball squad of 1910.
.
..Every one of 1,500 seats hastily assembled in the Billings Coliseum was filled Christmas Night 1910 for the biggest basketball game in the city's 28-year history.
The Billings squad, the Triple B's — Billings Booster Buicks — would take on the national champions from Portage, Wis., in what The Billings Daily Gazette declared would be “the warmest and most scientific net-game battle in the history of Billings.”
“Everybody is on tip-toe for the referee's whistle to sound tonight to start the greatest net-battle that has ever been fought in Billings,” the Christmas Day paper crowed.
It was no grudge match for the two teams. Both were champions. The Billings squad was rated among the top five in the nation that season.
Billings and its home team were eager to welcome the renowned Wisconsin players. As soon as the Portage squad stepped off the westbound Northern Pacific train on Christmas Eve morning, they were whisked away in three new black Buicks and escorted through town to the Elks Club downtown for a noon-hour reception.
A committee of fans arranged an automobile tour of the city and surrounding country, and the two opposing teams got together that night for a mixer at the Elks Club.
At 8:45 on Christmas night, the long-awaited whistle finally blew.
Portage impressed from the tipoff.
“Big strapping boys they are, who are as good-natured as they are fair, and as manly as they are bright,” The Daily Gazette reported of the contest. “Just because they are built that way, the crowd cheered them, applauding every brilliant play — and there were many — which pleased the visitors who declared that Billings people are the best ever.”
It wasn't a blowout. The Billings team, a seasoned and skilled bunch, hung on through the raucous evening. The final score was 48-42. One Portage star was quoted as saying, “That's the finest crowd I ever played in front of.”
The coliseum, a long, rectangular hall, dominated the block of North 24th Street between First and Second avenues north. It stood from sometime in the early 1900s to sometime in the late 1930s. Balls and ballgames were hosted there, in what possibly started as a roller rink.
.Copyright 2010 The Billings Gazette. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
.Posted in Local on Saturday, December 25, 2010 12:20 am Updated: 6:57 am. | Tags: Coliseum, Basketball, Triple Bs, 1910
http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/article_987f61fd-cdb9-519c-b1a7-1ab41db83f80.html
Home / News / Local News
Basketball battle on Christmas Day 1910 drew thousands
StoryDiscussionBasketball battle on Christmas Day 1910 drew thousands
By LORNA THACKERAY Of The Gazette Staff The Billings Gazette | Posted: Saturday, December 25, 2010 12:20 am | No Comments Posted
Font Size
efault font sizeLarger font size. Gazette photo
A team photo published in The Gazette shows the Triple B's basketball squad of 1910.
.
..Every one of 1,500 seats hastily assembled in the Billings Coliseum was filled Christmas Night 1910 for the biggest basketball game in the city's 28-year history.
The Billings squad, the Triple B's — Billings Booster Buicks — would take on the national champions from Portage, Wis., in what The Billings Daily Gazette declared would be “the warmest and most scientific net-game battle in the history of Billings.”
“Everybody is on tip-toe for the referee's whistle to sound tonight to start the greatest net-battle that has ever been fought in Billings,” the Christmas Day paper crowed.
It was no grudge match for the two teams. Both were champions. The Billings squad was rated among the top five in the nation that season.
Billings and its home team were eager to welcome the renowned Wisconsin players. As soon as the Portage squad stepped off the westbound Northern Pacific train on Christmas Eve morning, they were whisked away in three new black Buicks and escorted through town to the Elks Club downtown for a noon-hour reception.
A committee of fans arranged an automobile tour of the city and surrounding country, and the two opposing teams got together that night for a mixer at the Elks Club.
At 8:45 on Christmas night, the long-awaited whistle finally blew.
Portage impressed from the tipoff.
“Big strapping boys they are, who are as good-natured as they are fair, and as manly as they are bright,” The Daily Gazette reported of the contest. “Just because they are built that way, the crowd cheered them, applauding every brilliant play — and there were many — which pleased the visitors who declared that Billings people are the best ever.”
It wasn't a blowout. The Billings team, a seasoned and skilled bunch, hung on through the raucous evening. The final score was 48-42. One Portage star was quoted as saying, “That's the finest crowd I ever played in front of.”
The coliseum, a long, rectangular hall, dominated the block of North 24th Street between First and Second avenues north. It stood from sometime in the early 1900s to sometime in the late 1930s. Balls and ballgames were hosted there, in what possibly started as a roller rink.
.Copyright 2010 The Billings Gazette. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
.Posted in Local on Saturday, December 25, 2010 12:20 am Updated: 6:57 am. | Tags: Coliseum, Basketball, Triple Bs, 1910
