PHOTO OF THE DAY: FRONT PAGE NEWS
This was front page news 50 years ago as the Freeman High School boys basketball team secured the Hutchinson County Tournament Jan. 3, 1974 with a 60-47 win over the Tripp Wildcats. As the caption indicates, it was the third year in a row the Flyers claimed the county title. Freeman was led in the win by Keith Massey with 15 points, Bob Pidde with 14 and Jerry Ortman with 12. The building success of the Flyers would reach its peak the following winter when the Freeman boys treated fans to a thrilling undefeated season and the Class B state championship.
The Hutchinson County Tournament was established as a boys event in 1926 and a girls event in 1975 featuring the county’s four public schools: Freeman, Menno, Tripp and Parkston (and Olivet early on). Once one of the biggest sporting events of the year, began falling out of favor in the 1990s as basketball schedules became more crowded, and in the early 2000s the decision was made to end the event. The final girls tournament was held in 2001 and the final boys tournament came in 2002.
The Freeman boys won the tournament 29 times, Parkston won it 23 times, Tripp 16 times, Olivet twice and Tripp-Delmont once.
On the girls side, Parkston claimed the most titles with 17 followed by Freeman with six, Tripp-Delmont with three and Menno with one.
