The Waterloo Wonders

Seventy-five years ago, the Waterloo Wonders came frolicking out of the Lawrence County hills to become the most colorful, most exciting, most unforgettable team in the history of Ohio high school basketball. Over two seasons, they won back-to-back state championships and in the process, perhaps as many as 100 games, only a handful of them on their own court. In an era when a virtually unknown team called the Harlem Globetrotters was still playing one-night stands in small-town high school gyms and dance halls across the Middle West, the Wonders, imitating no one, astonished overflow crowds in the state's largest arenas with their whirlwind passing, deadeye shooting, lockdown defense and whimsical showmanship. Left-handed, right-handed, two-handed, behind the back, between the legs, over-handed, underhanded, bowling style, sitting down, lying down, without looking-the Wonders passed with such lightning speed, such radar accuracy, fans and opponents alike often did not know where the ball was. Now, on the 75h anniversary of their first championship season, author Dick Burdette, whose book, The Fabulous Waterloo Wonders was published in 1961, has written a revised and expanded account of their story, It is now available exclusively at authorhouse.com or at waterloowonders.com. Price: $22.95, plus shipping.