The First All-City Night

By Jack Bennett

It was a success from the very start. Lincoln's Chuck Forrest was thrilled to see over 4,000 fans pay admission to view the four Canton Class AA high schools clash in the first All-City Night. It had been a hard sell but he fmally convinced the powers that be that a meeting between the schools would draw fans beyond belief. And because of its success All-City Night became an annual affair. It had its beginnings on the night of January 28, 1966. The double-header would open with the meeting of the Timken Trojans and the Lincoln Lions followed by the clash of the Lehman Polar Bears and the McKinley Bulldogs. Freddie Harold's Trojans were riding high on the crest of a six game winning streak while Kenny Newlon's Lions were in the throes of a four game losing streak. But as it was to be proven through the years, previous records were of little consequence when they took the floor on All-City night.

The Trojans fell behind by 23 points at one time but their never-say-die spirit gradually narrowed the margin. Their tight man-to-man defense rattled the Lions and raised havoc with their floor, game. Then the Trojans heaved in two-pointers after two-pointers and were only down 52 to 50 in the waning moments. Lincoln's whiz kid, Bruce Fowler, came through in the clutch. He iced the win for the Lions by throwing in three baskets and toeing the line for two foul shots. Lincoln's Newlon breathed a sigh of relief. The 58 to 53 win had been hard in its coming. Timken's Freddie Harold couldn't have been prouder of his kids than if they had won. The fans were thrilled and delighted by the curtain raiser

The McKinley Bulldog's Bob Rupert pretended to fear the Lehman Polar Bears and Lehman's Bob Henderson pretended that his kids might derail the Bulldog express. The Bulldogs shot a phenomenal percent of their field goal attempts and smothered the Polar Bear's attempts to grab the rebounds. All-in-all, the Polar Bears were very lucky to come off with only a 80 to 56 loss. The margin could have been much greater if the Bulldogs hadn't lost interest in the affair. Rupert wasn't impressed with their showing and he complimented the Polar Bears for their spirit and fight. Most of the 4,000 or so partisan fans were delighted. No one really expected Lehman to dethrone the Bulldogs or Lincoln to be slaughtered by Timken. But they expected an entertaining evening and they received more than they expected. All-City Night was a huge success and a tradition in the making.