Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court

Indiana and Basketball

Way back when I grew up in Indiana in the twenties, people were nuts for basketball, just like they are today. I fell in love with it too, starting with that tomato basket nailed to the hayloft in our barn. Here’s a little example of how the people in my hometown felt about the game.

When I went to high school in Martinsville, there was a sign posted outside town that read: Martinsville, Indiana, pop. 4,800. However, our high-school gymnasium seated 5,200 people, 400 more than lived in the whole town! And it was much like that all over the state. Our gym was always full for games.

When the state basketball tournament was played at Butler Field House, the seating was about 18,000, but they could have sold far more tickets ...