Pictured above are the ten Williams Valley High School Students, Tower City, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, who in 1975, set a new world record for the longest basketball game ever played, 49 hours. Top Row: Carol Klinger; Barry Daub; Debbie Dunlop; Patricia Challenger; Andrea Bair. Bottom Row: Keith Imboden; Gary Houtz; Lynda Wiest; Dane Bowerman; Janet Wise. Photos are from the Pottsville Republican, April 12, 1975, which published the following news story about the game:
Hearts Were Breaking During the Longest Basketball Game
Fear Kept The Going As Crowd Cheered Through Tears
By Kevin Bevan, Staff Writer
The Guiness Book of World Records, the compendium of superlatives is everything from prices paid for bottles of wine to number of pizzas consumed, has a new entry for its sports section.
The Williams Valley Students have set the new record for the longest basketball game ever played, eclipsing the old mark of 48 hours by one hour.
Their two-days-and-an-hour were spent in the gymnasium of the elementary school at Williamstown, and pitted the talents of five boys against five girls.
The idea sprang into their heads about two months ago, after a gymnastics demonstration at school.
“We saw it, and decided to set a record,” said Dane Bowerman, coordinator of the event. Once the decision was made, the young people decided further to put the energy to some good use, and solicited funds to be given to the local United Fund.
Planning for the marathon was extensive, at least in terms of fund raising. The players went from door to door to ask for pledges.
Dane said that they generally asked for promise of so much per hour that the game went on.
They covered Williamstown as well as other towns in the valley. On one occasion while one of the boys was at the door of the house, and the rest were in a car, with the motor running, they were approached by police, who thought that a robbery was taking place, according to Gary Houtz (also known as “G. H.”).
The participants made posters, and put them in the windows of local stores.
The event was made possible because of the Easter recess, which lasted the whole week.
The came occurred at 10 a. m., March 31 [1975]. According to the rules set down by the Guiness people, the game had to be played by only 10 persons, with five minute breaks allowed every hour.
The witnesses to the event must have “standing in the community,” so the youths selected teachers and sports coaches.
It’s difficult to imagine the continuation of any event for 49 hours, but it began in snappy style, with members of the school’s championship girls’ team pitted against boys who had their male pride to defend.
The game kept its serious flavor until about the 12th hour, when clowning started.
The participants admit that the marathon called for a lot more than they expected.
“Nobody wanted to go on,” recalls Barry Daub. “Fear kept us going. Nobody wanted to be the first to quit.”
Dane remembers thinking “I wish it were over.” Carole Klinger said that “we lived for the five minute rest.”
During the breaks, the fans and the parents provided support, both spiritual and physical.
“Our hearts were breaking,” said one parent, “but we wanted them to go on.”
The mothers acted as trainers, waitresses, and cheerleaders. They cooked, they massaged aching muscles, they offered encouragement.
An estimated 120 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were consumed during the game, supplemented by scrambled eggs, hot chocolate, oranges and barbecue.
Moral support came from all sides. The referees told “corny” jokes at 3 a. m. to keep the players groaning and awake.
Friends of the players brought record players to the gym, along with timely recordings like “Help Me Make It Through the Night” and “How Long Has This Been Going On?” Dane said that “people we never saw before brought groceries.” Local drug stores provided liniment and rubbing alcohol.
During several of the five-minute rest periods, Dane called progress reports into a nearby radio station, and they were broadcast on the air.
A television station brought a camera crew, and the filmed highlights were shown on the late news after the game ended.
Despite this attention, Janet Wise says that the teams began to get grouchy as the game went on.
Attendance at the event was sporadic. At the start, there were a good number present, and as the game progressed, the number diminished, especially during the early morning hours. The Williams Valley softball team made an appearance, and the players’ mothers stayed the entire second night.
As the teams were reaching the end of the 48th hour and breaking the record, the number of spectators picked up, until a screaming crowd with tear-filled eyes heralded the finale at 11 a. m., April 2 [1975].
At the end of the game, won by the boys with a score of 3,879 to 3,024 Andrea Bair collapsed into her father’s arms.
The obvious things then took place. “We are filthy,” said Lynda Wiest, and all ten said that a hot bath and sleep were foremost on their minds, along with a leisurely meal.
Dane’s mother filled her son’s request for two toasted cheese sandwiches, Andrea wanted “surf and turf,” but few expressed a desire for peanut butter and jelly.
The next step was the certification of the results. A document signed by the officials and witnesses was notarized for sending to the Guiness organization.
The players have a word of advice to any challengers to the title: Forget it.
Keith Imboden summed up the feelings of his fellow record-breakers by saying: “We’ll do it again if anyone else tries to break the record.”
Those words make it rather clear that the next edition of the Guiness Book of World’s Records will tell the tale of two days of agony and ecstasy in Williamstown, Pennsylvania.
Also included in the Pottsville Republican article was brief caption under the photo of each participant. This information was repeated in the Williamstown Sesquicentennial Souvenir Book, published in 1976:
CAROL KLINGER, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Klinger, a Sophomore, center and forward with the girls’ basketball team.
DEBBIE DUNLOP, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Tom Dunlop, a Senior. She plans to go to Harrisburg Area Community College, and train to be a lab technician.
ANDREA BAIR, a newcomer to the Valley from Philadelphia, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ted Bair. Andrea is a Sophomore, whose interests run more to soccer than basketball.
JANET WISE, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Luther Wise, a Junior and also a member of the girls basketball team. Janet hopes to study art at Shippensburg State College.
LYNDA WIEST, daughter of Mrs. Joan Wiest, a Senior, center and forward with the girls’ basketball team. Lynda plans to study at Bloomsburg State College in the fields of elementary education and math.
DANE BOWERMAN, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Bowerman, Senior and the 1975 scholar athlete at the school, and a member of the All Conference Football team, holding the tackle position.
GARY HOUTZ, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lee Houtz, was voted most valuable player on the school’s basketball team, as the starting forward. “G. H.” is a Senior.
KEITH IMBODEN, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Imboden, a Senior, wrestled for the school in the 126-pound weight class, and played halfback for the football team. He plans to study business administration at Bloomsburg State College.
PATRICK CHALLENGER, son of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Challenger, a Senior and played guard for the basketball team. “Chal” plans to attend Penn State and pursue a legal career.
BARRY DAUB, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Daub, a senior, hopes to study pre-med at Franklin and Marshall College. Daub was the Pottsville Republican’s 1970 Spelling Bee champion.
The officials were also named in the Williamstown Sesquicentennial Souvenir Book, but were not named in the Pottsville Republican article:
- Sue Klinger, timekeeper.
- Jane Reiner, scorekeeper.
- Pat Barber, trainer.
The referees (two served at a time in three or four hour shifts):
- Rose Hoffman
- Jim McSurdy
- Bill Bowerman
- Jim Miller
- Gerry Stauffenberg
- Fern Rhody
- Allen Laskowski
- Dave Williams
- Ann Marie Ridichok
- Dennis Kasper
- Janice Tallhelm
- Jay Unger
- Bruce Moore
- Dave Moore
- Mary Lou Unger
Some additional facts that were not given in the Pottsville Republican article:
- Att one time, the boys led by 1,100 points.
- Approximately 150 peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches, Bar-B-Que, a few dozen eggs, countless candy bars, and other goodies were consumed.
- During the last hour, some of the players were hallucinating. Barry thought he was on a boat. Dane thought he was on a TV game show, and Lynda and Deb heard people calling their names when no one really was.
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Pottsville Republican article obtained from Newspapers.com.
Additional information from the Sesquicentennial History of Williamstown and Williams Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, published in 1976. For availability of copies of this book, contact the Williamstown and Williams Township Historical Society, 115 W. Market Street, Williamstown, Pennsylvania 17098.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.