Source: News-Journal, February 19, 1953
Ball State Upset Spartans 73-68
The Ball State cagers upset Manchester last night in a 73 to
68 victory on the Ball State court at Muncie. The lead went back and forth
several times in the first half and the score was tied seven times during the
game. Manchester jumped to an early lead but trailed by one point, 18 to 17 at
the close of the first quarter. Half time score was 38 for Ball State and 36 for
the Spartans. The Cardinals began gaining during the third quarter and ended it
seven points in the lead, 56 to 49. Continuing to gain during the final quarter,
the Ball Staters led by 10 and 12 points. A Spartan rally in the closing minutes
of the game narrowed the margin to the final five points. Don Hyde led the MC
scoring with 19 points and Ball State's Jack Cross piled up 23 points to lead
Cardinal scoring.
Source: NMHS Newsletter, May 1995
The Other Trip to Buffalo
by Ferne Baldwin
The Manchester College Men's Basketball team went to Buffalo, New York this year
to compete as one of the final four in Division III competition. They went with
a record of 30-0 and went into the championship game with 31-0. Manchester as
National Runner Up in NCAA Division III with a record of 31-1 for the 1995
season is a never-to-be-forgotten moment in history.
But there is another story of a trip to Buffalo for a Manchester team which
deserves to be remembered. A different team; a different sport; a different era;
but also a successful trip.
Sixty men answered the call for the first scrimmage of Manchester's 1938
football team. This team faced an interesting schedule. Most thought it was the
toughest schedule ever for the Manchester team. There were seven Indiana
conference games and an inter-sectional fracas with the University of Buffalo; a
there game on October 8. Perhaps it should be noted that the first and seconds
all were attired in new uniforms; black satin in the backfield and gold satin in
the line.
It was decreed that not more than 30 could go on the three-day expedition to
Buffalo and the competition was torrid according to OAK LEAVES. Meantime, there
were games to play with Valpo and Earlham. Manchester had never been beaten by
Valpo and they maintained the record by winning 14-13 even though five times
during the game the Valpo eleven reached the Manchester fifteen-yard line and
failed to score. Earlham was the victim of a 27 - 0 score as Manchester won its
nineteenth straight game. The Quakers tried: nine passes but none completed.
Then it was Buffalo. Twenty-three men had been chosen to make the trip. It was
the first a Manchester football team had ventured beyond the borders of the
state. A special car had been reserved on the Nickel Plate Railroad for the
trip. The team boarded the train at Sidney at 12:06 p.m. and reached Buffalo at
10:05. Rest was the only item on the agenda until Saturday afternoon when the
men visited Niagara Falls. The game started at 8 p.m.
The OAK LEAVES headline was succinct. BURT'S MEN RUN ROUGH-SHOD OVER STRONG
BUFFALO TEAM. Buffalo was surprised to have a much smaller school defeat them 21
to 6. The game was played on the field at Tonawanda, New York since the Buffalo
field had no lights. A crowd of about 3000 fans was willing to cheer for
Manchester almost as much as for their own team.
The first Manchester score was on a pass from Lieberum to Eikenberry. Brandon
kicked the extra point. Next score came after an 80-yd uninterrupted drive down
the field. Milliner punched it across from the 1-yard line and Brandon did his
thing. The only Buffalo score came at the beginning of the second half at the
end of a persistent drive down the field and on the fourth down. The final
Manchester tally was after a 71-yd run down the sidelines by Lieberum and the
usual conversion by Brandon.
The Spartans came home to face Ball State the next Saturday. Ball State
considered Manchester to be of the "corn-cob league" and were preparing to
eliminate them from their schedule even though Manchester had won five and tied
one out of their last seven contests. The Spartans outplayed the Cardinals in
the first half but the depth of their bench became obvious in the second half
and the final score was 20 - 14 in Ball State's favor.
No list of those who went to Buffalo can be found but it is believed that all of
the following went along with unknown others:
William Ruppert - freshman
Charles Beck - junior
Howard Filburn - sophomore
Robert Robinette - junior
Rowan Howe - junior
Paul or Ralph Fry senior and junior - or maybe both
Sam Schlemmer - sophomore
Merlin Eikenberry - sophomore
William Milliner - freshman
Lewis Cameron - freshman
Carl Sargent - sophomore
Hubert Cordier - junior
Bob Brandon - freshman
Don "Hank" Lieberum - sophomore
Richard Logan - sophomore
First game out of state; first game under lights and a victory. The other trip
to Buffalo was special too.