Centennial Season Look Back: An Era of Program Firsts – 1935-45

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Bowling Green, Ohio – Throughout the 2015-16 Bowling Green State University men's basketball season, the BGSU athletics department will take a look back at each decade over the men's basketball program's history as part of the Centennial Season celebration leading up to the Centennial Game on Jan. 23, 2016 versus Kent State.

An Era of Program Firsts – 1935-45
The 1935-45 decade of BGSU men's basketball was an era of firsts for the Falcons. BGSU made its first national postseason appearance in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in 1943-44 and then again in 1944-45, while the Falcons' also had their first ever All-American in Wyndol Gray in 1944-45.

The program also had a transition on the sidelines, as Paul Landis gave way to Harold Anderson in 1942-43. Anderson posted a record of 18-5 over his first season at the helm of the BGSU men's basketball program, his first of 21 seasons in Bowling Green, Ohio.

BGSU also posted its first-ever 20-plus win season with back-to-back 20 win years in 1943-44 and 1944-45. The Falcons went 22-4 overall in 1943-44 and then topped that with a program high 24 wins (24-4) in 1944-45.

NIT Appearances
For the first time in the program's young history, BGSU made the NIT in 1943-44 and finished with a record of 22-4 overall. The Falcons played St. John's in Madison Square Garden on Mar. 16, 1944, following 44-40 in the first round.

BGSU returned to the NIT postseason event the following season and proved to be a tough out in the 1945 tournament, picking up a second-place finish. The Falcons, who finished the year 24-4 overall under Anderson, defeated Rensselaer Poly Tech 60-45 in the first round at Madison Square Garden.

The Falcons then went on to defeat St. John's 57-44 in the second round, before suffering a 71-54 loss to DePaul in the championship game.

Coach Anderson and the Falcons would return to the NIT for a third straight year in 1945-46.

First-Ever Falcon All-American
Named the Team MVP in both 1943 and 1945, Gray became the first-ever Falcon All-American in 1944-45 when he was named to the Sporting News First-Team All-American Team and was an NCAA Consensus All-American First-Team selection.

Gray led the Falcons in 1942-43 with an average of 22.9 points per game as a freshman which still ranks ninth all-time in BGSU men's basketball history. He also set a new Ohio collegiate scoring record of 503 points and was selected All-Ohio that season.

After spending the following year at Great Lakes NTS, he returned to BG in 1944-45 as a Naval V-12 trainee. That season he was again selected All-Ohio, as well as a First-Team All-American, the first in BG history to be so honored.

Inducted into the BGSU Hall of Fame in 1964, Gray was a member of the first Boston Celtics team in 1946, while also playing for the Providence Steamrollers, St. Louis Bombers and Toledo Jeeps during his professional career.

1,000 Career Point Scorer
Don Otten, who become the second Falcon to earn All-American recognition in 1945-46, played for BGSU from 1942-46 and became the Falcons' first-ever 1,000 career point scorer. While he did not reach the mark until the 1945-46 season, he tallied most of his points, 842 points to be exact, from 1942-45.

Otten led the Falcons in scoring in both 1943-44 with 11.8 points per game and in 1944-45 with 16.1 points per game.

With his 1,312 career points, Otten still ranks 20th overall on the Falcons' all-time career scoring list and is one of only 42 players with 1,000 career points in BGSU's history.

Legendary Coaches
The third decade of basketball saw two of the winningest coaches in BGSU history as well as the transition from the second longest tenured coach in Landis to the longest tenured coach in Anderson.

Landis, who started coaching at BGSU in 1925-26, concluded his 17-year career as the Falcons' lead in 1941-42. He finished with an overall record of 156-133 over his 17 seasons and earned a spot in BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame.

Anderson took over the program in the 1942-43 season in which the Falcons posted an overall record of 18-5 in his first season on the sidelines. In his first three years at BGSU from 1942-45, the Falcons won a total of 64 games and made to NIT appearances as Anderson laid the groundwork for a program that would see all new heights of success over his 21 years as the head coach.

All-Ohio Conference Performers
The Falcons had four players earn All-Ohio Conference accolades from 1935-45 in Cliff Conrad (1935-36), Orla Thomas (1935-36), Harold Bishop (1937-38, 1938-39, 1939-40) and James Zachman (1937-38).

Hall of Famers from the Era
A large number of Falcons who were at BGSU during this time are members of the BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame, headlined by Coach Landis and Coach Anderson who were both part of the 1966 induction class.

Wyndol Gray was one of the most outstanding basketball players in Bowling Green State University history. As a freshman in 1942-43, he set a new Ohio collegiate scoring record of 503 points and was selected to the All-Ohio Team in both 1943 and 1945. In 1944-45, Gray was named a First Team All-American, the first in BG history to be so honored. He was inducted to the BGSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1964.

Also a member of the 1966 induction class was Don Otten. After starting his college career at Michigan State, Otten left to enroll at BGSU in 1942. Otten scored 108 points as the Falcons gained Ohio recognition with 18-5 record in 1942-43. He improved his offensive play and continued his goal tending tactics helping the Falcons to a 22-4 record and the first BG appearance in the National Invitation Tournament in 1943-44. He co-captained the 1945-46 team that led to another NIT appearance. Otten finished his college career with 1,312 points over 108 games, leading the Falcons to a record of 91-17 during his time at BGSU.

Otten went on to an 8-year career professional basketball career with Tri-Cities, Washington, Ft. Wayne, and Milwaukee.

Another member of the 1966 BGSU Hall of Fame Class is James Inman. A multi-sport athlete competing in football, basketball, track and baseball at Bowling Green, he graduated in 1942 with a Master of Arts degree. After graduating, he became a teacher where he touched well over a generation of students at Hillsdale High School. As a community activist, he tirelessly developed the city's recreational offerings.

Harold Bishop was a three-year basketball letterman from 1937-40 under Coach Landis after earning his numerals on the 1936-37 freshman team. Bishop became the starting guard as a sophomore and quickly became known as a floor court leader and a top passer. Inducted in 1987, he was named first team All-Ohio Conference for three straight years, the only Falcon to gain All-Ohio Conference honors three times in the 12 years BG was a member of the Ohio Conference.

Dewey Johnson was a letter winner in four different sports, earning ten letters during his time as a Falcon. The captain of the 1941 basketball team, Johnson also competed on the football, baseball, and track teams. As a football player, Johnson was a fullback and halfback. On the court, he gained All-Ohio mention as a junior. Johnson earned three baseball letters as a pitcher, and competed in the javelin and relay on the track team. Johnson would go on to a career in the Air Force in 1941 and was inducted to the BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1968.

Born in Akron, Ohio, Wayne Rudy began his athletic career at Canton McKinnley High School, where he was a letter winner in basketball and baseball. He came to Bowling Green in 1939 and won freshman numerals in basketball. Throughout his career, Rudy also earned two letters in basketball, while earning three for baseball. Rudy captained the 1942 baseball team, before becoming a student trainer during his senior year for the football and basketball teams. He was inducted to the BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1974.

Adolph "Duff" Madaras, who was born in Raab, Hungary and raised in Pemberville, Ohio came to BGSU at the age of 24. He would earn three letters in football (1937-39), basketball (1938-40) and track (1938-40) during his playing career. Madaras, a starting tackle on the Falcon football team for three years, also started for most of his three seasons as a member of the basketball team, finishing second on the team in scoring as both a sophomore and junior in 1937-38 and 1938-39. He had his career high of 211 points as a senior earning second team All-Ohio Conference honors helping the Falcons to a 16-5 record, the best in the first 28 years of the program in 1939-40. Elected to the BGSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995, he totaled 477 points in his career.

Charles Buckenmeyer, a 1946 graduate, lettered in three sports during the 1940 and 1941 seasons. He won two football awards as an offensive end and lettered as a reserve forward in basketball. He also earned a golf award in 1941 on BG's first official team. An outstanding athlete at Swanton High School, Buckenmeyer is regarded as the dean of northwest Ohio football coaches. In 25 years as head coach at Napoleon, his teams won 15 Northwestern Ohio Athletic League crowns. Two of his teams were recognized as the best in northwest Ohio by the Toledo Blade.

Buckenmeyer also was named Coach of the Year by the Blade one time and received the honor twice in the NWO conference. He also coached the Wildcat track team for 17 years and produced 13 league titles. In 1963, he was named Citizen-of-the-Year by the Napoleon Chamber of Commerce. He was elected to the BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1973.

Year-by-Year Breakdown

YEAR	RECORD	HEAD COACH	CAPTAIN	LEADING SCORER
1935-36	7-8	Paul Landis	Orla Thomas	Kenneth Weber – 7.9 ppg
1936-37	4-11	Paul Landis	Clifford Conrad	Clifford Conrad – 7.4 ppg
1937-38	16-4	Paul Landis	Harold Conrad	James Zechman – 12.1 ppg
1938-39	12-7	Paul Landis	Pat Cordisco	James Zechman – 8.6 ppg
1939-40	16-5	Paul Landis	Harold Bishop	Michael Kormas – 10.8 ppg
1940-41	10-11	Paul Landis	Dewey Johnson	Dewey Johnson – 11.3 ppg
1941-42	8-12	Paul Landis	Phil Ricketts	Mike Kish – 8.6 ppg
1942-43	18-5	Harold Anderson	Mike Kish	Wyndol Gray – 22.9 ppg
1943-44	22-4	Harold Anderson	Joe Siegferth	Don Otten – 11.8 ppg
1944-45	24-4	Harold Anderson	Don Otten Wyndol Gray	Don Otten –16.1 ppg

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