Milford chronicle., 1952-02-01
Past Milford Cage
Glories Are Recalled
CONTINUED from first page)


Skeet Hart, and other members Of
that championship squad are still
fondly remembered by the then
students and adult fans of that
period.
In pre-war years the late Her
bert Elliott consistently turned out
teams of championship calibre,
with stars like Joe Griffith, DOnny
Holzmueller. Lloyd Elton, Tom
Palmer, Nehn wilkins and others
attaining statewide recognition.
During the same period the late
Rev. Eugene Mccarthy, with the
help of outstanding impOrtees from
upstate. such as Charley NOOnan,
Paul Chadick, and Buck Lacy, made
Milford q power in independent
cage ranks.
Basketball took pretty much a
back seat during the days of World
War II. bur bounced back into the
local sports spotlight i'm the win
ter of 1861. when Blue Hen
Post No. 64S3, of the Veterans of
Foreign Wars, and it's Ladies Aux
iliary inaugurated community
basketball program here that prov
ed to be one of the most success
full sports promOtiOnal programs
ever staged downstate. A mans
team, the Milford Vets, competed
successfully in the then Mar-Del
League, finished second in regular
season play and then advanced to
the finals of a pNst-seasOn playOff
series before being dOwned by a
powerful MiddletOwn A. G. array;
some of the standOuts on the 1876
AZ Vets team were Joe Griffith.
Lloyd Elton, Johnny Williams,
Dick KINNEY. Art Cunning, Elmer
son Meredith and Lorraine Wilk-
ins. The 1946-47 team and a SINH
lar team the following winter were
coached by Harris Belts. A strong
girls team was also organized and
more than held it's own with the
/ peninsula's top sextettes. The Sea-
/ ford Nylons, undefeated for five
/ seasons, was the only team to take
series from the girls team, the
/ Blue Hens, in 1946-47 and 1919.
Basketball interest locally re-
ceived it's biggest shot in the
arm" in December 1948, when the
cOlOrful Leo (The PoinO Marshall
and Father Charles Shields were
added to the Milford team, and
Gene Murphy was named team
coach. Marshall. imported from
Wilmington by the Vets business
manager, Dave Hugg, topped Del
marva's three strongest cage
leagues in scoring, playing as Of
ten as six times a week, and broke
every scoring record in a strong
Mar-Del loop Every Monday eve
ming the Milford High School gym
nasium, site of the Vets and Blue
Hens home games, was literally
packed to the rafters. with fans
coming from all over lower Della
ware and adjacent Eastern Shore
areas to boo or cheer the high
scoring Marshall.
Sharing the spotlight with Mar
shall and the other members of
the 1948-49 Vets array were Mil
fOrds new peninsular girls cham
pions, the 1948-49 edition of the
Blue Hens. Coached by Nelson
. Griffith, the high scoring Hens
romped through Mar-Del Girls
League competition to easily clinch
pennant hOnOrs and then defeated
the independent Laurel Owlettes in
a pOst-seasOn series to sew up pen
insular hOnOrs. The Vets, despite
their powerful punch, finished
fourth in a pennant chase that went
to the final week for decision and
then lost to Denton in the play
offs.
Both the Vets and Blue Hens
competed in new. stronger leagues
in 1949-50, the mems team compel
/, ing in the All-Delaware Circuit
while the Hens became charter
members of the new Delaware
Girls League. Despite spirited
play, neither team quite attained
the success of the previous sea
son; the Vets dropped to the sec
Ond division Of their league, while
the Hens lost their championship
laurels to a strong Milton sextette
During 1949-5O a six-team City
League was organized under spOn