Waterloo Wonders Author to be in Ironton Sunday, April 5th.

[Focused]

Dick Burdette will be at the Ironton, Oh. Historical Society this Sunday April; 5 th.



From 1-4 Pm, located at 506 south 6 th Street Ironton, Ohio.



Contact person Virginia Bryant 740.532.3514 or 740.532.1222



He will give a presentation about " The Waterloo Wonders", and have both of his books available, to sale, and sign. The museum will have the books in their gift shop, year round.



This will be the last signing date for the author, this year, he leaves for Colorado this May.



We will be exploring the possibility of starting a museum for the wonders, anyone who has any ideas please come.



This is the museum's opening day, they will have a sports display about the local sports history of Lawrence County.



Anyone who needs to order books can call John Neal 740.574.0700,for author signed copy, or go to amazon.com.



any questions call John, or Dick @ 859.523.2417



Find attached cover pic's an author intro. to book



Thanks-



John Neal




------------------------------------------------------------------------------








Seventy-five years ago, the Waterloo Wonders came frolicking out of the Lawrence County hills to become the most colorful, most exciting, most unforgettable team in the history of Ohio high school basketball.
What they did was nothing less than remarkable. Over two seasons, they won back-to-back state championships and in the process, perhaps as many as 100 games, only a handful of them on their own court.

How they did it was even more amazing. In an era when a virtually unknown team called the Harlem Globetrotters was still playing one-night stands in small-town high school gyms and dance halls across the Middle West, the Wonders, imitating no one, astonished overflow crowds in the state’s largest arenas with their whirlwind passing, deadeye shooting, lockdown defense and whimsical showmanship. Left-handed, right-handed, two-handed, behind the back, between the legs, over-handed, underhanded, bowling style, sitting down, lying down, without looking—the Wonders passed with such lightning speed, such radar accuracy, fans and opponents alike often did not know where the ball was.

And yet, the defining significance of their story lies not in what they did, or how they did it, but when. No work, no money, no hope of any, drought, towering Dust Bowl storms that turned day into night, farm foreclosures, evictions, record heat, punishing cold, stunted crops wilting in the fields -- by 1933, America, the Land of Plenty, had become the Land of Nowhere Near Enough.

And then, amid all the doom and gloom, along came the Wonders.

Attendance records document the scope of their sudden and startling impact. In 1932, the three-day state tournament in Columbus attracted an all-time high 13,801 fans. In 1933, the year before the Wonders appeared on the scene, attendance plummeted nearly in half to 7,103.

Two years later, when they won their second state title, it soared to 24,100 -- and that didn’t include hundreds more who knocked down the Fairgrounds Coliseum doors just to see the Wonders play.

But how many games they won and how many fans they attracted tell only part of the story. Their real impact was much more personal. Every time they stepped onto the court, their impromptu, freewheeling antics, if only for a little while, brought excitement, awe, joy and hope to the lives of the tens of thousands who saw them play.

And yet, for all the attention they received, all the headlines they inspired, the Wonders never allowed their heads to be turned by their newfound fame or the glaring spotlight under which they performed. Showmen but never showoffs, possessed of a sly, disarming, sometimes self-deprecating sense of humor, they reveled in the ridiculous without attempting to make their opponents look that way. Through it all, they remained themselves, no different than they had been before all the fuss, no different than they would be the rest of their lives, after their glory days were over.

The Wonders on a basketball court were a sight to see, the likes of which Ohio had never seen before. Or ever would—or will-- see again.



* * * *



In 1959, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of their first state championship, the Wonders-- Orlyn Roberts, Wyman Roberts, Curtis McMahon, Stewart Wiseman, Beryl Drummond and their coach, Magellan Hairston-- were invited back, for the first time since their playing days, to the state tournament in Columbus. They received a prolonged, emotional, standing ovation. In the months that followed, they agreed to tell their story. It was published in 1961 under the title, The Fabulous Waterloo Wonders.

What follows, on this, the 75th anniversary of their first championship season, is a revised and expanded version of that book, long out of print. In addition to making available once again their personal recollections of their legendary careers, this edition attempts to show that the significance of their careers and lives can be understood only when viewed within the framework of the times and place in which they occurred.





It happened just once, a long time ago,

It never could happen again.

[BuckeyeFan66]

Does any film exist of any of their games? I've seen the first book and photos but always wondered (no pun intended) if any film existed.

[buckfan84]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XwZ4b2jUco

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP984Hwg ... re=related

[sportfolio]

Both of these book are worthwhile and good reading.
It is a tremendous story.

Not related to the books is a documentary about
the Waterloo Wonders which was done last fall
by WOUB-TV at Ohio University in Athens.
A DVD of that program can be ordered through WOUB --
not sure of the cost, but it is also well done
and worthwhile seeing.