Family members of Plainview Schools basketball team member Ed Lerum with the 1919 State Runner-Up trophy included (l to r): Tina Kumm, Dylan Moore, Anne Weber, Brooklyn Kumm, Kiersten Woodward and Brian Weber.
Family members of a player on the Plainview High School 1919 “Class E” Boys Basketball state runner-up team accepted a trophy more than 100 years in the making for the team last week.
Anne Weber, daughter to Ed Lerum, who was on the team, and her family, accepted the trophy on behalf of the teammates. The trophy will be displayed alongside the numerous others in the case at the Plainview Public School.
Efforts to find the names of all the other teammates were stopped a bit because of the age of the story, and the News, which didn’t publish first names to save type space.
From the news story, a yearbook and graduation records: Jess Hamilton, Vernon Lenig, Ed Lerum, Kindred Niles, Alfred Parks, Alfred Pilger, Lloyd Saunders, and a Krause (no first name, as mentioned above.)
The original story was published in the newly-combined Plainview News (which took over the Plainview Republican) in the March 20, 1919 edition as follows:
“Prof. Thomson and his Plainview high school basketball warriors returned home from Lincoln, Sunday afternoon, where they took part in the state basketball tournament.
There were one hundred and twenty-one towns of the state represented, making it one of the most successful basketball tournaments ever held in the country.
Hamilton, Parks, Lonig, Krause, Pilger, Niles, Lerum and Saunders represented our city at the big gathering and acquitted themselves with much glory.
The first game was played with the Milford/team, and after trailing in the first half by a score of 7 to 0, our boys put on a grand finish and captured the laurels by a score of 10 to 9. It was one of the most exciting games of the tournament.
The second game was with Giltner, the locals having a much easier time in landing the bacon in, this game. The final score was 12 to 2.
Loop City also proved easy pickings for the Plainview team, although the score was held down reasonably well. Plainview won 13 to 3.
By winning this game the Plainview boys were entitled to enter the finals and in this game were pitted against the crack Gretna team. The Gretna team were winners of this class in the state tournament last year, and our boys realized that they were facing a tough proposition.
However, they went" into the game with that fighting spirit that characterized their playing throughout the tournament and after a hard fought contest were compelled to hand over the laurels to their husky opponents by a score of 2S to 19.
Our boys did fine in winning three games and as a prize for their efforts they were presented with a Spaulding basketball. The boys say they expect to go to the tournament next year and capture the capital prize.”