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ESPN Classic documentary stars Hinkle Fieldhouse
By David Woods
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Speakers talk about Hinkle Fieldhouse with reverence associated with places of worship. When the court is lit by sunlight shining from tall windows above, nothing is missing but the choir.
"Indiana's Basketball Cathedral -- Hinkle Fieldhouse" is an hourlong documentary that will premiere at 10 p.m. Feb. 2 on ESPN Classic.
There will be a public viewing in the Fieldhouse after the men's game that night between Butler and Wisconsin-Green Bay. ESPN Classic will replay the documentary as many as a dozen times.
The documentary was produced by Todd Gould for Indianapolis-based Pathway Productions and narrated by Butler alumnus and trustee Corey McPherrin. Michael Husain, president of Emmy Award-winning Pathway, proposed the idea in 2004.
"We wanted to get the stories within the building," Husain said Tuesday.
Narration is mixed with footage, some of it rare, along with interviews with Hoosier notables such as John Wooden, Oscar Robertson, Bobby Plump, George McGinnis and Steve Alford.
Not that the legacy of the building, which opened in 1928 as the second-largest arena in the country, is all provincial.
During the documentary's opening, sportscaster Bob Costas calls Hinkle the basketball equivalent of baseball's Wrigley Field or Fenway Park.
Bill Bradley played high school, college and pro basketball in Missouri, New Jersey and New York, respectively. But when the Hall of Famer and former U.S. senator played an NBA exhibition in Indiana, he knew he was in the state of basketball.
"When you walk in a place like Hinkle Fieldhouse, you realize you're in the heart of basketball country," he said. "And this is where great things happen."
The story is told in six segments -- an introduction and history lesson; a biography of Tony Hinkle; the Milan Miracle team of 1954; the Crispus Attucks championship teams of 1955 and 1956; the trials and tribulations of the Indianapolis Olympians, the pro team that played there; and a remembrance of other events.
"It's our heritage," former Indiana Pacers coach Bob "Slick" Leonard says in the documentary. "Our fathers, our grandfathers, played here. Hinkle Fieldhouse is where it all happened."
There were wonderful people who worked there, all gone now, but everytime I walk in there still I feel surrounded by ghosts of a wonderful past and get a chill and a lump in my throat. Tony Hinkle, of course. Charlie McElfresh, the long-time equipment manager. George Burkhart, who kept the ancient boilers running. Jean Klingenberger, the secretary who kept the athletic office running smoothly. Later on Bill Sylvester and even later still Ralph Reiff, who married my dad's best friend's daughter and became the athletic trainer, and who supplied my mom with season tickets as long as he worked at Butler. And my dad, Jim Morris. I guess this is my own little tribute, so thank you for indulging me. I can't wait to see the documentary. I feel about Hinkle about like I feel about IMS. How lucky to have two such amazing places in my hometown!
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