Jerry Summers
Before there was the basketball frenzy that occurs every March at the NCAA tournaments there was a lesser known but historical event named the Southern Textile Basketball Tournament.
It ran from 1921-1997 and was hotly contested by the teams created by the textile plants in the South prior to the decline of the mills because of foreign competition, labor unrest and other factors.
Several teams from the Chattanooga and Northwest Georgia areas entered the tournaments at various times. Former college players from Tennessee, Vanderbilt, the University of Chattanooga and Tennessee Tech University were on the rosters of the teams participating in the yearly tournaments.
Initially the game was based on the 1892 set of rules by Dr. James A. Naismith in his publication “Original Rules of Play” which created the game of basketball as an indoor sport to bridge the cold winter months between football and baseball.
Competition between Greenville mill teams eventually created enough interest to set up a tournament to declare a real champion in basketball in 1921 at the Textile Hall in Greenville.
The first tournament was given extensive coverage in the Greenville News, including a congratulatory message from United States President Warren G. Harding.
As interest rose attendance also increased and in 1925 there were 56 teams entered in the tournament with A, B, and C Divisions for the men and women teams who made their first appearance in that year.
As the Southern Textile Basketball Tournament continued to gain prestige its comparison to college basketball followed naturally.
Conflicts arose over the issues of paying players for their participation in the games but the subject of professionalism versus amateurism was never completely resolved during the term of the tournament.
As the country entered the Depression it was anticipated that the tournament would die out but such was not to be the case. It would move forward, sometimes by fits and starts, but would mature in the dynamic years of the 1930’s.
As interest in the tournament grew teams from Alabama and North Carolina entered the competition. Big crowds and radio broadcasts of the games filled the airwaves.
Beginning in 1936 teams from the Chattanooga area began participating in the tournament. Local stars Tyrus Coppinger, Bill Evans, Melvin Seals, Carl Phillips, Lester Smith, Emmitt Harris, T.L. Pierce and Dave Telford made up the roster for the Dixie Merchandizing squad.
Dixie Merchandizing, Lupton City, and Peerless Woolen Mills from the Chattanooga area all participated in 1940. The Dixie team was the Division B Champions for the year. In 1941 Dixie Merchandizing won the Division A Men’s title.
Peerless Woolen Mills from Rossville, Georgia, made its first appearance in 1937 under the leadership of Coach Walt Lauder who would for many years be a member of the Board of Directors of the tournament.
Future All-American Pete Maravich of Louisiana State University played in the league as a 12-year-old. Billy Cunningham of North Carolina and the Philadelphia 76ers was a participant in the tournament. Several college All-Americans such as Doug Moe of North Carolina and Grady Wallace of South Carolina also participated.
One of the most colorful players in the tournaments was Earl “Junior” Wooten from Pelzer, South Carolina. He was the leading all-time scorer in the annual games and 12-time All-Tournament selection, and member of the tournament Hall of Fame. He also played professional baseball for the Chattanooga Lookouts, Washington Senators, and Boston Braves.
During the 1930’s through the 1960’s Peerless Woolen Mills sent a team to play in the tournament that included players Bob McCoy, Lamar North, Howard Sompayrac, Fred Carter and Clint Norman. Peerless with the strong financial support of industrialist John L. Hutcheson would maintain active sports programs for its employees in softball and baseball. The facility also would be a strong backer for the Rossville High School Bulldogs.
Speed Queen of Chattanooga put up a formidable team in 1960 headed by Terry Penny and Larry Card of Soddy Daisy and Ronnie Campbell of Meigs County.
In 1961-1964 the Chattanooga VFW sponsored a team that included college players Herschel Smith, Ron Peoples, Eddie Test, Wayne Standefer, Joe Gardener, Orb Bowlin and several former high school stars.
The last team from the Chattanooga area was the Upstate Juniors and the Upstate Seniors who played in the men’s C Division in 1997.
With the closing of many mills, cost increases, labor disputes, and the advent of television the tournament was finally forced to discontinue play. This ended a colorful 76-year history of basketball in the South.
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Jerry Summers
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Howard Sompayrac took part in March Madness in Greenville, S.C., and was later a member of the County Commission