Pottsboro marks 40 years since state title
by Bill Spinks

(Editor’s note: This story originally was published in the Jan. 18, 2002 issue of the Herald Democrat and has been edited to update it.)

POTTSBORO — The banner still hangs in the tiny gym in which it was earned through hard work 40 years ago.Pottsboro now has a newer high school and gymnasium, so the state boys’ championship banner of 1972 is seen only by middle school students and faculty today. But many people still have fond memories of the magical run the Cardinals made at the top that year.“It never fails that one or two kids will see my name on the banner and come up and ask me about it,” said Tony Oliver, the starting center on the team.With a 61-60 victory over Garrison on March 4, 1972, the Cardinals erased the disappointment of the season before and took the Class A state trophy home, capping a perfect 37-0 season, the only undefeated record in the state that year.Other than Fannindel’s 1989 championship in Class A and Gainesville’s 3A championship in 2002, Pottsboro is the only other Texoma team to possess a Texas state championship in boys’ basketball.In 1971, Pottsboro made its first state tournament appearance, reaching the finals before losing to Van Horn by a single point, 68-67. The Cardinals, upset by the loss, vowed to return to Austin the following season.“We were sitting in the locker room after losing by one point, and we made a pact that we’d be back,” said Mike Kelley, who was the senior point guard of the 1972 team.
“Who would’ve known we wouldn’t lose a game the next year?”The Cardinals had all the tools in place for a repeat run: a prolific scorer in junior Larry Spruiell; a capable point guard in Kelley; Oliver, a junior, in the post; and a cast of others who filled their roles perfectly. Other members of the team were seniors Benny Randles and Jerry Cassell, and sophomores David Towery, Jesse Williams, Curtis Campbell, Stanley Hooks, Jackie Smith and James Schnitker.

	Curtis Wayne Campbell
	Curtis Wayne Campbell Far Left

“As sophomores we were excited just to be part of the team,” Towery said. “That’s how most of the sophomores felt. Each step we went, it
got a little better.”

The Cardinals were led by Don Dodd, a 26-year-old coach fresh out of North Texas State University. Dodd, who led Pottsboro to the state finals in each of his two years there, was a coach who stressed fundamentals.

“He was very driven, a perfectionist,” said Kelley, who now lives in Denison. “We would work for hours and hours, and he would scrimmage with us. Everybody loved him and went the extra mile for him. One of the things about us was our execution; we had very few turnovers.”

The “Dodd Squad” opened the 1971-72 season with a 71-59 win at Ponder, beginning the year with eight consecutive road games — all wins. In the eighth contest, the Cardinals survived a 64-63 game at Colbert, Okla., their closest win that season up to the finals.

Pottsboro claimed championships in tournaments at Slidell, Wichita Falls and Howe, and went a perfect 14-0 in district play, winning by an average of 27 points per game.

In the bi-district playoff in Richardson, the Cards handled Wylie, 66-48, then advanced to the regional tournament in Denton, where the team beat Forney 86-52 and Millsap 64-47. Against Millsap, Spruiell pumped in 44 points, leading the Cardinals back to the state tournament.

The Cardinals drew Sanford-Fritch in the semifinals at the old Gregory Gymnasium in Austin, and won 46-40, earning a meeting with Garrison in the finals. Spruiell carried the Cardinals once again, scoring 26 points in that game.

Like Pottsboro, Garrison was returning to the state tournament for a second consecutive year. The Bulldogs gave Pottsboro all it wanted, and led by 10 points at halftime.

“Coach told us at halftime he wasn’t giving us a speech, that we had gotten that far and it’s up to us,” Oliver said. “That’s the first time he never had a halftime speech.”

In the second half, Garrison just didn’t have an answer for Spruiell.  Spruiell finished with 33 points as the Cardinals edged Garrison, 61-60, to complete their undefeated season and earn the state title. Garrison led 58-57 in the waning moments, but it was Randles who came through with a layup to give the Cards the lead. Then as the Bulldogs worked for a game-winning shot, Spruiell recovered a Garrison turnover and was fouled with three seconds left. Spruiell knocked down both pressure-packed free throws, and Pottsboro clinched the win. “The last two free throws Larry made gave him 44 in a row,” Kelley said, “and the ones he made were the difference in the game.”

A meaningless final half-court bucket by Garrison rounded out the final score as Pottsboro laid back defensively to avoid fouling. “If we’d had the 3-point basket back then, that would’ve changed the ending,” Towery said. Cassell added 14 points in the win, with Randles contributing 10.

The town of Pottsboro embraced the Cardinals after the state championship win. The team bus was given a police escort back into town, according to the March 5, 1972 edition of the Denison Herald, and the Pottsboro Chamber of Commerce held a championship banquet in the team’s honor. A sign was erected at the entrance to town honoring the state champions.

“Basketball was the fever of the whole town,” Kelley said. “After we won district, the whole town was empty every time we played.”
“I’ve never eaten at so many places my whole life,” Oliver added. “People not just in Pottsboro, but all over Denison fed us. It was terrific.” In 1997, at the state tournament, the players were recognized in Austin on the 25th anniversary of Pottsboro’s state title. That was the last time the group was together until this past December, when current Pottsboro head boys coach Russell Ratliff organized a get-together to honor the team during a home game.

Some continued their basketball careers at the coaching level: Towery at Pottsboro, Spruiell at Krum, and Cassell at Van in east Texas. Cassell coached the Vandals to the 2006 Class 3A state championship and last year notched his 700th career win.

Interestingly, Dodd was in effect forced out of his job as Cardinals coach after the 1972 championship when Pottsboro decided to field a football team, and school board members wanted a combination football and basketball coach. Dodd never played football and did not know the sport.

Dodd moved on to Oklahoma and won three more state titles there. Now 66 and still looking youthful, Dodd recently retired after serving as a coach at multiple levels on both the women’s and men’s side, most recently at Southwestern Oklahoma State. In 2000, Dodd brought his Seminole State College women’s team to Grayson College to play in the Thanksgiving Classic, and several of his former players went to meet him. It was just like old times.

“We all had a blast,” Oliver said. “He knocked his chair down on the floor, just like he did when he was coaching us.”