The 1955 Basketball Championship – Epilogue

I suppose that every good historical tale deserves an epilogue – what happened to the players and coaches after the 1955 Class C Nebraska State High School Basketball Championship game?  Where are the Heroes of Yesteryear now?

1955 was a long time ago, and of course most of the players and coaches have gone to their Reward – that Big Arena in the Sky.  In the years after the game they graduated from their high schools and went on to become productive members of society – farmers, businessmen, servicemen, scholars, and educators.  I thought it would be interesting to chase down some information about these young men – brief sketches of their lives after high school.

So let’s start with the winners – the young men who represented the Chadron Prep Junior Eagles in the 1955 Nebraska Boys Class C Basketball Tournament in Lincoln.

Archie Conn – Chadron Prep coach. Archie Conn, a Bayard NE native who had himself been an excellent athlete at Chadron State in the late 1920s and early ’30s, was hired to coach the Chadron Prep Junior Eagles in 1947.  During his first 12 years as the basketball coach he had a phenomenal 247-33 win-loss mark.  At one stage of his career at Prep, Conn’s teams had won 184 of 199 games. They won three Class C state championships, 11 district crowns, and nine conference titles.  The state championships came in 1949-50, 1951-52 and 1954-55. All three teams were undefeated.

After Chadron State College closed its Prep high school in 1961, Archie remained on the college faculty and later served at the University of South Dakota-Springfield. He was presented Chadron State College’s Distinguished Service Award in 1976.

Archie Conn, highly successful Chadron Prep coach and also director of the Campus Laboratory School that included Prep, received the Chadron State College Distinguished Service Award in 1976 from Dr. Edwin C. Nelson, the CSC president.

Fifty-one years later, Archie Conn was inducted posthumously into the Nebraska State High School Athletic Hall of Fame and his three state championship basketball teams from the ’50s were recognized as the Golden Anniversary Teams.

Archie Conn, the head coach when Chadron Prep won Class C state tournament basketball championships in 1950, 1952 and 1955, was inducted into the Nebraska State High School Athletic Hall of Fame posthumously in 2001. During the ceremonies the three championship teams were designated Golden Anniversary Teams by the Hall of Fame. These Prep athletes and those who had been Prep students were in attendance. In front, from left, are Tom Mingus, Doug Wilson, Cal Clark, Glen Wyatt, Bob Armstrong, Franklin Clark, Charlie Snook and Barb Snook. In the back are Kenny Churchill, Hope Hampton Weaver, Jay Muma, Marion Shellhorn, Bob Buchanan, Jim Hampton, Jim Link, Danny Kuska, Dick Mingus, Bob Egly, Phil Williams, Gary Clements, Dave Roberts and Janet Redfern Adams.

Archie Conn – Chadron Prep

https://www.dawescountyjournal.net/2020/05/chadron-prep-athletic-powerhouse-of.html

Ed Kuska (#35) – In the autumn of 1955 Ed Kuska joined the Idaho State College (now Idaho State University) basketball team.  After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1960, he enrolled in the London School of Economics.  He obtained his Ph.D. in 1970 and over the years held a number of teaching positions at the LSE, having the title of Senior Lecturer at his retirement in 2002.  After 1982 he concentrated on teaching and student welfare, rather than on economics research. He was an excellent teacher and taught Mathematics, International Monetary Economics and Macroeconomic Theory.

Ed Kuska had strong family attachments, and after his retirement he moved to Westminster, CO to be close to his family.  It was there that he died on 31 August 2019 at the age of 82.

https://www.alumni.lse.ac.uk/s/1623/interior-hybrid.aspx?sid=1623&gid=1&pgid=5688

Dick Mingus (#15) – Dick Mingus’ skills on the Chadron Prep team earned him a place in the Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame.  After graduating from Idaho State College (ISU) he joined the U.S. Army and served two tours of duty in Vietnam.  Upon retiring from the Army with the rank of Major, he worked for a number of years for the Northrup-Grumman Company at Fort Eustis, VA.  He died in Williamsburg, VA in 2009.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/richard-mingus-obituary?pid=178239592

Tom Mingus – Tom Mingus went on to play basketball for Idaho State College (ISU) in Pocatello, earning a spot on the varsity squad in the 1959-60 season.  After graduating from ISU in 1960, Mingus worked in sales for a US petroleum company and later became owner/manager of a gas station-convenience store in Grand Junction, CO—a business he operated for 35 years. Now retired, he and his wife live in Utah.

Jay Muma (#23) – In the year after their championship run, Jay Muma was named to the Class C All-State Team for 1955-56 season.  He began his college education at Mississippi Southern University, in Hattiesburg, MS, where he was on the basketball team for one season before transferring to Chadron State College. Jay received a BS degree in education, and later a master’s degree in education from Chadron State College.

In 1963 Jay moved to Howells, NE to coach the Bobcats. With the help of an impressive new basketball gym, Jay Muma brought the winning tradition back to Howells Bobcat basketball.  Following three successful seasons at HHS he was recruited to become the head coach of the Schuyler Warriors.  After a runner up finish in 1967, Jay coached the Schuyler Central “Jolly Green Giants” to the Nebraska High School State Championship in 1968, one of Jay’s many cherished moments.  He often reminisced and told stories that always centered around the players.  The 1968 Schuyler State Championship Team and their Coach Jay Muma were inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame in 2018.

Following his high school coaching career, Muma coached three years at Platte Community College, Columbus, NE until 1976. Jay continued his professional career as an administrator and served as principal at Onawa, IA, Lexington, Stapleton, Red Cloud, and Basset, NE. His positive attitude and infectious personality were legendary.  Jay Muma retired to the Lincoln area and died in 2023.

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/lincoln-ne/jay-muma-11401689

[When Jay Muma left Howells for Schuyler, Jim Morrison came over from Dodge.  Morrison and his Howells Bobcats became legendary, winning five state basketball championships during his 40-year coaching career at Howells.]

A couple of Chadron Prep players who did not show up in Clarkson’s yearbook photos, but were important members of the team, include:

Jim Link – In the 1955 semi-final tournament game, 6’ 5” Jim Link scored 28 points in a 54-40 win over Banner County. Graduating at the end of that championship season, Link went on to play basketball for a year at Chadron State, then moved on to play for two years at Idaho State College (now ISU) and study architecture. [The ISC Bengals made the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament in 1958 and 1959]  With a degree in architecture from Idaho State University in hand, in 1960 Jim moved to Denver where he had a lengthy career as a professional architect.  After being retired for several years, he passed away in 2021.

Doug Wilson – After graduating from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1959, Doug Wilson taught physics and chemistry, mostly in Lincoln. He acquired both Master’s and Doctor’s degrees and, as a member of the American Association of Physics Teachers, wrote a considerable number of physics teaching materials and conducted physics teacher workshops.  After retiring from teaching in 1997, he worked several years as an analyst for a human resources consulting company.  He and his wife reside in Lincoln.

2010 reunion of members of the 1955 Chadron Prep basketball team.  The 3 men in the middle, from left to right, are Doug Wilson, Ed Kuska, and Jim Link.

But it goes without saying that anyone who had the good fortune of growing up in Clarkson in the 1950s was the real winner.  Here’s what happened to the runners up from Good Old Clarkson High…

Bill Kropp – Clarkson’s coach, Bill Kropp, was at the front end of a stellar career in high school coaching.   

Bill Kropp attended Stanton High School where he was an all-sport athlete.  He then enrolled at Wayne State College where he played on the basketball team. He coached basketball for 38 years at Norfolk, Dodge, Clarkson, Aurora, and Grand Island, winning 350 games in 24 years as a head coach.  In 1987, he retired to Aurora where he continued a life of service through volunteer efforts.  Bill Kropp died in 2003.

Even more notably, Bill and his wife Dolores raised a large family of exceptional athletes.  Their sons, daughters, and grandchildren were stars of so many sports that in 2014 the entire Kropp family was inducted into the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame – https://nebhalloffame.org/266/   As the old joke goes, if you look up the word “athlete” in the dictionary, there will be a picture of a Kropp next to the definition.

Dean Houfek (#12) – He married one of the cheerleaders in his class, Joan Zoubek, and became a businessman, owning a Beltone Hearing Aid store in Corpus Christi, Texas. 

He was killed in an automobile accident at the age of 66.

Dean C. Houfek, 66, of LaGrange, died Tuesday, June 2, 2004, in an automobile accident in Maryville, MO. He was a native of Colfax County, NE, the retired owner of Beltone Hearing Aid Services of Corpus Christi, TX, and a member of St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Pewee Valley. He is survived by a son; two daughters; a sister; and seven grandchildren. 

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/journalstar/name/dean-houfek-obituary?id=51150429

Jerome Jaroška –

Jerome Jaroška studied electronics at Milford Technical School in Seward, NE and United Television Laboratories in Louisville, KY.  He furthered his education in the U.S. Air Force.  He worked as an engineer at radio and televisions stations (including a stint at KCSR in Chadron), maintaining transmission and studio equipment.  He finished his career as Chief Engineer at Radio Station WJAG in Norfolk, NE. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerome-Jaroska-3573b456

Don Lauda –

Don Lauda left CHS with the idea of becoming an Industrial Arts teacher.  He became disenchanted with that field, dropped out of school, and spent a two-year hitch in the army.  He returned to school to earn BA, MS. and Ph.D. degrees in Education.  Dr. Lauda held a variety of teaching and administrative positions at six universities across the country, ultimately retiring as Dean of the College of Health and Human Services at California State University in Long Beach.

Click to access Lauda.pdf

Dean Prazak (#11) –

In addition to his feats on the hardwood, Dean Prazak’s senior year (1956-57) was the first year that Clarkson High School fielded a football team.  He played left halfback and despite scoring every touchdown for the Red Devils the team lost every game.  Graduating from CHS in 1957, 5’11” Prazak played guard on the University of Nebraska basketball team for the next two seasons.

Bob Moore (#13) –

Bob Moore became Clarkson High School’s most famous basketball player, scoring the highest career points at Clarkson High and becoming the second highest all-time scorer in Nebraska history when he graduated in 1956.  He played basketball at the University of Kansas and Wayne State College, graduating in 1961.  In 1962 he replaced his mentor, Bill Kropp, as Clarkson’s head basketball coach.  He left CHS after 2 years to become a stockbroker and professional fundraiser, retiring in 2005.  Bob Moore died in Alabama in 2022.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/nonpareilonline/name/robert-moore-obituary?id=3586773

Don Rezniček (#15) –

Don Rezniček graduated from CHS in May, 1957.  He received his BA degree from Wayne State College, then came back to Clarkson to teach science classes at his alma mater from 1961-1964.  He returned to school, receiving his Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Chemistry at the University of South Dakota in 1970.  Dr. Rezniček taught chemistry at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, MN until his retirement.  He and his wife divide their time between Minnesota and Arizona.

The Rezniček family history in Clarkson’s Centennial Book notes that “Don recalls hiking to the “Clarkson Mountains,” paper routes, very successful basketball seasons playing in the state basketball tournaments, playing on the first eleven man football team, teaching school where he had attended, making wine from recipes the students brought from home, being a co-worker with teachers who had taught him.  He, Frankie Miller, and Bob Moore serving at almost all of the Catholic funeral Masses with Father Kubesh.  Being taught by Frank Brabec the correct way to ring the church bell for different occasions.  His most cherished memory is being in the Boy Scouts – camping jamborees, initiation in the Order of the Arrow, receiving the Ad Altare Dei Cross, and having the privilege of being awarded the first Eagle Scout award in Clarkson on October 11, 1955.”

[On a personal note, I was fortunate to have Don Rezniček teach my General Science class during my Freshman year at CHS, his last year at Clarkson.  I count him among the top 3 or 4 science teachers who inspired me to pursue a very rewarding scientific career.]

Do not suppose that these young men were “One-Trick Ponies” – basketball specialists.  Many of these guys excelled in track and field and football.  From the smattering of Senior Class photos above it is apparent that they were well-rounded student athletes.  For example, the 1955 Boys Octet captures 5 of the players in their alter egos as bow-tied baritones.

That Chadron Prep-Clarkson championship game was a nail-biter. The score was tied eight times and the lead changed hands seven times before Prep won.  Ed Kuska of Chadron Prep and Bob Moore of Clarkson were All-State selections.  Archie Conn was named Nebraska’s High School Basketball Coach of the Year.  Bob Moore, Don Lauda, Dean Houfek, Don Rezniček, and Dean Prazak were all named Omaha World Herald Stars of the Week.

Clarkson High School will never have a re-match of that 1955 title game, never have the chance to settle the score with Chadron Prep.  Chadron Prep closed its doors in 1961.  For that matter, the Clarkson Red Devils are gone as well, having bowed to the demands of school consolidation and transforming themselves into the Clarkson-Leigh Patriots.

Incidentally, a number of the Clarkson Red Devil players returned the following year.  The 1956 team compiled a 27-1 record, and lost the state championship to Geneva by a score of 53-51.  Once again, Bob Moore was named to the Class C All-State Team and the A.P. All State Team, and he, Duane Svehla, Darrel Smejkal, Monty Longacre, Dean Prazak, and Don Rezniček were honored as Omaha World Herald Stars of the Week. But that’s a story for next winter.

Don Rezniček, Coach Bill Kropp, Bob Moore, and Dean Prazak – 1956

1956 Clarkson Red Devils Varsity Basketball Team

Acknowledgements

I don’t know what happened to the rest of the players on these two fine teams.  If you are still out there, perhaps you can give us an update (and correct any of my errors).  As before, my thanks to Doug Wilson and Fred Baumert, without whose knowledge and perfect memories this would have been a very short story.