November 14, 1986: “Hoosiers” Premieres

November 14, 1986: Hoosiers premieres. It tells the story of the basketball team at Hickory High School in rural Indiana, and its improbable run to the State Championship in 1952, led by coach Norman Dale, played by Gene Hackman.

Māris Valainis, a real-life former Indiana high school basketball star of Lithuanian descent, plays the star player, Jimmy Chitwood. Barbara Hershey, Dennis Hopper, and Sheb Wooley -- famous for his 1958 novelty song "The Purple People Eater" -- also star.

It becomes an inspirational movie to sports underdogs everywhere. It was based on a true story – sort of. March 13, 1954: Milan High School (pronounced MYE-lan, not Mih-LAHN like the Italian city), enrollment 161, defeated Muncie Central High School, enrollment over 1,600, 32-30 -- no shot cloick to win the title. But Milan had reached the State Semifinal in 1953, so, while it was an upset, it wasn't a gigantic upset. Maybe a 10-to-1 shot, but not a 1,000-to-1 shot. Think of it like if Gonzaga beat Duke in the NCAA Tournament Final.

Or if Butler University, of Indianapolis, beat Duke. The Final was filmed where the actual Finals were held at the time, the Butler Fieldhouse. Built in 1928, in 1966 it was named for Tony Hinkle, Butler's basketball coach from 1926 to 1970, its football coach from 1935 to 1969, its baseball coach from 1921 to 1970, and its athletic director from 1926 to 1970 -- in each case, except for during World War II.

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November 14, 1986 was a Friday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There were 6 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, 106-103 at the Milwaukee Exposition and Convention Center Arena, a.k.a. The MECCA. (It's now the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.)

* The Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls, 110-98 at the Chicago Stadium. Michael Jordan scored 48 points.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Detroit Pistons, 105-100 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Dallas Mavericks, 142-138 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 127-97 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.

* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 119-109 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.

There were 4 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Philadelphia flyers, 2-1 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-4 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Quebec Nordiques beat the Washington Capitals, 4-1 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* And the Winnipeg Jets beat the Vancouver Canucks, 3-2 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

And in New Jersey high school football, for the last time while I was a student there, East Brunswick High School played, beating Sayreville, 33-6 at Jay Doyle Field in East Brunswick. We missed the Central Jersey Group IV Playoffs, but backed into the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division title when another school lost on Thanksgiving Day.