Enshrined 1999
Legendary head coach Dale Reichenbach had many outstanding basketball teams at Elyria High but without question, the best had to be his 1958-59 team. Counting Reichenbach and his assistant coach Bob Hersman, there are 12 representatives all enshrined in the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame. Reichenbach w
as a defensive guru and Elyria’s opponents were held to just 46.1 points per game that season while the Pioneers racked up an average of 70.5. Elyria handed a very talented Lorain squad (see jump ball picture left) its only three losses of the season including a 68-66 cliffhanger at the Baldwin-Wallace district championship. Bill Mrukowski set the single-game scoring record with 40 points at Berea early in the season and the team was led in scoring and rebounding by Walter Rock, who later was an All-Pro lineman in the NFL. The usual five starters (all in jump ball picture) were Rock (52), Mrukowski (44), Sam Davis (at right), Jim Jones (30) and Billy Gast (left) but Reichenbach could call on a number of his substitutes to play well. The Pioneers won every game during the regular season to win the pretigious Buckeye Conference championship for the second year in a row. In the “Sweet Sixteen” for the third straight year, Elyria was matched up with defending and undeafeated Cleveland East Tech in the regional semi-final at Baldwin Wallace. In front of a standing room only crowd, East Tech prevailed 52-42. It was the closest margin of victory for the eventual state champions and its lowest point output of the season. Reichenbach, Hersman, Rock, Mrukowski, Davis, Jones, Gast, Larry Stark (tennis), Richie Poad (football), Lee Johnson (basketball), Steve Lengel (football and basketball) and Jim Guest (tennis) are all enshrined in the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame for various talents. Some called the Class of ’59 the greatest assembly of athletes in Elyria High’s illustrious history. Few could argue.
Elyria High School Pioneers 1958-59 Basketball Head Coach: Dale Reichenbach Assistant Coach: Bob Hersman
| # | Player | G | FGA | FG | FTA | FT | A | RB O/D | TP | High | AVE |
| 4-33 | Bill Gast | 24 | 141 | 59 | 48 | 38 | 51 | 19/30 | 156 | 13 | 6.5 |
| 12-11 | Hilton Murray | 12 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2/6 | 9 | 3 | 0.7 |
| 14 | Larry Stark | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0/0 | 4 | 2 | 1.0 |
| 20-34 | Tom Shepard | 5 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2/0 | 3 | 3 | 0.6 |
| 22-40 | Richie Poad | 13 | 25 | 5 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 9/2 | 22 | 7 | 1.7 |
| 24-39 | Bill Madden | 13 | 24 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 8/14 | 24 | 9 | 1.8 |
| 30-42 | Jim Jones | 24 | 195 | 85 | 40 | 26 | 64 | 27/34 | 196 | 19 | 8.2 |
| 38-37 | Lee Johnson | 11 | 27 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 12/19 | 13 | 5 | 1.2 |
| 40-35 | Sam Davis | 24 | 333 | 145 | 95 | 54 | 67 | 123/103 | 344 | 39 | 14.3 |
| 41-41 | Brian Hays | 21 | 39 | 16 | 22 | 7 | 15 | 13/24 | 29 | 9 | 1.8 |
| 44-45 | Bill Mrukowski | 23 | 330 | 136 | 105 | 71 | 66 | 61/150 | 343 | 40 | 14.9 |
| 50-43 | Steve Lengel | 24 | 128 | 49 | 40 | 28 | 27 | 70/69 | 126 | 15 | 5.2 |
| 52-53 | Walt Rock | 24 | 303 | 141 | 169 | 111 | 35 | 178/148 | 393 | 31 | 16.4 |
| 54-55 | Jim Guest | 20 | 32 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 28/32 | 21 | 6 | 1.1 |
| 36 | Dave Metzger | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1/1 | 2 | 2 | 0.6 |
| 35 | Mel Taylor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
1958-59 Schedule and Results
(23-1 Overall, Buckeye Conference Champions 10-0*)
| Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Leading Scorers |
| Nov. 21 | North Olmsted | 75-61 | (1-0) | Davis 28, Mrukowski 15, Gast 10. |
| Nov. 26 | Lakewood | 79-28 | (2-0) | Jones 18, Davis 10, Gast 10. |
| Nov. 28 | Akron Hower | 68-33 | (3-0) | Davis 20, Mrukowski 16, Gast 10. |
| Dec. 6 | at Berea | 79-52 | (4-0) | Mrukowski 40, Rock 13, Davis 13. |
| Dec. 12 | at Findlay* | 54-44 | (5-0, 1-0) | Davis 15, Mrukowski 15, Rock 12. |
| Dec. 19 | at Fremont Ross* | 84-28 | (6-0, 2-0) | Davis 13, Mrukowski 12, Lengel 12, Rock 11. |
| Dec. 20 | Norwalk | 77-30 | (7-0) | Mrukowski 19, Gast 13, Davis 12, Lengel 10. |
| Dec. 23 | Lorain* | 84-64 | (8-0,3-0) | Davis 26, Mrukowski 20, Rock 16. |
| Dec. 30 | Sandusky* | 63-50 | (9-0,4-0) | Mrukowski 24, Rock 18, Jones 10. |
| Jan. 3 | at Mansfield | 69-54 | (10-0) | Davis 29, Rock 18. |
| Jan. 9 | at Marion Harding* | 51-39 | (11-0,5-0) | Davis 18, Gast 11. |
| Jan. 16 | Findlay | 80-53 | (12-0,6-0) | Rock 31, Lengel 15, Davis 14. |
| Jan. 23 | Fremont Ross* | 101-42 | (13-0, 7-0) | Rock 28, Mrukowski 25, Jones 14, Davis 11. |
| Jan. 24 | at Akron East | 67-35 | (14-0) | Jones 18, Rock 13, Mrukowski 13, Lengel 10. |
| Jan. 30 | at Lorain* | 68-63 | (15-0, 8-0) | Jones 19, Mrukowski 18, Rock 17, Davis 14. |
| Jan. 31 | Ashland | 71-58 | (16-0) | Rock 20, Davis 17, Jones 12. |
| Feb. 6 | at Sandusky* | 62-51 | (17-0, 9-0) | Rock 28, Mrukowski 18, Jones 12. |
| Feb. 13 | Marion Harding* | 76-56 | (18-0,10-0) | Rock 23, Davis 18, Jones 15, Mrukowski 12. |
| Elyria Sectional Tournament | ||||
| Feb. 20 | Olmsted Falls | 62-29 | (19-0) | Rock 29. |
| Feb. 23 | Avon Lake | 73-33 | (20-0) | Rock 19, Jones 14, Davis 12, Mrukowski 12. |
| Feb. 27 | North Olmsted | 70-34 | (21-0) | Davis 19, Rock 19, Mrukowski 12. |
| Berea District at Baldwin-Wallace | ||||
| Mar 4 | Berea | 70-52 | (22-0) | Rock 27, Davis 18. |
| Mar 7 | Lorain | 68-66 | (23-0) | Mrukowski 30, Rock 14. |
| Berea Regional at Baldwin-Wallace | ||||
| Mar 11 | East Tech | 42-52 | (23-1) | Davis 13, Mrukowski 11. |
Total Points Scored and Average:1693-1107 (70.5-46.1) Buckeye Conference Standings: Elyria 10-0, Lorain 8-2, Marion 4-6, Sandusky 4-6, Findlay 3-7, Fremont 1-9.