Submitted by PHGS Member Mike Henderson 

This announcement was taken from the June 8, 1939, edition of The Mail and thus ended a legendary span of ten years of Shinglehouse basketball. 

Until this time Shinglehouse was noted for its baseball teams in athletic circles but in the 30's Shinglehouse and basketball became synonyms. 

Brace came here in the fall of 1929 and from a school that had won but five basketball games in as many years produced a second place team in his first year here, then came the first big championship, followed by the second, third, fourth, and fifth years of championship teams. In a two and a half year period his teams had a record of 43 consecutive league victories. 

Five times his team won the District 4, class B title without a struggle and thrice lose the class A title in the final rounds and in each of the three times, it was by a 2-point margin, one which went overtime. 

To set down all the facts and figures Brace's teams compiled would take a research specialist, and of course like all things that happened in the past the glory of achievements gain in momentum with the years. Glorious years they were too, and in the ten years Brace was with us, the "Where is Shinglehouse?" clause vanished. In that short span of 10 years Shinglehouse High became the Yankees of High School basketball. 

The old community building with its low roof and rafters coupled with a corduroy floor was the arena of the early 30's and, of course, very unpopular to the visitors. After the old community building was sold to a hosiery firm, the Bracers were without a gym but continued to practice in the old Opera House which was torn down a few years later. 

Under the impetus of championship teams thus far produced the present recreation center was built with funds collected by the townspeople and students and became the home grounds of some of the most impressive basketball machines put together anywhere in the New York State and Pennsylvania area. 

The following is a record of NCPIB League games only with the exception of the 1937-38 and 1938-39 seasons which includes all games played in those two seasons. The various Green Waves established an enviable record with 72 wins up to the 1937 season (including a 43 game win streak) against 15 losses, and outscored their opponents by more than 1000 points. 
 

Probably one of the high points in Shinglehouse basketball under Brace was the 1939, March 4, game when the Green Wave defeated highly favored Class A Sayre 20-18. Sayre sent 10 men out on the court to warm up, then the second team of five men came out, after that the regular five men came out and warmed up. But the Bracemen, eight strong, marched out on the court to do their warming up -- quite a difference! The comparison of schools and towns is about as follows: population, Sayre 7800 and Shinglehouse 1300: high school enrollment, Sayre 800 and Shinglehouse 150. 

The following article appeared in Johnny Nelson's sport column in the Bradford Era on March 8, 1939. (Nelson is now sports editor of the Hornell Tribune and staff sports announcer of the Hornell radio station). 

"Credit Harold M. Brace of Shinglehouse High with one of the best basketball coaching records in the region. Although his material is limited in a small school, he has turned out seven championship teams in the last nine years ... in fact his teams won the Class B title four straight years in District 4, the officials ruled that Shinglehouse was too tough for "B" competition and in the future would have to play with the big fellows in Class A ... and remember Shinglehouse is a Class B school according to all PIAA rules -- and the Brace teams have been giving the Class A teams a rugged fight ... three times Shinglehouse has been eliminated by one point in overtime games ... it would be interesting to see what this fellow Brace could do in a Class A school." 

Of course we know the rest. Brace did move on to Bradford and molded one of the finest records in PIAA records. His Bradford Owls went into the District 9 final nine years and got to the semi finals twice. Brace retired from active coaching a few years ago and is now Director of Athletics at Bradford High. 

This is but a few words to contribute to such a fabulous record but it does serve to revive the memories of brighter days on the basketball court. 

Following Brace,s departure the Green Wave under Sonny Blankenship with a handful of Brace 38-39 squad hurdled all the fences and took District 4, A, B, and C championship with a remarkable win over Shamokin. This was in Williamsport in 1940 and was highlighted by a Ned Henderson shaking loose under the hoop to score a peeper in the last 8 seconds. 

In later years Bill Stavisky led some outstanding teams into the finals and took the league in 1952. Stavisky, like Brace, resigned after too much nerve racking strain and is now high school principal. 

At present the team is in a rebuilding stage and has suffered two very lean years, however it does make one think back to brighter days and that line of trophies in the new cases just outside the new gym in the new school, a far cry from the old box factory where basketball was brought to its own in Shinglehouse by Harold M. Brace. 

Action with Emporium, February 9, 1939

These shots were made as the Green Wave clinched their 8th title in 1939. 

At the left you see "Bill" Edgar Perkins just after he had received a pass from Terry Young, with Ted Burrell, No. 1, in the foreground. At right is shown Perkins about to take the ball off the backboard as Burrell missed a shot. 

At top center is the new electric scoreboard used for the first time here.

  For the first time in three or four years a basketball  team representing Shinglehouse has gone forth to distant lands, met the enemy and returned victorious, so 'tis reported. Friday evening a team composed of Leslie and Howard Signor, Dorwin Foote, Kenneth Nichols, William Stisser and Thomas Russell defeated the Duke Center basketball team in a football game at Duke Center, winning by a score of 38 to 29. 

  Among those who attended the game from here were Mr. and Mrs. John Pearsall and the Misses Mary Goodman, Anna Mulkins, and Gladys Dodd. 

  The members of the Shinglehouse Tigers basketball team, autoed over to Roulette Friday evening where they met the team of that place and went down to defeat by the score of 27-18. It was a very interesting game but from the lack of practice the locals lost out. Quite a few of the locals fans braved the snow, ice and bitter coldness of the evening to see their favorite sport. We understand the management is booking other games for this team in the near future.