By Lane Losh @LaneLosh2
The Boone boys celebrate their Substate Final victory over Carroll on March 16th, 1963. The game was played at a neutral site in Jefferson. Rewind to 54 years ago. The date is March 16th, 1963. The Boone boys’ basketball team is in a Substate Final showdown with the Carroll Tigers and the score remains close in the final seconds of the game. Senior leader Roger Dutton steps to the foul line looking to sink a pair of clutch free throws, and the once raucous gym goes completely silent. Dutton makes the foul shots, and the Toreadors are headed to Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines to play in the Iowa High School State Tournament.
Senior Roger Dutton was the anchor and leader of the 1963 team, and he was a 2nd team All-State selection. He received more votes than any other guard in the state in the voting. Other than Dutton, the other starters were all just juniors. Dick Musser, Mike Loehrer, Marv Nicholson, and Mike Bennett made up the rest of the lineup.
Boone was coached by Jim Ranglos, who played collegiately at Colorado and later played professional basketball.
Many different pieces and players played a role in that magical postseason run. One player remembers it very vividly 54 years later. I caught up with Roger Dutton and discussed with him what it was like to be a part of something so special.
In the State Tournament, Boone was beaten by Storm Lake on a pair of last-second free throws, and it was a truly heartbreaking defeat for the team.
“From a purely basketball standpoint, it really wasn’t a terrific memory. We were all crying in the locker room afterward. I had my worst game of the year at a time when the team needed my senior leadership the most,” says Dutton.
Roger remembers the Des Moines newspaper doing interviews after their first practice at the Auditorium, prior to the game. When coach Jim Ranglos was asked about their gameplan for the 1st round game, he simply said, “we have Roger Dutton and they don’t.”
Dutton has very fond memories of Coach Ranglos, saying that he was an excellent coach and an even better man.
“Jim and I would play one-on-one after practices and he would dominate me. Grab me, push me, taunt me, but it was a great education for how I would be played against all year long,” he said of his former coach.
Among all the memories from their State appearance, he says his favorite would have to be the tremendous outpouring of support from the community of Boone.
“There was a huge caravan of cars accompanying us to Des Moines. Went through all the little towns along the way. Honking horns, people on the streets waving and cheering us, both as we left Boone and also from all the small towns along the way. Felt like a ‘Hoosiers Moment’. I will never forget that memory.”
While Roger Dutton was a terrific player, he also had a great cast of supporting teammates. The Toreadors were made up of primarily juniors, and they grew up at just the right time. Contributions from the scrappy Marv Nicholson and scoring from Dick Musser were all essential for Boone’s success.
“Wonderful teammates, great memories. That is what sports are all about. Not individual achievements, but team achievements,” said Dutton.
“It was quite a send-off from our high school years. I can say that I feel extremely fortunate to have had such great teachers and coaches. They prepared us very well for the athletic field as well as our futures academically in college.”
These days, Dutton is far removed from his Boone High glory days and runs a financial firm in the Greater Chicago Area. Following high school, he went on to play basketball and baseball at Northern Illinois University, where he is a member of the athletic Hall-of-Fame. After college, he was a 3rd round draft choice by the New York Yankees and spent five seasons in their organization. However, after all of these accomplishments, Roger often reminisces on his one shining moment with his best friends at Boone High 54 years ago.
It’s Playoff time for high school basketball in Iowa, and Mr. Dutton had some words of advice for both of the Basketball teams, “Don’t make it life or death. Have fun, make your own memories. Believe me, they will last you a lifetime. Go Toreadors, and don’t have any memories where you didn’t give your 110% effort!”
Special thanks to Mo Kelley, as well as the Boone News-Republican for providing information and photos.
Senior Roger Dutton was the anchor and leader of the 1963 team, and he was a 2nd team All-State selection. He received more votes than any other guard in the state in the voting. Other than Dutton, the other starters were all just juniors. Dick Musser, Mike Loehrer, Marv Nicholson, and Mike Bennett made up the rest of the lineup.
Boone was coached by Jim Ranglos, who played collegiately at Colorado and later played professional basketball.
Many different pieces and players played a role in that magical postseason run. One player remembers it very vividly 54 years later. I caught up with Roger Dutton and discussed with him what it was like to be a part of something so special.
In the State Tournament, Boone was beaten by Storm Lake on a pair of last-second free throws, and it was a truly heartbreaking defeat for the team.
“From a purely basketball standpoint, it really wasn’t a terrific memory. We were all crying in the locker room afterward. I had my worst game of the year at a time when the team needed my senior leadership the most,” says Dutton.
Roger remembers the Des Moines newspaper doing interviews after their first practice at the Auditorium, prior to the game. When coach Jim Ranglos was asked about their gameplan for the 1st round game, he simply said, “we have Roger Dutton and they don’t.”
Dutton has very fond memories of Coach Ranglos, saying that he was an excellent coach and an even better man.
“Jim and I would play one-on-one after practices and he would dominate me. Grab me, push me, taunt me, but it was a great education for how I would be played against all year long,” he said of his former coach.
Among all the memories from their State appearance, he says his favorite would have to be the tremendous outpouring of support from the community of Boone.
“There was a huge caravan of cars accompanying us to Des Moines. Went through all the little towns along the way. Honking horns, people on the streets waving and cheering us, both as we left Boone and also from all the small towns along the way. Felt like a ‘Hoosiers Moment’. I will never forget that memory.”
While Roger Dutton was a terrific player, he also had a great cast of supporting teammates. The Toreadors were made up of primarily juniors, and they grew up at just the right time. Contributions from the scrappy Marv Nicholson and scoring from Dick Musser were all essential for Boone’s success.
“Wonderful teammates, great memories. That is what sports are all about. Not individual achievements, but team achievements,” said Dutton.
“It was quite a send-off from our high school years. I can say that I feel extremely fortunate to have had such great teachers and coaches. They prepared us very well for the athletic field as well as our futures academically in college.”
These days, Dutton is far removed from his Boone High glory days and runs a financial firm in the Greater Chicago Area. Following high school, he went on to play basketball and baseball at Northern Illinois University, where he is a member of the athletic Hall-of-Fame. After college, he was a 3rd round draft choice by the New York Yankees and spent five seasons in their organization. However, after all of these accomplishments, Roger often reminisces on his one shining moment with his best friends at Boone High 54 years ago.
It’s Playoff time for high school basketball in Iowa, and Mr. Dutton had some words of advice for both of the Basketball teams, “Don’t make it life or death. Have fun, make your own memories. Believe me, they will last you a lifetime. Go Toreadors, and don’t have any memories where you didn’t give your 110% effort!”
Special thanks to Mo Kelley, as well as the Boone News-Republican for providing information and photos.
RSS Feed