BUTLER, Ind. - Eastside High School celebrated a long lineage of basketball on Tuesday with a throwback game at the Old Gym.
The Blazers hosted Lakewood Park Christian in a varsity boys/girls doubleheader. It was the first time in 3 seasons that Eastside used the gym for a game.
Bob Gerber, Eastside class of 1966, harkened back to old times at the Old Gym.
“It was a great place to play,” Gerber says. “We didn’t have the 3-point shot and the floor is much shorter than what it is now.”
Beatles tribute band The Liverpool Lads performed between games, leaving fans to dance and sing along in the bleachers. A hoola hoop contest, shooting contest and other games were held during the timeouts.
The Old Gym was built in 1936, and used by Butler High School until it was consolidated into Eastside in 1963. Eastside then used it regularly until a new school with a new gymnasium opened in 1971. The Old Gym is still used periodically for high school practices, junior high events and private parties.
“The gym’s in great shape,” Terry Wilson, Eastside class of 1966, says. “You don’t find too many like this anymore.”
Gerber and Wilson admit the style of play has changed in the last half century, but both say they are happy the Blazers of today now have memories the Old Gym, too.
Eastside’s girls beat Lakewood Park Christian 54-44. The Blazer boys knocked off Lakewood Park 65-51.