1932-1933 Port Huron YMCA Basketball Team

Year Inducted: 1981

One of the greatest basketball teams ever to represent Port Huron.  They were District Champions of the Northeastern District which included the Detroit Adams Avenue Y, Northeastern Y, St. Antoine Y, Northern Y and Ann Arbor Y along with Port Huron, with a 11 – 1 record.  They entered the State Tournament at Davison and defeated Ann Arbor 25 – 20, Benton Harbor 43 – 31 and St. Antoine in the final game 36 – 31.

They competed in the National Y.M.C.A. Championship Tournament held in Colorado Springs.  Drawing a bye in the opening round they defeated Oak Park, Illinois 32 – 25 and lost in the finals to the Denver Pigs 31 – 36.

The Denver Pigs squad average 6’5” while the local Y members averaged 5’10”.  Members of this outstanding club were:  Harold “Hec” Dean, All State Guard;  Alvin “Al” Dimon, High School Stand-out;  Henry “Hank” Caesor, All-state Runner-up and high scorer at Colorado Springs;  Gus Hill, Regional All State;  George Hathaway, F.F.; Tiny Smith, Carl Steinborn, All Junior College forward;  Charles VanBuskirk, Captain and former member of the Battle Creek Kellogg team and Robert Wilson, a former member of the Princeton University basketball team.  Wilson was unable to make the trip to Colorado Springs.  The late J.M. “Cap” McKenzie managed the team.   The coach was Harold I “Ike” Snyder.  Albert A Falk sponsored the group and Fred McElroy and Dom Cross served as the drivers.

The season opened with a game on November 25, 1932 against the strong House of David team out of Benton Harbor.  This bearded organization won 56 games during the previous season against some of the strongest semi-pro clubs in the Mid-West.  Port Huron lost 34 – 27.  Caesor and Dimon led the scoring for Port Huron.  They defeated Windsor, Canada Olympic Finalist, 30 – 29 in over-time, with Caesor leading the scoring.  The Huronites topped the Lansing Kings, Michigan Open Champs, 32 – 28.  Guelph, Ontario bowed to the Y 63 – 37.

Over the Holidays in 32 – 33, the Y team invaded Canada with International laurels at stake.  They beat Hamilton, Toronto Broadview and West End Y of Toronto to claim the International Y Championship.