Hoosiers Golf Weekend
Filmed in various locations in Indiana, including: Indianapolis, Brownsburg, Danville, Frankfort, Knightstown, Lebanon, Milan, Muncie, New Richmond, and Nineveh.
While Hoosiers ranks right up there in the greatest sports movies of all time, arguably a close second only to The Natural, it's kinda difficult to imagine a group of grown men spending good time and money trekking from one single-stop light Indiana town to another trying to get a janitor to let them into the local school gym for a glimpse of the hardwood where they filmed a scene or two, and playing windswept hardscrabble Indiana munis and 9-holers along the way.
You can still get a flavor for the movie at the scene of the Indiana state boys high school championship, Hinkle Field House on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis. Here's a great article ESPN.com did on the grand old building:
Hoops history? Yes, the Butler did it
Hinkle Fieldhouse, the setting for "Hoosiers" finale, is a living legend among hardwoods
INDIANAPOLIS -- Fair warning: If you just drive past Hinkle Fieldhouse, you won't be impressed.
The exterior of the red-brick building resembles a converted airplane hangar. Attached to the long horizontal line of dormer windows atop the structure are white, block, capital letters spelling out the name of Butler University's famous basketball venue. The understated sign is the only hint you'll get that you're entering hallowed ground.
Enter through the old-fashioned gymnasium doors, however, and it's like walking back in time. It's not just the elegant arcs of steel girders that soar overhead, or the celestial tint to the sunlight streaming through the bank of east-facing windows, but that's what you'll notice first.
It's the overall lack of pretentiousness that will make it feel immediately like home.
Players from both teams pass through the hallways before and after the game, mingling freely with spectators. Office doors in the athletic department are open, and administrators can be seen hosting friends and family at their desks. Booster club fetes and postgame interviews are staged in rooms that hold classes during the week; the uncomfortable desk/chair hybrids that any college kid knows and loathes are stored under the bottom row of bleachers when the classrooms are needed for games.
Hinkle Fieldhouse offers a direct education in not judging a book by its cover, and it's a lesson any visitor to Indianapolis should heed from the outset. The Midwestern city of 795,000 is one of the 20 most populous in the United States, and it is, without a doubt, one of the nation's top sports destinations.
Indy is the headquarters for the NCAA, as well as home to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the NBA's Pacers, two Division I basketball programs (Butler and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis), the Pittsburgh Pirates' Triple-A affiliate and a mildly popular and presently undefeated professional football franchise known as the Colts. Even Peyton Manning might find it wild how many kids here wear a blue and white No. 18 jersey.
"It's really not until people get here and look around a bit that they say, 'Ahh, now I get it,'" said Mike Fox, director of the city's massive new Lucas Oil Stadium, which is set to host the 2010 Final Four and likely some NFL playoff games, as well. "Then they really see that this is a top-notch city."
Butler beginnings
Coming from humble roots to make big-time waves is an Indiana tradition perhaps best exemplified by the Butler Bulldogs, who have called Hinkle Fieldhouse home since it was built in 1928.
The program has made a living recruiting scrappy tweeners often overlooked by in-state powerhouses like Notre Dame, Indiana and Purdue. Unselfish team-oriented basketball has taken the 17th-ranked Bulldogs to six NCAA tournaments during the past decade, where they have upset big-time programs and twice advanced to the Sweet 16. Hinkle is their home, and they almost never lose there.
Knowing that, it may come as a surprise to hear that Hinkle Fieldhouse wasn't built expressly for the Bulldogs. It's too big. The building opened with a capacity of 15,000, serving a private, liberal arts school that enrolled but 2,000 undergraduates.
The $800,000 edifice was the first building completed on the school's new campus, which was being relocated from another part of Indianapolis. At the time it was simply known as Butler Fieldhouse. The university administration plunged ahead with construction based on a guarantee from the Indiana High School Athletic Association that the next decade of state championship tournaments would be held on its campus.
If you've ever seen the 1986 movie "Hoosiers" -- and who hasn't? -- you know why that makes sense. From 1911 to 1998, Indiana high schools had no classification system for basketball. A squad drawn from a farm town of 200 could challenge for the same trophy as an urban school of 1,200.
The meritocratic melee drew hordes of rabid fans from all over the state to the arena every year. The Hickory High team coached by Gene Hackman in the film was fictional, but it was based on the miracle 1954 run made by Milan High, which actually did win the state championship on a last-second shot, made by Bobby Plump, who later starred at Butler.
Despite the stirring message of the Hollywood story, small teams almost never made it to the floor at Hinkle, usually losing in sectional or regional matchups held elsewhere. So it's entirely possible the awe on the faces of the actors in the final scenes is an accurate echo of what Plump and his teammates felt at the time.
Hinkle Fieldhouse is on the official National Register of Historic Places, and not just for its basketball heritage: Seven American presidents, from Herbert Hoover to Barack Obama, have spoken in the legendary old barn. In March 1935, track star Jesse Owens ran 60 yards in 6.1 seconds, tying a world sprinting record; he had to crash into an improvised barrier of hay bales, lest his momentum carry him into the stands. Local residents are just as proud of the international volleyball tournaments the 1987 Pan Am Games brought to their beloved arena as they are of the 1955 state title won by Oscar Robertson and Crispus Attucks High. Big O scored 30 points in the championship game at Hinkle to secure the state trophy, which, according to the Indianapolis Star, was the nation's first won by an all-black team in an integrated sport and, oddly, the first won by a team from the tournament's home city of Indianapolis.
But that's all history in words. To really feel it, you have to attend a game.
Fandemonium
When I first saw Myke Van de Voort and Tyler Van Bussum last month, I thought they were insane. It wasn't so much the bad sports coats and blown-out afro wigs that made me feel that way, as it was the shorts, tank tops and bare chests that went along with them. It was a clear, frosty, mid-December morning, and the two superfans were at the front of a long line of students hoping to get seats in the courtside Dawg Pound.
The raucous student reserve fills two sections, one under each basket. Former Butler player and coach Thad Matta was bringing his Ohio State Buckeyes into Hinkle, and the Bulldog faithful planned to make him regret it.
"We're going to be all over these guys," said 19-year-old Thomas Abner, who was at least sporting a T-shirt and jeans under his Day-Glo orange construction helmet.
When I met back up with the die-hard crew inside the arena, its choice of attire began to make sense to me. As sunlight streamed in the famous east windows, the old building began to heat up, and those of us who dressed for the outdoor temperatures were forced to de-layer. Butler Blue II, the school's live bulldog mascot, was panting slightly as he posed for pictures at an alumni gathering.
Blue's owner, Michael Kaltenmark, led the even-tempered pooch through the crowded hallways with a smile on his face.
"For 40 or 50 years, we always had unofficial mascots that would sort of come and go," Kaltenmark said. "But in 2000, it became an official post. Watch when the players are introduced. Each one comes up to pet him as they're announced, and then Blue and I run across the court and the Dawg Pound leaders give him a huge bone."
Sure enough, that's exactly what happened. Then Blue, with the huge rawhide still clenched in his jaws, sauntered up the bleachers to his assigned seat, accepting pats from spectators as he waddled along. He'd relax, chew and enjoy the game while his bipedal, costumed counterpart mascot, Hink, worked up a sweat, entertaining the crowd for the rest of the contest.
It really is a dog's life, eh?
Living up to its namesake
As aforementioned, this unique building started out with a very bland name -- Butler Fieldhouse. The more evocative moniker was bestowed in 1966, in honor of the university's Hall of Fame coach, Paul D. "Tony" Hinkle. If there was ever one individual who personified Butler athletics, Coach Hinkle was the one.
Tony Hinkle was born in 1899 in Logansport, Ind. He played his high school hoops in Gary, Ind., then stepped a few miles over the state line to the University of Chicago for his college education, where he played basketball on a team that was then a Big Ten powerhouse. He commenced his head-coaching career at Butler in 1929 and never looked back, leaving only for a three-year tour in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
Coach Hinkle's legacy at Butler is well-rounded. His 560 wins as hoops head man are impressive enough, but the gentleman also contributed 165 wins as a football coach and another 335 on the school's baseball diamond. His overall contribution to the athletic program at the little college in northern Indianapolis totals 1,060 wins across the three sports.
If that isn't enough, the entire sport can thank Hinkle for an innovation we take for granted today: It was his suggestion the dingy, brown basketballs of his era be made, instead, from a cheerier, more visible, shade of orange leather. Another influential Indiana native, a man by the name of John Wooden, called Hinkle, "The greatest coach that ever lived."
Lest anyone think the recent success of Butler basketball is unprecedented, it should be noted the Bulldogs are credited with two pre-NCAA national championships -- one earned in 1924, while Hinkle was an assistant coach, and a second gained in 1929, following the program's first full year playing in the Fieldhouse. The building was renamed in his honor in 1966 and Hinkle reluctantly retired from coaching in 1970, staying on as a special assistant to the university president until his death in 1992.
"The University was ill-prepared for his retirement," said David Woods, Indianapolis newspaper columnist and author of "The Butler Way." "They didn't have much of a recruiting budget, and they couldn't appeal to his name and the respect players had for him anymore."
At least they still had his beautiful building to show off.
Everyone who's anyone in Hoosier state hoops has played in Hinkle. As a sophomore, Larry Bird led the Indiana State Sycamores to an 80-65 rout of the Bulldogs, scoring 47 points and pulling down 19 rebounds. But Bird's effort falls three points short of the scoring record for visitors. That honor belongs to Notre Dame's Austin Carr, who dropped 50 in January 1970, during a game that set the facility's attendance record at an even 15,000.
The 15K mark is one that can never be broken, as it happens. Renovations made in 1989 reduced the cathedral's maximum occupancy to 11,043. Later, the installation of additional handicapped-accessible seating and adjustments to meet strict city fire codes left capacity closer to 10,000. The relatively small student body still struggles to fill the space, and the city's obsession with all things Colts and Pacers can limit the draw, even for important games.
Such was not the case when Ohio State raced onto the floor at Hinkle on that Saturday afternoon last month. Former Butler coach Matta stomped, roared and looked to the bench for help as the jam-packed home crowd chanted in unison:
B-U!
T-L-E!
R-You!
A Bulldog?
Hell yes!
The confidence of the crowd spurred the home team to a dominant closing run, during which the Bulldogs held their more athletic Big Ten opponent scoreless for more than seven minutes, finally winning 74-66. It was the first ranked opponent the then-No. 20 Bulldogs had beaten in four tries on the season. Not coincidentally, it was the only top-25 game they had played at home.
No place like home
At the postgame media session, Butler's Gordon Hayward grinned at a reporter's question regarding the comforts of playing at home after a long and challenging road trip. .
"At one point, I was at the free throw line, and I looked up and it was packed, all the way to the top," he said. "I was getting texts from people who were camping outside all night. It's great to be back."
There is no athlete aloofness at Butler. There are no private tunnels from the locker rooms to the floor ... and it's entirely uncertain whether Bulldogs players would use them if there were. They seem to genuinely enjoy mixing with their classmates before and after games; most come back out after showering and chat with those followers who stick around. It's a very small-town feel inside the orbit of one of America's largest cities.
Perhaps that's because everyone here is from a small town. Two-thirds of the Butler roster is made up of players recruited from the state's high-school hotbeds, and they're not benchwarmers, either.
Hayward, the team's leading scorer and rebounder, is from Brownsburg, a town of about 14,000 near the center of the state. He lines up next to 6-foot-8 Matt Howard, the returning Horizon League Player of the Year, who hails from similarly sized Connersville. Head coach Brad Stevens was a star player for Zionsville Community High School, just down the road from Hinkle. They know this place, and it knows them.
This is not to say that Hinkle magic is just for native sons. Ashley Johnes, the general merchandise manager at the newly opened T-shirt shop near Hinkle's front entrance, said locals empty the racks of team memorabilia quite often, but fans of opposing teams tend to drop a pretty penny, as well.
"We have a whole line of mementos that just feature the Fieldhouse," Johnes said. "Those are very popular with visitors. They want to remember what it was like to be here."
Playing its part in history
Some buildings just have that effect on people. Hinkle Fieldhouse is on the short list for any hoops fan with a sense of history, alongside Penn's Palestra (built in 1927), Minnesota's Williams Arena (1928) and the endangered MacArthur Court at the University of Oregon (1926).
Modern construction in Indianapolis pays tribute to the grand old barn on 49th Street -- Conseco Fieldhouse and Lucas Oil Stadium both use the girders and windows setup -- but nothing new can provide the palpable thrill of heroic deeds that permeates the bricks and steel of Hinkle.
Perhaps that's what brings them back. Butler athletic director Barry Collier played and coached at Butler before succumbing to the allure of the head basketball job at Nebraska in 2000. He came home in 2006. Matta never brought his Xavier teams here, but has not shied away from visiting with the Buckeyes, to his recent detriment. Iowa head man Todd Lickliter hasn't brought his Hawkeyes to Indianapolis yet, but that may be because he had more success on the home bench at Hinkle (two Sweet 16s) than he ever has since joining the Big Ten (no winning seasons, yet).
Butler coach Stevens undoubtedly will face that same choice one day soon. At 33, he became one of the youngest coaches to win 50 games in his career, racking up 30 victories in his first season at the helm and 26 in the second. If he can get the Bulldogs to another Sweet 16, or beyond, the big schools will come calling with big money. Will he take it, or will he stay put and build a dynasty, like Gonzaga's Mark Few and George Mason's Jim Larranaga have done?
Of course, the money always will be tempting, but there's no doubt Stevens values what he has at Butler.
"What an atmosphere. What a game!" Stevens said in the aftermath of his big win over his former mentor Matta. "Who in sports has a better atmosphere than Butler?"
For the first time that afternoon, you could have heard a pin drop inside Hinkle Fieldhouse.
If you're going ...
Eateries, drinkeries and attractions to visit when you're in Indy to see Hinkle Fieldhouse, and anything else in this sports-savvy city.
Cajun Food
Yats Cajun Creole
5363 N. College Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46220
317-253-8817 | Web site
This is a small place with funky Crescent City decor on every wall. Entrees are cheap and plentiful, ranging from red beans and rice to homemade peanut butter cream pie. If it ain't hot enough for you, Yats has a full selection of spicy sauces for you to try. The soft drink policy is, "Refills are free, and necessary."
Family dining
Moe & Johnny's
5380 N. College Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46220
317-255-6376 | Web site
Hold on to your raccoon coat, this place is even older than Hinkle. It incorporates three old buildings that date back to 1922. The menu goes on forever, and the family dining room features an open-flame stone oven that makes for a cozy setting on a cold, winter night.
More Restaurants
The Rathskeller (401 E. Michigan St., The Athenaeum Building, Indianapolis; 317-636-0396) -- gourmet German cuisine and contemporary fare. R Bistro (888 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis; 317-423-0312) -- only 17 tables and the chef sources local ingredients. A true farm-to-table experience. Cafe Patachou (225 W. Washington St., Indianapolis; 317-632-0765) -- great breakfast place, hot spot for Indy 500 drivers and locals alike. Walkable from the stadium.
Cheap Eats
King David Dogs (15 N. Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis; 317-632-3647) -- top your dog with a myriad of ingredients, anything from jalapeno mustard to baked beans and bacon to white chicken chili. Slippery Noodle Inn (372 S. Meridian St., Indianapolis; 317-631-6974) -- the oldest bar in Indiana (established in 1850), features live blues music daily.
Bars
Plump's Last Shot
6416 Cornell Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46220
317-257-5867
The sharpshooting Jimmy Chitwood character in the flick "Hoosiers" was based on real-life local legend Bobby Plump, who really did hit the last-second shot that led tiny Milan High to the state championship in Hinkle in 1954. Plump later became a legend at Butler and has remained a popular figure at his namesake bar. The walls are loaded with vintage hoops memorabilia from Plump's playing days, and the atmosphere is nice and relaxed for those who might find the college crowd in Indianapolis' Broad Ripple Village district a bit exhausting.
Broad Ripple is one of the city's six cultural enclaves, an eclectic gathering of pubs, boutiques and restaurants just 10 minutes north of downtown. Roughly six square blocks devoted to nightlife. Check out Broad Ripple's Corner Wine Bar (6331 Guilford Ave.; 317-255-5159).
Sports Bars
Scotty's Brewhouse (One Virginia Ave., Indianapolis; 317-571-0808) -- surrounded by a brick exterior, it features non-traditional sports bar fare in a wide variety. Weather permitting, try the outdoor patio seating. Harry & Izzy's (153 S. Illinois St., Indianapolis; 317-635-9594) -- it's just a Peyton Manning toss from the stadium, and this NFL MVP is an investor in the restaurant and bar.
Museum
NCAA Hall of Champions
700 W. Washington St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204
317-916-4255 | Web site
The NCAA campus is a few miles from Hinkle, smack in the heart of the city, and it's a must-see while you're in town. The Hall was remodeled in March 2009 and features interactive displays, championship banners for every sport the organization sponsors and an archive of "One Shining Moment" videos from the past several years of NCAA basketball tournaments. Located at the edge of White River State Park, in case you feel like taking a nature walk afterward.
Golf
Brickyard Crossing
Four holes of this Pete Dye layout lie inside the giant oval of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Golfers must steer around pot bunkers and the former track wall. $90; 317-492-6572, www.brickyardcrossing.com
Purgatory GC
#25 Toughest Course in America, Golf Digest 2007: "Who knew? Turns out hell's waiting room has 133 bunkers, knee-high rough and only three par 4s less than 450 yards. The unlucky 13th is a 741-yard par 5. Devilish.", $55, www.purgatorygolf.com
The Fort Golf Course
Another Dye design, the Fort is a hilly visual treat with well-sloped greens in a quiet, bucolic setting. $61; 317-543-9597, www.thefortgolfcourse.com
Prairie View Golf Club
Robert Trent Jones Jr. transformed a dull grassland site here into a lush course with five man-made lakes. $90; 317-816-3100, www.prairieviewgc.com
Staying
Crowne Plaza at Union Station
As part of your immersion into authentic Indianapolis, stay at this hotel, known for its twenty-six rooms in actual Pullman train cars. The centrally located Romanesque Revival building—still an active train station—is on the National Register of Historic Places. From $170 per night; 877-227- 6963, www.ichotelsgroup.com
Other Activities
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
While you’re in town, visit the 250,000-seat stadium surrounding the legendary 2.5-mile oval. Its popular grounds tour includes a spin through the speedway’s Hall of Fame Museum, located in the infield of the racetrack. www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com
Trivia for Hoosiers (1986) IMDb
Based on the 1954 Indiana State champs, Milan Indians.
The filmmakers had trouble filling the FieldHouse with extras for the final game, and needed to move people around when shooting different angles. Extras were given 1950's hairstyles and their clothing was checked for anachronisms.
The announcer at the final game is Hilliard Gates, who announced the "real" game.
The actual game was played between the Milan Indians and the Muncie Central Bearcats. For the movie, the South Bend Central Bears were the opponent. The true championship took place in 1954, not 1952 as in the movie, and the score was Milan 32, Muncie Central 30.
In the locker room before the final game, on the blackboard are the last names of the players on the opposing team. These are the real last names of the actors who make up the Hickory team.
The theater that was closed for the final game burned down in 1998.
The movie was renamed "Best Shot" in Europe because most Europeans wouldn't know what a Hoosier was.
The actor who played Jimmy Chitwood (Maris Valainis) was the only player on the Hickory team not to play high school basketball. He did play college golf at Purdue his freshman year.
Wade Schenck, who plays equipment manager/reluctant player Ollie McClellan, has his real-life sister Libbey Schenck encouraging him during the games as a Hickory cheerleader (credited).
An actual Milan Indian Guard, Ray Craft, was in the movie. Craft was the person that greeted the Huskers when they got to the state finals, and he also was the one that told Coach Dale that it was time to take the court before the state final.
Maris Valainis was told that whether he made the last shot or not, people were going to rush the floor because of the need for a wide shot of the court. Luckily, he made it as shown in the movie.
Steve Hollar who played Rade Butcher was actually playing basketball for DePauw University at the time. This caught the attention of the NCAA. Later it was deemed that he was acting and not playing and was given a three-game suspension and was charged 5% of his acting fee.
The scene with Jimmy and Coach Dale talking while Jimmy shot baskets was filmed in one take. Maris Valainis said that he "wasn't even listening to him." "I was just concentrating on making them and I made one and they kept going in."
Jack Nicholson was the original choice to play Coach Norman Dale but had a schedule conflict. Told the producers he knew they were on a tight schedule to shoot, and if they found another actor to go ahead. If not, he could do it the next year. Gene Hackman then signed on for the part. (from the DVD bonus features)
For the scene where Dennis Hopper walks onto the court drunk in the middle of the game, Hopper wanted a ten-second notice before calling action. At the ten-second notice, he spun around in circles until action was called, allowing him to stagger onto the court in an awkward fashion in order to appear drunk.
The actor playing Ollie once left the set to watch his high school basketball team play. He was a junior on the team when he got the role and was feeling homesick, so he decided to go watch them. The crew had to contact his mother to get him to return.
Ranked #4 on the American Film Institute's list of the 10 greatest films in the genre "Sports" in June 2008.
During one of the games, Hickory is shown playing Decatur. The Director was born in Decatur, Indiana.
Cameo: [Scott Glenn] a member of the press corps.
[Fat Guy Note: I have not taken this trip or explored any of these courses/locations. As always, proper research and reservations are required. I'm just the idea guy on this one.]