Canada’s longest, continuously-running high-school basketball tournament is marking a historic milestone this weekend.
The 75th annual Orillia Blackball Classic will get underway Friday at 9 a.m., when action tips off in the gyms at Orillia’s three high schools.
“The tournament owes its success to the hard work of volunteers,” notes this year’s co-organizers, Sarah Hagman and April Davidson.
The dynamic duo, teachers at Twin Lakes Secondary School, have shepherded the popular tournament for several years, following in the footsteps of those who paved the way for the iconic hoops event.
The tournament was the brainchild of Russ Jerome, the then-principal of Orillia District Collegiate and Vocational Institute.
He was assisted by Dalt White from Toronto Western Tech, Ivor Wynne from Toronto Parkdale Collegiate and Doug Waugh of Oshawa CVI.
Each of the four organizers entered teams that first year, along with three more teams from Orillia, including the YMCA squad, and one team of coaches to round out the draw to eight.
“Because they were in need of a trophy, Jerome borrowed the Orillia YMCA Men’s Boiled Owl Trophy for the inaugural tournament,” organizers explained.
But as legend has it, the following year a 10-pin bowling ball was donated and painted black with a white 8 in recognition of the number of teams in the draw.
Eight teams continued to compete annually for the trophy until 1954 when the tournament began to take off.
Soon after, draws were created for elementary school teams in addition to midget, junior and senior divisions, men’s divisions (A, B, C) and an open division that lured many teams from the United States.
Over 75 years, the tournament has garnered international and national acclaim as teams from throughout the northern United States and all over Ontario came to Orillia to vie for the coveted 8-ball trophy.
The tournament has been a playground for some of the sport’s top players - such as Toronto Raptor Jamal Magloire, Canadian National Team stars Jermaine Anderson and Kevin Pangos and local NCAA/U Sport athletes such as Ted Dongelmans, Chris Lumsden, Derek Cotton, Dan Eves, Mitch Farrell, George Mason, Ryan Heim and the Clendenning brothers.
Premier teams such as Eastern Commerce and Martingrove from Toronto have their name engraved on the coveted trophy.
Beginning Friday, local high school gyms will once again host an “incredible array of teams” from all over Ontario.
The star-studded senior draw features the two-time defending AAA OFSAA champions, Pine Ridge from Pickering, provincial powerhouses Cathedral (Hamilton) and Eastwood (Kitchener), and eastern Ontario titans Frontenac, Holy Trinity from Oakville and the 2019 Blackball champions from Orillia Secondary School (OSS).
The defending champions, Frontenac from Kingston, will be headlining the junior draw along with local teams from Twin Lakes, Patrick Fogarty Catholic Secondary School, OSS, Holy Trinity (Oakville), Centennial (Belleville), Eden (St. Catharines) and Middlefield (Markham).
Organizers thank Innisdale Secondary School in Barrie for stepping in to host a pair of games to facilitate the 16-team senior draw and the 12-team junior draw.
To mark the 75th anniversary, a ceremonial tip off will happen at all three Orillia high schools with a special guest at each venue.
This year’s participants will receive a commemorative towel recognizing the event’s 75th anniversary.
Special edition stickers will be given out to fans who attend the championship games on Saturday, beginning at 6 p.m. at OSS.
There is free admission at all games throughout the weekend.
Follow the action on Twitter @BlackballBBall.
