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Back Row: Coach Thomas Campbell, Paul Bauman, Leroy Edwards, Manager Fred Gorman, John Townsend, Donas Dischinger, Coach Reuben Behimer |
LeRoy Edwards attended Arsenal Tech High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. In his early years, he was known as the East Side Terror. Between his sophomore and junior years, he reportedly learned the hook shot when he travelled to Martinsville to watch a group of pros who were barnstorming the area. Edwards adopted the shot and used it to become a prodigious scorer.
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Note that also on the Arsenal Tech squad was John Townsend, who was a year behind Edwards. Townsend went on to the University of Michigan where he earned All-Conference honors and led the Wolverines in scoring all three years he was on the varsity. Townsend was named a collegiate All-American his senior year at Michigan, 1937-38.
Below is a four-page letter from Edwards' coach Tim Campbell, written to Bob Stevenson concerning Edwards' playing days at Arsenal. In it, while Campbell does refer to Edwards as a 'screwball', he also states that "He was the best point-getter that I have ever seen. He could get more points in more different ways than any High School, College or Pro player that I have yet seen."
He goes on to say that the 1933 squad which was upset by Shortridge was the best team he had ever coached (he coached for approximately 25 years), even better than two of his squads which made it to the Indiana state finals.
Below is the schedule for the 1933 Arsenal Tech varsity basketball squad. Where there are links, it points to sports articles discussing the games, often with boxscores. The notes on the right highlight some of the superlatives mentioned in the stories concerning Edwards.
| Opponent | W/L | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenfield | W | 30-24 | Overtime (Edwards 13 of Tech's 30 points) |
| Logansport | L | 16-23 | ("Tech's lead during the first half was largely due to the brilliant forwarding of Huston and the sharpshooting of Edwards, backed by their fighting teammates.") |
| Anderson | W | 27-26 | Overtime |
| Columbus | W | 41-36 | - |
| Jefferson (Lafaytte) | W | 47-33 | (Edwards leads Tech with 25 points) |
| Shortridge | W | 40-38 | (Townsend and Edwards rallied to win the encounter) |
| Rushville | W | 39-22 | (Edwards leads team with 19 points) |
| Muncie | W | 40-28 | (Edwards leads team with 16 points) |
| Lebanon | W | 35-19 | (Edwards led with 12 points) |
| Martinsville | W | 34-20 | - |
| Connersville | L | 34-36 | (Edwards left game on personals) |
| New Castle | W | 30-19 | (Edwards led team with eleven points) |
| Frankfort | W | 24-23 | (Edwards rallied team, leading team with 14 points, including the game winner) |
| Franklin | W | 36-23 | - |
| Richmond (Morton) | W | 62-30 | (Edwards high scorer with 25 points) |
| Vincennes | W | 39-28 | (Edwards high scorer with 14 points) |
| Shelbyville | W | 40-30 | (Edwards leads team to victory with 20 points, half of Tech's total) |
| Kokomo | W | 45-30 | (Edwards scores 17 points to lead team) |
| Broad Ripple | W | 42-6 | City Series (Edwards leads Tech with 10 points before forced to leave for 'unnecessary roughness') |
| Washington | W | 47-35 | City Series (Edwards leads Tech with 16 points) |
| Shortridge | W | 40-19 | City Series Championship (Edwards leads with 20 points, half of his team's total) |
| Lawrence | W | 55-16 | State Sectionals |
| Southport | W | 20-17 | State Sectionals |
| Warren Central | W | 35-18 | State Sectionals (Edwards leads team with sixteen points) |
| Shortridge | L | 20-25 | State Sectional Finals |
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