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First Round: (Friday, February 26, 1932)
Game 1: Virginia 20, Alabama 16
Game 2: North Carolina 35, Tennessee 25
Game 3: Duke 44, Vanderbilt 32
Game 4: Kentucky 50, Tulane 30
Game 5: Florida 39, Maryland 24
Game 6: Auburn 34, North Carolina State 33
Game 7: Georgia 48, Mississippi State 26
Game 8: Louisiana State 36, Georgia Tech 33
Quarterfinals: (Saturday, February 27, 1932)
Game 9: Duke 33, Florida 22
Game 10: North Carolina 43, Kentucky 42
Game 11: Auburn 30, Louisiana State 22
Game 12: Georgia 40, Virginia 19
Semifinals: (Monday, February 29, 1932)
Finals: (Tuesday, March 1, 1932)
Game 15: Georgia 26, North Carolina 24
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Of the schools which were accepted, the one with the best regular-season records included defending champion Maryland (9-1), runner-up Kentucky (9-1), Auburn (9-2) and Alabama (11-3).
Maryland and Kentucky were considered to be the top contenders and were seeded accordingly. Georgia and Georgia Tech received the other two seeds while the remainder of the field was subject to a blind draw. Maryland was returning their big guns "Bosey" Berger and Edward Ronkin. Kentucky's two stars "Frenchy" DeMoisey and "Aggie" Sale were recuperating from illness but were thought to be ready for the tournament.
Prices were reduced for the tournament:
"Tickets are on sale at the Athletic club and at Spalding's, and are going at the reasonable prices of $1 downstairs and 50 cents upstairs. Box seats are only $2, and a box seat for all tournament games may be purchased for $10 or $5 in the dress circle." - ("First Arrivals Are Due Today for Meet Here," Atlanta Constitution, February 25, 1932.)
The referees for the tournament were Stanley Sutton, "Bowser" Chest and Frank Lane. Lane had been a professional football player before he went into officiating both football and basketball, which he did in the off-season. His main job was working in management within professional baseball, however. Lane became well-known as "Trader Frank" for more than 400 trades he conducted over the course of his baseball career.
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"Mr. Al Doonan was thinking over a scheme Sunday which may do the auditorium floor in big (?) time. On Wednesday night "Threes Jeem" Londos meets Pat O'Shocker in a championship wrestling match.
"Thees Jeem" Londos is a great man with body slams. Al Doonan hopes to get him to stay over for a while after the match. As soon as the carpenters lay down a section of flooring Jim Londos will pick up a volunteer and slam him down and drive in all the nails.
"'I'am going to take the matter up with Mr. Londos on his arrival,' said Mr. Doonan. 'I estimate we could lay the flooring half the time.'" - ("Tick Tichnor Pioneer Tourney Pistol Popper," by Ralph McGill Atlanta Constitution, February 22, 1932.)
Friday, February 26, 1932 - First Round
Game 1: Virginia 20, Alabama 16
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Front Row (l to r): Laney, Bauman, Aiken, Nobles, Connatser, E. Kimbrough Back Row: Freeman, Z. Kimbrough, Cotten, Munkasey, Manager Pyron |
Game 2: North Carolina 35, Tennessee 25
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Game 3: Duke 44, Vanderbilt 32
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"Kentucky's Wildcats have left yesterday. The runner-ups of last year's meet play Tulane in the first round. There is a bit of human interest in the game as the coach of the Tulane team [George Rody] was a teammate of Coach Adolph Rupp, of the Wildcats, when they played for Kansas University." - ("First Arrivals Are Due Today for Meet Here," Atlanta Constitution, February 25, 1932.)
Game 4: Kentucky 50, Tulane 30
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"Out of the University of Kansas ten years ago, the captain and star forward on the Kansas U. team walked over to the sidelines and offered his condolences to a player who had broken the arch in his foot. Last year at the Southern Conference tournament at Atlanta, the youth of ten years ago - the one with the broken ankle - walked across the floor and offered his sympathy to the man who had been captain of his team in 1922. He offered his sympathy because the team he caoches had just walloped his former captain's team, 50 to 30, in the first round of the tournament."
"The youth with the broken ankle was Adolph Rupp. The captain and star forward was George Rody." - ("Wildcats and Tulane to Clash Here Tonight," Lexington Herald, December 20, 1932.)
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Front Row (l to r): Cecil Bell, Ercel Little, Gordon George, Harvey Mattingly, Evan Settle, William Kleiser Middle Row: Berkley Davis, Crittenden Blair, Darrell Darby, Ellis Johnson, Howard Kreuter, Charles Worthington Back Row: Assistant Coach Len Miller, Jim Hughes, John DeMoisey, Forest "Aggie" Sale, George Skinner, Head Coach Adolph Rupp |
Game 5: Florida 39, Maryland 24
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Game 6: Auburn 34, North Carolina State 33
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Game 7: Georgia 48, Mississippi State 26
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Game 8: Louisiana State 36, Georgia Tech 33
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Saturday, February 27, 1932 - Quarterfinals
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"Duke's Blue Devils, coached by handsome Eddie Cameron, bowled over the Florida Alligators, heroes of the first day, 33-22, to give the sovereign state of North Carolina two big hopes in the semi-finals.
"Cameron, who employs a unique system of coaching in that he caters to average-sized plays with lots of speed and uses no football players, has displayed one of the smoothest working teams of the tournament and a fine player in Alpert (sic), his accurate shooting center." - ("Kentucky is Upset, Georgia Advances," by Jimmy Jones Atlanta Constitution, February 28, 1932.)
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Front Row (l to r): Coombs, Curry, Shaw, Garber, Holloway Middle Row: Hayes, H. Thompson, Powell, H. Lewis, F. Lewis, Carter Back Row: Brewer, Weaver, J. Thompson, Horne, Alpert, Colley, Manager Murchison |
Game 10: North Carolina 43, Kentucky 42
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"The standout of the day's play, however, occurred along about 5 p.m. when North Carolina's hard-fighting Tarheels arose to meet the call of intense courage and defeated the highly favored University of Kentucky quintet, 43-42, in the most spectacular game of the tournament to date.
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"With one minute, 45 seconds of play left, Worthington, veteran Kentucky guard, cracked down with a one-handed shot that apparently settled the issue at what would have been a 42-41 score. Then the Tarheels got the ball out of bounds. There was a flurry of passing and Weathers dribbled under the goal. He rimmed the ball through in a hurry. The pistol banged and the game was over. What a finish!
"There was a general rush of supporters on the court to hug and congratulate the Carolina players." - ("Kentucky is Upset, Georgia Advances," by Jimmy Jones Atlanta Constitution, February 28, 1932.)
"During this exciting and hotly contest game wherein any single play might have been the margin of victory or defeat, a Kentucky try for goal late in the game missed, and Aggie Sale and 'Dutch' Kreuter 'followed up' the unsuccessful shot. Sale was just a trifle ahead of the Newport Dutchman and was actually trying a shot for the basket when Kreuter's big mitts, in a belated attempt for the ball, slammed across 'Aggie's' arms. 'Hacking - two shots,' rang out the official's voice, synchronizing with a shrill blast from the protesting whistle. "Sale perched himself on the foul line preparatory to pitching the fouls when the captain of the opposing five, awakened to the situation that neither he nor his teammates had fouled, asked who committed the infraction. The referee, still expectantly waiting for Sale to start the foul-throwing, casually pointed out the offender - Kreuter ! "The referee then realized the fact that he had awarded two free throws because of a Kentucky player fouling (?) another teammate - of course, he knew this could not be. But the argument ended, which no one in the audience ever has gotten the straight of, with the referee calmly but firmly walking to the other end of the floor and giving Kentucky's opponents a free throw - which was made ! Quite likely Kentucky's amazed team said something untoward as to the official's eyesight or judgment that may have caused this penalty, but just the same the Wildcats lost the game by one point. No, this was not in the last few seconds or minutes of play when the odd decision was made - there was still about 10 minutes to play - but this point, the margin of the Wildcat's defeat, was certainly very pertinent no matter when the weird ruling occurred." - (Letter by Frank Lane in Big Blue Machine by Russell Rice, Strode Publishers, 1978. |
Game 11: Auburn 30, Louisiana State 22
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Game 12: Georgia 40, Virginia 19
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Monday, February 29, 1932 - Semifinals
"The depression has not been in evidence during the tournament. Monday night the largest crowd in the history of the classic, since that famous Tech-Georgia game of a decade ago, was in attendance. Between five and six thousand people jammed their way into the Auditorium." - ("Sportanic Eruptions: Worthy Foemen Clash Tonight," by Morgan Blake, Atlanta Journal, March 1, 1932.)
Game 13: North Carolina 52, Auburn 31
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"For fifteen minutes Auburn made a battle of it with North Carolina, although the Plainsmen stayed in the fray only by reason of the almost superhuman skill of the frail but not fragile "Little Father" Lumpkin. This earnest little competitor, whose bony structure measures 5 feet 11 inches and who weighs but 126 pounds, a large part of which must be gizzard, gave an exhibition of artistry that not only kept his team from being snowed under, but which aroused the crowd to loud huzzas.
"In the first half he scored four field goals for a bit more than half of the points his team made; in the second half he scored four field goals and a free throw. In the entire struggle his points were 17 out of Auburn's 31.
He alone of the seven men Auburn used was on his game; the rest was halt and lame, or weary and worn." - ("North Carolina Wins Over Auburn Five," by Ole Timer Atlanta Journal, March 1, 1932.)
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"While all the Bulldogs did their bit, it was the lanky Strickland who stood out like a stout pine tree in a storm. He put his team out in front with a succession of field goals, most of them scored from under the basket. He got the tip-off on almost every jump and on defense he switched down court to take the ball off the backboard.
"Strickland had to leave the game when he turned an "old ankle" just before the end of the half, which found Georgia clinging desperately to a three-point lead, 19-16. He came back at the start of the second and carried on even strong than before." - ("Georgia and North Carolina in Finals," Atlanta Constitution, March 1, 1932.)
Tuesday, March 1, 1932 - Finals
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"What a battle of he-men that will be tonight! Both Georgia and North Carolina were extremely dark horses when they reached our fair city for the tourney. But they have overcome all obstacles through a fierce combative zeal, and an eternal vigilance in following that ball.
The Tarheels, in style of play, have no resemblance to their famous ancestors - the Carmichaels, Cobbs and Dodderers. Those old champs were calm and collected and worked with such smoothness that they scarcely had their hair ruffled at the conclusion of the games. The present aggregation plays with "fury and uproar" as the poets say. They carry the battle to their foes and wear them out by the pace they set." - ("Sportanic Eruptions: Worthy Foemen Clash Tonight," by Morgan Blake, Atlanta Journal, March 1, 1932.)
"Never has a Cracker state team - either Bulldog or Jacket - won the tournament, but should Rex Enright's boys play tonight against the North Carolina team which vanquished Auburn, 52 to 31, with the same dazzling speed with which they overcame Duke, then at long last the basket ball Valhalla of Cracker court fans will have been realized." - ("Title Game in Conference Tournament at 8:30 Tonight," by Ed Miles, Atlanta Journal, March 1, 1932.)
Game 15: Georgia 26, North Carolina 24
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"The final game Tuesday, from the standpoint of scientific basket ball, was not much of a game, but it was the greatest battle ever fought on a tournament floor. Three-fourths of the contest the teams were neck and neck. The last five minutes were almost more than the 6,000 spectators could endure. Personally , this writer suffers more at a basket ball game than in a close football encounter. The suffering is more concentrated. The agony is more acute." - ("Bulldogs Rewarded at Last with First . . .," by Morgan Blake, Atlanta Journal, March 2, 1932.)
"If any one had suggested that Georgia could have beaten North Carolina in the finals without the services of Bill Strickland, he would have been hooted. And yet that is what happened. Strickland could hardly stand on his bad ankle. He started the game at guard and Captain Smith played center. After three minutes of furious battling when Georgia had run up seven points, Coach Enright mercifully took Bill out and he never went back until the final minute of the game. He had averaged seventeen points per game in the three previous contests. Tuesday night he didn't shoot a point, so it can readily be seen what a handicap the Bulldogs were laboring under. With Strickland in ship and playing the full forthy minutes, Georgia would probably have won by a comfortable margin." - ("Bulldogs Rewarded at Last with First . . .," by Morgan Blake, Atlanta Journal, March 2, 1932.)
"After a dozen years, the old flag floats at last above the gory arena.
"The men of Athens have knocked vainly at the door of glory on several previos occasions. Tuesday night the portals were thrown wide and they marched into the throne room.
"If ever a title was well earned, it was Georgia's championship. From the very first tip-off of the first game to the final gun the sons of the old clay hills fought with a spirit that was invincible. They set a pace that was furious. They traveled at break-neck speed. No man thought of self-advancement. It was one for all and all for team." - ("Bulldogs Rewarded at Last with First . . .," by Morgan Blake, Atlanta Journal, March 2, 1932.)
"This ended one of the most thrilling tournaments of history and one that proved a financial success despite cut prices largely through the color that the Bulldogs injected into the competition." - ("Georgia Takes First Court Title," Atlanta Constitution, March 2, 1932.)
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Seated (l to r): Leroy Young, Tommy Moran, Vernon "Catfish" Smith, Bill Strickland, Frank Terrell Standing: Manager "Red" Caldwell, "Flip" Costa, Stokely Pound, "Rully" O'Kelly, Herschel Simmons, Joe Chandler, Head Coach Rex Enright |
1932 All-Tournament Team
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Second Team
Louis Berger - Maryland
Wilmer Hines - North Carolina
Forest Sale - Kentucky
Vernon Smith - Georgia
James Thompson - Duke
Although Georgia came close a number of times (including coming within a few seconds of winning the first tournament in 1921), it was not until the 1932 tournament that the Bulldogs broke through to claim victory. The victory came under head coach Rex Enright, who was in his first season in the job. (Herman Stegeman had been coach for the previous years during this era but failed to bring home the crown.)
Despite the cut in prices, the tournament grossed approximately $9,344 and was considered a success as it was enough to cover the expenses of running the tournament, along with covering railroad fares, hotels and meals.
According to Ralph McGill's column ("Tourney Here Great Success, Figures Show," Atlanta Constitution March 3, 1932), there were 13,494 paid customers over the four days of game play. In addition 2,000 player tickets were distributed along with approximately 1,000 passes. The number of spectators was judged to be approximately twice as many as the previous year.
McGill also noted that official Frank Lane of Cincinnati earned high praise for his work. "His work was of a high grade and he followed the play better than any official seen here. The spectators were disappointed at failure to use him in the last two games."
This was the final tournament before teams left to form the Southeastern Conference. The S.E.C. continued to hold their conference tournament in Atlanta for two more years until 1934. After a year off due to financial difficulties, the tournament was reconfigured and renewed on the campus of the University of Tennessee.
The remaining Southern Conference teams, meanwhile, relocated their tournament to Raleigh, N.C., into the newly built Raleigh Memorial Auditorium.
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