Saw this on the Indiana High School Basketball Fan Page on Facebook that I help manage. Pretty good story from southern Indiana.
Indiana Basketball Rules Changed Because of Butlerville Bulldogs
The year was 1922-23 when the Butlerville Bulldogs invented the “squirrel stunt” basketball play. Raymond Rees stood 6’4” and weighed 240 pounds and Merlin Swarthout stood 5’0” and weighed just over 100 pounds. Rees would stand under the basket, Swarthout would break out, Rees would bend over, Swarthout go up Rees’ back, get on his shoulders, receive the ball and put it in the basket. This was first used to defeat Scipio and, while Scipio objected, no one could find a rule against it. In the 1923 Seymour sectional the play was used to defeat Hayden, with the good folks of Hayden expressing displeasure. Tournament officials called IHSAA Commissioner Arthur Trester who could only say that he could not find a rule against it. In the semi-final against Vernon, Butlerville was behind 15-14, but with the clock running down, the “squirrel” ran up the “tree” and Butlerville won 16-15. There were protests and news stories across the nation, but the score stood. Butlerville lost the final game to Seymour 43-14. IHSAA changed its basketball rules for the next season, making it illegal for one player to gain a height advantage by using another player.
Indiana Basketball Rules Changed Because of Butlerville Bulldogs
The year was 1922-23 when the Butlerville Bulldogs invented the “squirrel stunt” basketball play. Raymond Rees stood 6’4” and weighed 240 pounds and Merlin Swarthout stood 5’0” and weighed just over 100 pounds. Rees would stand under the basket, Swarthout would break out, Rees would bend over, Swarthout go up Rees’ back, get on his shoulders, receive the ball and put it in the basket. This was first used to defeat Scipio and, while Scipio objected, no one could find a rule against it. In the 1923 Seymour sectional the play was used to defeat Hayden, with the good folks of Hayden expressing displeasure. Tournament officials called IHSAA Commissioner Arthur Trester who could only say that he could not find a rule against it. In the semi-final against Vernon, Butlerville was behind 15-14, but with the clock running down, the “squirrel” ran up the “tree” and Butlerville won 16-15. There were protests and news stories across the nation, but the score stood. Butlerville lost the final game to Seymour 43-14. IHSAA changed its basketball rules for the next season, making it illegal for one player to gain a height advantage by using another player.
