Here's a story I've been working on this week!
1959 Seymour Player Eligibility Case shaped IHSAA future
Leigh Evans | Editor/Publisher
SEYMOUR, Ind. -- Brothers Billy Joe and Frank Stevenson were set to put Seymour over the top in the South Central Conference. At 6-6 and 6-5 respectively, the sophomore and frosh front-liners would've have made the already tough Owls a State Title contender out of the box.
However, the IHSAA said otherwise. They were ruled ineligible, and the Association added "For life" just for good measure.
One would be quick to assume it was a neighborhood or Sectional rival that initially raised a red flag, but the reality was the complaint originated in the Stevenson brothers' hometown of Joppa, Illinois.
Turns out a jilted Joppa High School coach charged Seymour basketball fans with inducing the family to make the move eastward to Indiana.
The IHSAA Board of Control, after investigating the charges, sided with the former coach and found "undue influence" was used to get the Stevenson family to move.
Seymour's Billy Joe and Frank Stevenson
The first round went to Seymour.
Initial ruling in Jackson Circuit Court fell in favor of the players' eligibility in the form of temporary restraining order.
The key to the ruling stemmed around that fact that even if undue influence was used, it was used on the parents, and the players had done nothing wrong in which to earn a penalty.
For the Stevensons' part, their attorneys pointed out that the IHSAA claimed that no court had any jurisdiction over decisions made by them regarding member schools...and that hypocritically the IHSAA had utilized those same courts to appeal a ruling they did not agree with.
Principal Burned in Effigy
Back in Seymour, Principal Joseph Cull was being burned in effigy outside the southwest football stadium gates as word got out that he had announced no Stevenson would participate in football that season. "Get out of town, Joe Cull!" signs were also reported around town.
Principal Cull, no stranger to high school fan passions, was quoted as stating he was not surprised by the effigy, but that Seymour needed to realize that Stevenson participation may result in the "complete curtailment" of the entire Seymour athletic program.
Seymour Principal Joseph Cull
In the courts, things were about to turn in the favor of the IHSAA.
First the IHSAA won a change of venue from Brownstown to Bedford. They also got a change of judge after the Stevensons won the preliminary injunction in a ruling from circuit court judge John Lewis of Brownstown.
Judge Lester Nixon of Petersburg was selected to hear arguments. Nixon's name remained after each side's lawyers struck a name from a list of potential judges.
The IHSAA then challenged the authority of a lower court to interfere with its internal affairs and asked the Indiana Supreme Court for a ruling.
The IHSAA Argument
For its part, the Association contended that it was a voluntary organization and was not subject to court action as long as it operated within the law.
The Family's Argument
The Stevensons' attorneys took the stand that the Association's attempt to make rules for 750+ member schools interfered with the right to take full advantage of the school's education and recreation facilities. In effect: A private organization (voluntary or otherwise) should not have power over tax-funded public institutions.
It took 15 months, but ultimately it was the Indiana Supreme Court that made what was to be the final determination in the case with a 1959 decision that the IHSAA had the right to declare ineligibility for athletes of its member institutions.
There was no Precedent. This would be the precedent.
The core of the decision was based on the distinction between curricular and extra-curricular activities. The right of all citizens to go to public school and receive an education does not include extra-curricular athletics.
Then IHSAA Commissioner LV Phillips was quoted as stating, "This is perhaps the most significant legal decision in the United States concerning high school athletics."
It served as the basis for pioneering favorable decisions for state associations in Ohio, North Dakota, and California, and would prove a cornerstone for the IHSAA.
IHSAA Commissioner LV Phillips
Post Log
Billy Joe Stevenson lived in Seymour the rest of his life, passing away in 2014. Younger brother Frank would move on in adulthood to North Carolina. Neither would ever suit-up for the Owls.
Note: In researching this piece, I accessed no less than 22 articles that ran the course of this 15-month dispute. In every single one, it was pointed out, usually as part of the lead, that the brothers were African-American. We'll never know if this played any part in the controversy or not, but clearly the writers of that era felt it was important to note in each instance.
1959 Seymour Player Eligibility Case shaped IHSAA future
Leigh Evans | Editor/Publisher
SEYMOUR, Ind. -- Brothers Billy Joe and Frank Stevenson were set to put Seymour over the top in the South Central Conference. At 6-6 and 6-5 respectively, the sophomore and frosh front-liners would've have made the already tough Owls a State Title contender out of the box.
However, the IHSAA said otherwise. They were ruled ineligible, and the Association added "For life" just for good measure.
One would be quick to assume it was a neighborhood or Sectional rival that initially raised a red flag, but the reality was the complaint originated in the Stevenson brothers' hometown of Joppa, Illinois.
Turns out a jilted Joppa High School coach charged Seymour basketball fans with inducing the family to make the move eastward to Indiana.
The IHSAA Board of Control, after investigating the charges, sided with the former coach and found "undue influence" was used to get the Stevenson family to move.
Seymour's Billy Joe and Frank Stevenson
The first round went to Seymour.
Initial ruling in Jackson Circuit Court fell in favor of the players' eligibility in the form of temporary restraining order.
The key to the ruling stemmed around that fact that even if undue influence was used, it was used on the parents, and the players had done nothing wrong in which to earn a penalty.
For the Stevensons' part, their attorneys pointed out that the IHSAA claimed that no court had any jurisdiction over decisions made by them regarding member schools...and that hypocritically the IHSAA had utilized those same courts to appeal a ruling they did not agree with.
Principal Burned in Effigy
Back in Seymour, Principal Joseph Cull was being burned in effigy outside the southwest football stadium gates as word got out that he had announced no Stevenson would participate in football that season. "Get out of town, Joe Cull!" signs were also reported around town.
Principal Cull, no stranger to high school fan passions, was quoted as stating he was not surprised by the effigy, but that Seymour needed to realize that Stevenson participation may result in the "complete curtailment" of the entire Seymour athletic program.
Seymour Principal Joseph Cull
In the courts, things were about to turn in the favor of the IHSAA.
First the IHSAA won a change of venue from Brownstown to Bedford. They also got a change of judge after the Stevensons won the preliminary injunction in a ruling from circuit court judge John Lewis of Brownstown.
Judge Lester Nixon of Petersburg was selected to hear arguments. Nixon's name remained after each side's lawyers struck a name from a list of potential judges.
The IHSAA then challenged the authority of a lower court to interfere with its internal affairs and asked the Indiana Supreme Court for a ruling.
The IHSAA Argument
For its part, the Association contended that it was a voluntary organization and was not subject to court action as long as it operated within the law.
The Family's Argument
The Stevensons' attorneys took the stand that the Association's attempt to make rules for 750+ member schools interfered with the right to take full advantage of the school's education and recreation facilities. In effect: A private organization (voluntary or otherwise) should not have power over tax-funded public institutions.
It took 15 months, but ultimately it was the Indiana Supreme Court that made what was to be the final determination in the case with a 1959 decision that the IHSAA had the right to declare ineligibility for athletes of its member institutions.
There was no Precedent. This would be the precedent.
The core of the decision was based on the distinction between curricular and extra-curricular activities. The right of all citizens to go to public school and receive an education does not include extra-curricular athletics.
Then IHSAA Commissioner LV Phillips was quoted as stating, "This is perhaps the most significant legal decision in the United States concerning high school athletics."
It served as the basis for pioneering favorable decisions for state associations in Ohio, North Dakota, and California, and would prove a cornerstone for the IHSAA.
IHSAA Commissioner LV Phillips
Post Log
Billy Joe Stevenson lived in Seymour the rest of his life, passing away in 2014. Younger brother Frank would move on in adulthood to North Carolina. Neither would ever suit-up for the Owls.
Note: In researching this piece, I accessed no less than 22 articles that ran the course of this 15-month dispute. In every single one, it was pointed out, usually as part of the lead, that the brothers were African-American. We'll never know if this played any part in the controversy or not, but clearly the writers of that era felt it was important to note in each instance.
