Missouri State

TEAM INDUCTION
1951-52, 1952-53, 1953-54 Men's Basketball Teams

    Coach Bob Vanatta wrapped up an amazing three-year run at the Bears’ helm, posting a 73-11 record for his seasons at Missouri State with the first two national championships in school history in 1952 and 1953. The Bears captured the imagination of the nation in small college circles as they made the short trip from Springfield to Kansas City and won five games in six nights two years in a row in storied downtown Municipal Auditorium to become the first team to wrap up back-to-back NAIA national champonship banners with the tournament in what was then its week-long 32-team format. President Harry Truman and Mrs. Truman were in attendance for the Bears during the tournament and hundreds of Springfield fans followed the team on its run.
    The 1952 Bears were 27-5, breezed undefeated to the MIAA crown with a 10-0 conference record, and knocked off Central Methodist, two games to one, in the NAIA District 16 playoffs. 
    Once in Kansas City, the Bears beat Chadron State, Indiana State, Morningside, and Southwest Texas State and then posted a 73-64 championship game win over Murray State for the title. Three Bears received all-America honors, including Bill Lea, Jim Julian and Fordy Hamilton.
    Lea with 11.8 points a game and Hamilton at 11.3 were the leading scorers on the team and Lea averaged 13.1 rebounds with his total of 379 boards the school single season record until Curtis Perry came along nearly 20 years later. 
    In 1953, MSU went 24-4, repeated its conference title with an 8-2 league record, claimed the District 16 title with two lopsded wins over Missouri Valley, and then topped Gonzaga, Stetson, Nebraska Wesleyan, Indiana State and 79-71 over Hamline in Kansas City for the title. All-America honors went to Hamilton, Jerry Anderson, Don Anielak and Bill Thomas, with Anderson gaining selection as the NAIA tournament's Most Valuable Player.
    Anielak averaged 18.4 points a game to lead the Bears in scoring while Hamilton chipped in 16.6 a contest. Hamilton was the Bears' top scorer in the title games in both 1952 and 1953. 
    The 1953 semifinal game against Indiana State included what may be the single most celebrated moment in MSU athletics history.
    Two team members -- Jerry Lumpe and Norm Siebern -- had pro baseball contracts and had to leave the squad during the tournament to report to the New York Yankees spring training camp in Florida. With just nine available players, the Bears had five players foul out in the latter stages of the contest against the taller ISU Sycamores, leaving Vanatta with just four Bears still in the contest. 
    The game was tied with three minutes to play when Bill Thomas, Bill Price, Ray Birdsong and Don Duckworth moved onto the court, and in the closing minutes outscored Indiana State by six to win the game 84-78. The quartet would forever be known in Bear legend as "The Fabulous Four."
    Vanatta left MSU after the season to become head coach at the United States Military Academy and Edwin (Eddie) Matthews became the Bears’ head coach for 1953-54. Missouri State finished the season 22-7, including an 8-2 league mark to win the MIAA. The Bears bested Central Methodist two games to one for the District 16 title, and then marched to Kansas City for wins over Gustavus Adolphus, East Tennessee and East Texas State. 
    The Bears lost a hard-fought 74-71 outing to Western Illinois in the semifinals but bounced back to beat Arkansas Tech 75-61 in the third place game, giving MSU a 14-1 record on the national tournament stage for three straight seasons in what was an unparalleled accomplishment. 
    Anderson repeated his tourney MVP honors from the previous year and was joined on the All-America team by Art Helms. In 1971, Anderson was further honored as he was named to the NAIA all-time all-tournament team in ceremonies at Municipal.