The '61 basketball team

In October 1960 a group of young basketball prospects assembled in Hargrave Military Academy's beautiful new gymnasium to get ready for a tough, twenty-game schedule. No one dreamed that from this group would come, as most people said in the end, the most highly-touted team ever to play at Hargrave. No one could have guessed that by season-end this handful of boys would become the most publicized, the most potent, and the most admired of them all. As the Danville Register and Bee said, “These boys will forever be embellished on Hargrave's athletic roll of honor….”

After winning five pre-season games (Halifax, George Washington, Whitmell, and two with Martinsville), the Hargrave Tigers went to John D. Bassett to open the regular season. The Tigers won. On the following night they played the first game ever to be played in Hargrave's new gym against Hampden-Sydney College's freshman team, and broke in the new place with a 91-75 victory.

On a four-day trip through Pennsylvania, the team slipped by Lebanon Valley College's freshman team by two points, took two overtimes to win over a determined Wyoming Seminary prep team, then made it a clean sweep by downing the Susquehanna University freshmen.

Back home, now behind tremendous cadet support, the roundballers beat the Lynchburg College freshmen to make it six wins without a loss.

Now, taking on competition in the military league, in its first year of organized existence, the Tigers met Staunton, easily the toughest assignment in the league. The local courtmen pleased the home crowd with a hard-earned win, 80-71. Next they won from the second best opponent, Greenbriar, as they passed the century mark, 108-80.

In a two-day round-robin at Staunton involving four teams, the undefeated Tigers took on Massanutten and, though having a rough go of it physically, won again. The next night they lost their first and only game for the season. A strong, revenge-seeking [Staunton] Hilltopper crew knocked the HMA team from the ranks of the unbeaten to the convincing tune of 80-58.Getting up from the fall, they showed Augusta the way by a score of 70-51 and then left league play long enough to drop John D. Bassett. Massanutten then forfeited a make-up game, and the Tigers started down tht estretch with a win over Augusta, and an impressive victory over Greenbriar, 110-82, which proved to be the only loss the fighting cadets had suffered at home all season.

Hargrave made it 15 out of 16 with a win over Fork Union, then took an outside team, Hampden-Sydney Frosh, at Death Valley by a score of 85-63. Two wins over Fishburne brought the courtmen to their last regular season game at Fork Union. With a victory there, the winning Tigers ended the season with the most wins and the best record of any team ever to represent Hargrave.

In the military tournament held at HMA (the location of the tournament rotates among the military schools alphabetically) the Hargrave team drew a first-round bye because of being regular season winners. Greenbriar beat Fishburne, Massanutten won over Augusta, and Staunton took Fork Union in routine fashion. In the semi-finals Massanutten gave Staunton a go for it before bowing out, and Hargrave won from Greenbriar to make for the “natural” final pairing.

The consolation game found Massanutten pulling the tourney's only upset over Greenbriar, then … the finals … who would it be? Each [Staunton and Hargrave] had almost identical records; they had split regular season games.

“This was unquestionably Hargrave's finest hour in sports. A capacity crowd, limp after forty minutes of heart-stopping basketball, was on its feet,” for, with the support of the greatest cadet corps ever, and with the help of God, the Tigers had won, 81-79.

-The Cadence, 1961

Looking for missing classes

The oldest alumnus we have on the Hargrave Alumni Forum is Charles R. White of the Class of 1946. Next is Leon Rue of the Class of 1949 and Edward C. Wiegand of the Class of 1950. We have representatives of many classes since 1950, except for 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1964, 1970, 1974, 1977, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1994, 1996, 2004 and 2005.

If you belong to one of these "missing" classes, please join the forum by sending a blank e-mail to hargravealumni-subscribe@yahoogroups.com ...

Do so also if you belong to the Class of 1948, 1947 or classes before 1946. Do so also if you belong to the classes we already have represented: 1946, 1949, 1950, 1954, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2006.

Walter B. Jones

Congressman Walter Jones [1961 graduate of HMA] tuned his Greenville office television to CNN Thursday morning.

Jones' stance on U.S. involvement in that country has garnered headlines for the six-term U.S. representative, who recently broke ranks with many Republicans on Capitol Hill by announcing his impatience with the lack of a concrete plan for withdrawing American forces.

The District 3 congressman from Farmville said his outspokenness about how the country was led into the war, and the conduct of the campaign so far, won't hurt his current re-election bid, where he faces Democrat Craig Weber of Atlantic Beach.

That's because people are becoming aware of arguments made by people such as Greg Newbold, an East Carolina University graduate and retired Marine lieutenant general — "one of the bravest men I have ever known," Jones, 63, said. "He gave up a third star because he saw the lies and the distortion that got us into Iraq."

During an interview at his Greenville district office on Thursday, Jones read from Newbold's article in the April edition of Time magazine titled "Why Iraq Was a Mistake:"

"From 2000 until October 2002, I was a Marine Corps lieutenant general and director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. After 9/11, I was a witness and therefore a party to the actions that led us to the invasion of Iraq — an unnecessary war," Jones read.

"Inside the military family, I made no secret of my view that the zealots' rationale for war made no sense. And I think I was outspoken enough to make those senior to me uncomfortable. But I now regret that I did not more openly challenge those who were determined to invade a country whose actions were peripheral to the real threat — al-Qaeda."

Jones criticized the Bush administration for its portrayal of Iraq and its weapons of mass destruction program, which formed the basis upon which Jones voted for military action. No WMDs have been found in Iraq. The congressman said the administration misled he and others were, though he stops short of naming Bush among the culprits.

Jones said District 3 voters will understand his position.

Why?

"Because," he said, "the people know that I have made my decision (based) on the research and the investigation" he has conducted, citing his interviews with CIA operatives, a cabinet member's chief of staff, generals and others.

"(Voters) read the newspapers, they see the TV, they understand when people like this are speaking out," he said, tapping on a copy of Newbold's column. "I can never send a person to die for this country unless I know it is absolutely necessary. And when the questions have been coming out for three years now about the justification, was it justified or was it manipulated, I don't know how anyone can say that they want an elected official that does not want to know the truth."

In June 2005, Jones signed a bipartisan resolution urging President Bush to devise a concrete plan for withdrawing troops from Iraq.

"I think people are beginning to understand that ... I want to do what's right based on the facts, not based on the wishes of somebody," he said.

About 70 Pitt and Beaufort County Republicans gave Jones a warm reception Friday night. He was stumping for N.C. House candidate Hood Richardson at a farm between Grimesland and Chocowinity. Jones limited his references to the war to prayers for U.S. soldiers and their families.

Applause punctuated Jones' comments on issues central to his party: lower taxes, gay marriage and illegal immigration.

"I'm more concerned about terrorists coming from Central and South America than I am about terrorists coming from Iraq," he said Friday night.

During the interview Thursday, Jones also touched on the possible effects his campaign may experience due to fellow Republican Rep. Mark Foley's resignation. Foley, of Florida, is being investigated for allegedly sending inappropriate e-mails to teenage pages working on Capitol Hill.

Jones said that controversy wouldn't affect his campaign.

"I hope I'm known for my integrity," he said. "I hope I'm known — whether people agree with me or not — for my moral character. From the very first day I heard about (the Foley case), I said, 'If there's anybody in (the Republican) leadership who has known about this, weeks or months or years ago, then they need to resign.'"

Javier Castillo, chairman of the Pitt County Republican Party, doubted that Iraq or Foley would negatively affect Jones' chances.

"I personally believe not, because Walter has done a great job for his district," Castillo said. Voters may disagree with Jones on that one issue (Iraq), but District 3 voters likely agree with him on most things, and approve of his services in the district, Castillo added.

Richardson echoed Castillo's sentiment on Iraq.

"Republicans don't have to march in lock-step on all the issues," he said.

Johnny Rouse, Pitt County Democratic Party chairman, took the opposite view.

"I think, if anything, it'll hurt him with the core Republican voters," Rouse said. They may choose not to vote at all out of disgruntlement over Jones' criticisms of the Iraq war, he added.

Neither Castillo nor Rouse believed the Foley scandal would affect the incumbent.

"Mark Foley's in Florida, and he's already quit, so that's a problem for electors in Florida, not here," Castillo said.

Rouse said the scandal "may hurt the Republicans' image as the party of quote-unquote values, but I don't think it should affect" Jones. "It would be unfair to paint him" with the actions attributed to his Republican colleague, Rouse said.

By T. Scott Batchelor
sbatchelor@coxnc.com
The Daily Reflector

Hargrave in the fall

It is a cool 43 degrees today and windy here in northern Virginia. The leaves on the trees are spectacular in their range of colors. Halloween and Thanksgiving are just around the corner. For some reason, it just feels like Hargrave today. I sense this powerful desire to go find my black jacket.

I recall always being cold. There was certainly nothing warm and cozy about the barracks. I can still feel the icey wind blowing through the obviously poorly caulked window in our (... my roommate was Fernando Manrique of Colombia) room. That old radiator (great for drying socks and underwear) beneath our window sometimes gave off sufficient heat and sometimes very little. I guess it depended on how well the boiler was functioning on a given day. Those old standard-issue wool blankets (dark olive color) were adequate, but it took a while to warm up once you slid into bed.

Getting up in the chilly mornings before the sun rose and standing in formation waiting to march to the mess hall for a powdered eggs breakfast certainly didn't give me a toasty feeling either.

Yet, there exists a strange longing in my gut for southern Virginia, Chatham and Hargrave in the fall... cold hallway floors and bathrooms and all.