Tales were plentiful last Thursday morning when five members of the 1961-62 Clinton County High School boys basketball team got together with their former head coach, for a breakfast reunion at Junction Station.

In the top photo, David McFarland, Kenneth “Chuck” Conner, Coach Lindle Castle, Jack Sewell, Sherman York and Paul Denney are shown.

At left, Conner, Castle and Sewell shared a laugh at one of the memories from the season that Conner was telling the group.

That team finished the year with a 30-4 season record, that included a disappointing and questionable loss to Allen County High School in the 5th Region Tournament.

Summer has long been the season for reunions – family reunions, class reunions and more, and that was exactly what happened last week when a group of former Clinton County High School athletes got together for breakfast at Junction Station, along with their former coach, to reminisce and remember, swap a few tales… and brag just a little among themselves.

Five members of the heralded Bulldog Basketball team of the 1961-62 season were joined by former CCHS head basketball coach Lindle Castle early last Thursday morning, and from the time the group sat down in the main dining room at Junction Station, the laughter began and the memories were shared.

Joining Castle for the breakfast gathering were five members of that 1961-62 squad, including David McFarland, Kenneth “Chuck” Conner, Jack Sewell, Sherman York and Paul Denney.

Wearing the blue and white for Clinton County just two seasons after the Bulldogs had won a regional championship and had played in the KHSAA Sweet 16 State Tournament, many believed this 1961-62 team to be an even better, more well rounded squad with a more than fair chance of once again taking its Clinton County fan base to another State Tournament appearance in Louisville that March.

Then a member of the 20th District and 5th Region, the team finished the season with a 30-4 overall record and advanced to the Regional Tournament. Ironically, Clinton County lost the 20th District Championship game to Metcalfe County by a single point, 59-58. In a true blind draw at the time, the Bulldogs found themselves facing Metcalfe County again in the first round of the 5th Region Tournament, and were able to easily avenge the loss to the Hornets that had occurred just a week earlier, this time delivering a 30 point thumping to Metcalfe County, 83-53.

It was in the next game that Clinton County’s season came to a disappointing end, and at the time, questions arose as to the fairness of the officiating in the second round game, along with allegations that perhaps illegal gambling played a bigger part in Clinton County’s loss than did the abilities and actions of the players on the floor.

Facing Allen County in early March, the Bulldogs appeared to be well on the way to a victory, when suddenly ACHS began to catch nearly every break on the night late in the game.

Clinton County gained the lead in the contest just two minutes after the opening tip, and never trailed until the final two minutes when things took a questionable twist and the Bulldogs were unable to do anything that could stop the Patriots from overtaking Clinton County and eventually stretching it out to a 53-47 victory.

The idea that outside forces were at work that fateful night in Bowling Green continued to get plenty of discussion nearly 55 years later when last week’s breakfast brought up a host of memories – mostly good, but the one about that final game, not so much.

In all fairness to that Allen County squad, those Patriots were an accomplished team in its own right – entering the game with a 28-0 record. The Patriots, the only undefeated team remaining in the state that year, captured the 5th Region championship and advanced to the Sweet 16, defeating Henry County in the opening round, before losing to St. Xavier in quarter round play to finish with a 31-1 record.

The five former Clinton County players on hand last week all went on to take their game to the next level, playing basketball on the collegiate level at five different schools.

Memories were aplenty last Thursday at Junction Station, and judging from the heft of the plates that were carried to the table, time hasn’t affected the appetites of these athletes either.

Once a Bulldog, always a Bulldog!