Blackford (4,400) Built 1970
January 28, 2025: Delta vs. Blackford (Boys)
January 28, 2025: Delta vs. Blackford (Boys)
We've had so many legends of the game pass through high school basketball in our state that we are unbelievably spoiled. Every generation has their own that they believe are the best. The stories that come with these players are remarkable. Despite what many people over the age of 60 will try to tell you, these stories didn't just cease to exist with the advent of class basketball. Yes, it was the worst decision the people in charge of our fine state ever made, but it didn't murder our beloved sport in the way some people would like you to think. There are still plenty of amazing stories unfolding before us every year, and maybe the most unprobable one of the new millennium occured at Blackford High School from 2017-2021. In the three years leading up to that first season, Blackford was 1-69. This is a school with a proud basketball history that had truly hit rock bottom. Enter a Hall of Fame coach in his 80s and a high school freshman. Jerry Hoover and Luke Brown went on a 3-4 year run that was just as magical as it was inconceivable. They flipped the program completely on its head to the tune of 77 wins in 4 years and over 3,000 points for Mr. Brown. The fans came out in droves and created an environment that was as good as anywhere over that stretch. They captured not only the attention of their own community, but the entire Indiana high school basketball community as a whole. Even the grumpiest curmudgeons who can't have a discussion about Hoosier Hysteria without moaning about class basketball felt their cold hearts warm a little. It was quite the ride, and thankfully they had a fantastic gym to host so many of the memorable moments.
Like its neighbor over in Jay County, Blackford High School is the lone high school for the entire county. Unlike Jay County, only three local schools consolidated to form the current high school. Montpelier, Hartford City, and Roll were casualties of the mass consolidation of the 60s. All had their own gyms and basketball tradition. Roll is still standing as a signal of what once was (you can find it in the Fading Gyms section of this site). I still need to make it over to Montpelier which is hanging on as a shuttered elementary school. Blackford built a brand new cathedral of a gym when it was founded in 1970. It has similar echoes to other large rural gyms near it at Jay County and Mississinewa. I visited the gym in the days after the Luke Brownissance. I also visited it right after a big remodel. It's a remodel that triggers many of my worst fears as someone who cares deeply about these old gyms. There are a couple things that make me want to scream WHY?! Those things aren't enough to take away from the reality that this gym is still truly incredible overall.
Let's get to what irks me about the remodel first, because I really want to focus on what makes this place so special. The Blackford gym used to have basically white walls all the way around at all levels except for a little grey on the bottom baseline walls. With the new design, they went with black walls above the upper sections so they could feature Bruin claws menacingly scratching the sides. Blackford" is written in big letters at the top of the bleachers on one side and "Home of the Bruins" on the other. That's fine! It looks pretty good. What I hate is that in the corners of the gym they opted for a newer Bruin logo that is a direct ripoff of the Memphis Grizzlies insignia. I've talked about this before. Find some talented art students and commission them to create a logo or design to start with. Get someone to handpaint a unique mural. At the very least, if you're going to use a generic logo, come up with an original one. Don't copy off a professional or college team. This frustration extends to what they did with the baseline walls. One side is still white on top and grey on the bottom. The other side has a giant silhouette of the stolen Bruin head logo glaring down at the court. There's nothing else on the wall. It looks incredibly bare, especially since the wall is massive. The opposite baseline wall has rows and rows of brand new red athletic accomplishment banners. They look fine, though the print is pretty small. The biggest travesty of the entire remodel resides on this wall. They just painted over a gorgeous old mural of a big Bruin looking down onto the court from on high. It just makes me incredibly sad. It was the focal point of that whole side of the gym before, and now it's just gone. They simply could've kept the mural there and moved all the athletic accomplishment banners to the other side that is now completely bare. I just don't understand. They also took down the iconic CIC conference team banner and never put it back up for whatever reason.
The rest of the gem is still an absolute beauty. There are two levels of sideline bleachers like most big gyms in the northern half of the state, but these feel more grandiose than most. The bottom sections extend the width of the floor and go up 14 rows which is pretty big for a lower level. The upper sections go up about 18 rows and run from wall to wall. All the bleachers are original wood and they're beautiful. The corners of the upper levels have a slight angle to them. There were a few fans sitting in folding chairs along these beveled edges which provide amazing views of the action and really make the place feel regal when looking at it from across the way on the opposite sideline. There are also big curtains hanging in the corners here that can be pulled across to form a partition to hide the upper level.
While the bleachers are great, the hardwood court is even better. I'm not sure when the last time was that it was refinished or redesigned, but it feels like a 90s floor which is arguably the best era for gym floor design, and I hope they never change it. You can just tell by the sheen of the floor. It doesn't look over-glossed or air brushed like the new ones do. That doesn't mean it looks scuffed or worn, but it's just right. I'm honestly not sure how to describe it, you just know it when you see it. It's been stained a classic gold color everywhere except where it's been painted black inside the foul lanes. There's also a black border around it, with "Blackford" written simply in big white letters along the baselines. The CIC logo is also painted towards the bottom of the foul lanes which is a nice touch. The center piece is the plain basketball painted inside the half court circle. You can't go wrong with that design. It's undefeated. Maybe the coolest part though are the small Blackford County map outlines that are painted in red right inside the sidelines. "Bruins" is written in white script on them, but there are also points on the map for each school that was closed when consolidation hit. It's an unbelievable touch on an already perfect floor.
I'm guessing they didn't tackle the gym floor here and maybe even the bleachers due to money. A lot of gyms recently have basically been redone from head to toe. I think about Alexandria and Elwood that are now almost unrecognizable. By only repainting the walls, Blackford is kind of stuck between eras. After taking in a game and really looking around, I've decided I'd rather it be this way than a full renovation. There are still a lot of touchstones to the past here. They keep the gym grounded amongst all the changes and maintain the ties to the rich basketball tradiation that the school has. I've wanted to get to this gym since I started this blog, and it just never seemed to work out for the longest time. I was so excited to finally visit. Outside of a couple unfortunate painting decisions, it fully lived up to my lofty expectations. I got to see a good game and honestly a pretty good crowd for a Tuesday night. They definitely have some of the better fan support I've experienced in awhile for a team that is solid but not necessarily great. That's always nice to see. I would love to come back sometime for a sectional or big time rivalry atmosphere. This place was meant for big games. I hope it gets to host many of them for years to come.
