Foxcroft Academy dedicates ‘Champs of 1975 Court’

DOVER-FOXCROFT — On Feb. 28, 1975 the Foxcroft Academy boys basketball team defeated Medomak Valley High School of Waldoboro 56-53 at the Augusta Civic Center to win the Class B championship, the only gold basketball in school history. These Ponies will be remembered further with the “Champs of 1975 Court”, dedicated on the afternoon of Aug. 1 as part of Foxcroft Academy Alumni Weekend.

“This court is not just a name on a plaque or on the floor, it is a tribute to the only gold basketball in our trophy case and one of the most successful teams in Foxcroft Academy’s history,” Head of School Arnold Shorey said at the start of the ceremony. “The 1975 team’s story is now woven into every game played, every shot taken and every memory made.”

The school launched the “75 for 75” court naming campaign to honor the 1975 team as well as fund improvements to the air system in the gymnasium. 

“Now the gym is warm in the winter and cool in the summer,” Shorey said with a forthcoming plaque to recognize all the donors in the $75,000 fundraiser.

“This was truly a team effort and because of that the Champs of 1975 Court will be part of Foxcroft Academy forever,” he said. The community also played a large role in the team winning the 1975 title, the head of school added.

Foxcroft Academy Director of External Affairs Toby Nelson said the 1974-75 team is in the Maine Basketball Hall Fame, as is head coach Skip Hanson and the team’s 6-foot-8 star center Kevin Nelson who went on to play at the University of Maine. The Ponies were celebrated a decade ago with the 40th anniversary and Toby Nelson (the nephew of Kevin) said since then a few members of the squad have passed away but they were there in spirit.

Foxcroft Academy basketball began with games across town at Central Hall in the 1920s and the on-campus gym opened in 1961 during Hanson’s senior season. Less than a decade after graduating he became head coach of this alma matta, improving the Ponies each year from 1969-70 to 1974-75.

Video highlights of Foxcroft Academy teams playing at the Bangor Auditorium in the first half of the 1970s were shown for ceremony attendees. In 1973 the Ponies fell to Schenck High School of East Millinocket in the Class B East semifinals and a year later the team advanced to the regional championship but Orono High School came out on top that day.

“1974-75 would have to be the year,”  Nelson said. Foxcroft defeated Orono in the season opener in Dover-Foxcroft to start a winning streak. All but three of these contests were won by double digits for a perfect 18-0 record (the only such record in Foxcroft Academy basketball history).

Foxcroft and Orono played in the regional final with the Ponies rolling past the Red Riots 74-49.

An unfamiliar foe in an unfamiliar building loomed, as Foxcroft advanced to face Medomak Valley High School of Waldoboro in the state championship at the Augusta Civic Center. The Panthers had a “a starting lineup that would make even teams today look small,” Nelson said with a 6-foot-6 center and two 6-foot-4 players and an average of over 84 points a game in the regular season and over 94 points a contest in the postseason in the era before the 3-point shot 

“The experts in Maine had already told them to make room in the trophy case for a shiny gold ball,” Nelson said. “They were instructed to print championship T-shirts and have the booster club on standby to purchase new championship jackets and be sure the fire department was ready for a victory parade through town as the 21-0 Panthers were poised for a coronation. The only problem was that no one told Foxcroft Academy.”

“There is still a space in that trophy case gathering dust, and those jackets had to be shipped back,” he said. Medomak Valley would win Class B titles in 1977 and 1980 but not in 1975.

The Ponies could not simply outscore the Panthers but needed intense defense. The plan worked as Medomak Valley was held 30 points below the team’s season point average. An 18-14 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter helped Foxcroft win 56-53.

The Class B championship was celebrated for weeks afterwards with dinners and banquets. 

“In all honesty, the celebration’s never stopped, it’s just a little bit quieter now because that’s what the years will do,” Nelson said. He said in 1976 Hanson stepped down following the best 6-year run in program history, starting his time as a school administration.

The gym lobby has a packed trophy case with each item having a story to tell, Nelson said. He mentioned how the Foxcroft Academy boys basketball teams reached regional finals in 1979 and 2005 and girls squads did likewise in 1987, 2001 and 2017. 

“But to this day the 1975 Foxcroft Academy basketball team won a championship in a sport that matters most to most Maine people,” Nelson said. “It happened 50 years ago and still matters today.”

Members of the 1974-75 team, a combination of a dozen players, coaches and managers were present, were mentioned individually along with their contributions. The 12 were then invited down to remove the court logo covering in front of the home bleachers (a second Champs of 1975 Court marker is by the home team bench area).

“Whether it was $75 or $7.500 your gift was greatly appreciated,” Nelson said.

The entire 1974-75 season and events leading up are chronicled in Dave Albee’s book “The Last One Out Of Town Turn Out The Lights” released earlier this year to coincide with the 50th anniversary. 

Albee, a 1972 Foxcroft Academy graduate who now lives in Petaluma, California, covered every game of the 1974-75 season while working for the Piscataquis Observer. Albee’s early years as a sportswriter, general assignment reporter and photographer in Dover-Foxcroft from December 1973 to July of 1976 launched a 35-year career as an award-winning sportswriter and columnist at five newspapers in four states from Maine to California. He covered multiple Super Bowls, World Series, NBA and NHL playoffs, World Cup soccer, NCAA football and NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. He is an honorary member of the Baseball Writers Association of America and has voted on Baseball Hall of Fame inductions and Heisman Trophy selections.

Kevin Nelson came to the podium and thanked everyone for attending and Foxcroft Academy for the honor, saying he believes he speaks for the entire team for saying it means a lot to all of them.

“Who gets a book written about them?,” Nelson rhetorically asked. “Who would have thought when we started this venture, that really started in our eighth grade year for us seniors, that this would have ended up this way and this is pretty special. We’re senior citizens now so this is a pretty nice thing.”

The state championship team wanted to recognize Albee.

“There were 12 players on our team, three coaches and three managers so we put together this, for what David did for us during the season turned into our 13th player,” Nelson said.

Albee received a plaque recognizing him as the 13th player. On the back everyone that could signed it to thank Albee for helping them recall the heydays of their and memorializing the championship season.”

A framed No. 13 Foxcroft Academy jersey was also given to Albee. 

“So he will remember every time the thought comes to him that he was part of this team,” Nelson said.

Members of the 1974-75 team were seniors Jeff Brown, Jeff Dunn, Dick Hatt, Roger Hewett, David Ingraham, Mark Joyce, Tim King, Scott Mountford, Kevin Nelson, juniors Kevin Burtchell and Peter Snow, sophomore Steve Mountford, managers Keith Chadbourne, Joe Dean and Jim Herring, JV coach Dennis Kiah, freshmen coach Dave Clement and head coach Arthur “Skip” Hanson.

Cheerleaders were Lindy Strout, Rhonda Larrabee, Valerie Judkins, Brenda Burton, Tina Reese, Kimberly Gilmore, Barbara Chadwick and Janice Gerry.