Spirit of 7-6

Terre Haute turned out by the thousands to welcome the Garfield High School Purple Eagles home after their near-victory over South Bend Central in the state finals at Indianapolis. The team, aboard a fire truck, was greeted by citizens lining the streets from the Highland Lawn hill to 13th Street, then north to the Garfield gym. Player Greg Samuels received the Treaster Award for mental attitude and scholarship and the Zimmerman and Free Throw awards.

Grace DeVaney, Garfield principal, commented, “I never thought I would end my school career scaling ladders and collecting nets.” Her cutting down of the nets after the regional and semistate victories had made national news.

On this date, March 24, 1963, the Garfield High School Purple Eagles, pulled one of the biggest upsets in the 53-year-old history of the State Basketball Tournament.  Garfield defeated Evansville Bosse, 60-55, for the Semi-State Championship.

Also on this date, fire broke out at the Campus Bowl, located in the basement of the Deming Building and spread to become the most costly fire in Terre Haute history.  Whipped by strong winds, the blaze destroyed 10 business and five offices downtown from the corner of 6th & Wabash to the alley north of 6th Street and east on Wabash Avenue to the double fire wall at the Jame-Wolf store.