Basketball celebration planned at Anson's

It all started with a piece of the old “Panther Pit” basketball floor, fueled by the relentless pursuit of local history by Creston native John Walters.

The irony of an upcoming celebration of Creston and area basketball history at Anson’s Bar & Grill is that it’s been organized by a former standout wrestler and distance runner in Walters, a 1976 CHS graduate.

“I’m a Creston fan as much as a wrestling fan,” said Walters, who has been the main researcher of Creston Wrestling Hall of Fame inductees since that organization’s inception eight years ago.

Walters was honored as Creston Citizen of the Year in 2023 after his latest civic volunteer project — salvaging the large limestone Creston sign and cornerstone from the former high school on Irving and Maple streets, and placing it at the Creston HIstorical Village in McKinley Park with the help of other volunteers. That school was built in 1925 and demolished in 1996.

Something else salvaged from the old high school was a piece of the wooden gym floor, saved by local businessman and sports booster Jack Davis.

Walters said he was at a Creston football game last fall, after the publicity about his project with the old school sign.

“At halftime I was walking back to my seat and I heard that recognizable voice of Jack Davis call out, ‘Hey John! I’ve got something for you. I have the center court from the old Panther Pit. Is there anything we can do with that?’ I told him I’d try to find a home for it.”

Walters said he first considered including it somewhere in the Historical Village, but wasn’t sure where it would go there. Then, one day in early December he was in Anson’s Bar & Grill, where there was already a Creston Wrestling Hall of Fame display near the restaurant entrance.

Joe and Tina Anson had purchased the former A&G restaurant in October 2023, and their son Logan had been the starting center on the Creston basketball team the previous winter. He is now involved in the family business and Joe Anson told Walters he was interested in using the old center jump circle from the Panther Pit for a basketball display.

Historical ‘Pit’ floor

When the old high school was being torn down in 1996, Davis paid the contractor to cut a 57-square inch piece from the center court area of the gym floor for a souvenir. His father-in-law, Joe Healey, had been an all-state player for Creston’s 1939 state championship team, and Davis himself was a sharp-shooting guard on outstanding Creston teams in the early 1960s that included all-staters Ron Jessen and Larry Goodrich, who were both on a University of Northern Iowa team inducted into that university’s Hall of Fame last year.

Davis also served as public address announcer for Creston basketball and football games for many years, including several years in the “Panther Pit.” It was a unique home court setting with seating close to the floor and a balcony level that rained noise down to the court. The school’s auditorium was directly above the gym, so the floor was relatively undamaged by moisture as in many schools with a roof directly above the court.

“I think that piece of floor that Jack had was possibly the original wood installed when the school was built in 1925,” Walters said.

With Anson agreeing to display the center jump circle on the east side of the restaurant, visible from the sidewalk with a glass window front, that set in motion an idea by Walters to make that area a shrine to the sport of boys and girls basketball from Creston and a surrounding radius of schools of about 35 miles. He has spent many hours in Gibson Memorial Library in the past three months looking through microfilm copies of old newspapers, primarily the Creston News Advertiser and Des Moines Register.

Scott Driskell, former Creston all-state player who spent part of his high school career in the Panther Pit before the current school was opened his senior year (1989-90), donated a framed front page from the Creston News Advertiser when the Panthers won the 1997 boys state basketball championship. A group of players hoisting the trophy was displayed on the front page with an article about the accomplishment.

That photo now hangs next to the center jump circle at Anson’s.

Soon to be added will be five posters, divided by geographical area in relation to Creston, showing the names of all-state players ranging from 1918 to the past 2023-24 season. A list of honorable mention all-state players will also be on display. (An advertisement in today’s News Advertiser shows the schools and players that will be a part of the display.)

May 4 event

Walters and Anson have organized an official unveiling of the display in a public program scheduled for the afternoon of Saturday, May 4. Former players and coaches from the 45 schools, which have a total of 1,600 names on the honor lists, are invited along with local fans.

The keynote speaker will be Goodrich, who ranks seventh all-time in scoring for Creston with 1,003 career points. He was among a group of Panthers who led the Hawkeye Eight in scoring for seven years in a row. The teams he played on won conference titles three years of his high school career, finishing one game from the one-class state tournament in a substate final loss to Manning.

Goodrich had individual high-scoring games of 46 and 43 points, and once grabbed 28 rebounds in a game.

The event will begin with refreshments and a meet-and-greet from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on May 4, with the program scheduled from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Other speakers will be Walters, Davis, former boys all-staters Brad Baker and Driskell, along with former girls players Roxanne (Sammons) Lamb and Jan Lesan, as well as Margie Gammell, representing her late husband Eldon Gammell, a coach for more than 20 years in Creston including the state tournament teams of 1977 and 1978. Lamb was a standout senior in 1976 on a team that was ousted from a state berth by Ankeny and legendary star Connie Yori, who would go on to become an outstanding collegiate player and coach.

The event is free of charge.

“I think it’s great to celebrate the history of Creston and our programs,” Driskell said. “It perpetuates your programs when you celebrate and recognize the special accomplishments. So many kids don’t know anything about those who came before them and raised the standard. That’s why it’s important.”

Joe Anson said he’s pleased to host the event, and hopes as word circulates about the “basketball shrine” that others will be interested in viewing it.

“John has the vision,” Anson said. “It’s like when I worked in construction. I did it for so long, I would just have this vision in my head, and the guys would follow along. I told John, this is your vision. I’m just supplying the place.”

Walters is excited about showing the display to the public.

“I really appreciate that Joe agreed to put it there,” Walters said. “I really think down the road people will talk about it and stop in to see it. I’m hoping that maybe other people will take this idea and work on preserving the history of the other sports in some way.”

Those who view the advertisement in today’s paper and see an error or an omission are asked to contact Walters with the information by email at ratjdw@yahoo.com prior to the May 4 event.