By Bob Skubal
Retired coach, historian, author of ‘History of Tomahawk Sports’
TOMAHAWK – The first mention of Tomahawk boys’ basketball that this author can find was during the 1900-01 season.
It is believed that Tomahawk played their very first basketball game on Dec. 2, 1900. While the name of their coach was not discovered, team members of this first team were identified as Roy Conant, Casper Nelson, Glenn Foss, Will Miller, Joe Wangard, Albert Olson and William Fuller.
The Tomahawk Leader mentioned that the team had a 3-1 record, with a win over Rhinelander 22-12 and two other wins over Wausau, but the final scores could not be found in any articles. The lone loss for THS was against the City Team by a score of 40-13.
Let’s take a look back at some of the moments that stand out in Tomahawk basketball history, starting with the first decade. Basketball is what this author calls a “Big Ticket” sport, so this look at the basketball program will be lengthy.
Counting this first season, there have been 31 different varsity coaches for Tomahawk basketball. Bill Fischer has the most varsity wins with 124, while Tim Albert has the longest tenure with 15 seasons. Superintendent L.W. Brooks has the highest winning percentage at 1.000 with a 5-0 record in his one season as varsity coach.
Thus far ,Tomahawk basketball has won eight conference titles – 1927-28, 1962-63, 1963-64 (CO), 1966-67 (CO), 1968-69, 1969-70, 1975-76 and 1979-8; four district titles – 1924-25, 1936-37, 1968-69 and 1969-70; five regional titles –1979-80, 1980-81, 1997-98, 2000-01 and 2013-14; and made two state appearances – 1924-25 and 1936-37.
1901-02
Games were played at Maccabee Hall. Maccabee Hall, or the Opera House, was located at the corner of N. 4th St. and W. Wisconsin Ave. It was the center for entertainment and meetings in Tomahawk.
Manager for the team was Bernhardt, who also served as substitute for the team. Team members were Norm Olson, Charles Bebeau, Will Fuller, (?) Bernhardt, Tom Nash, Guy Fuller, Fred Thoms, Jack Weber, Glenn Foss and Al Fluegal.
The team went 0-2 that season, with losses to the City Team 40-39 and Wausau 48-27.
1905-06
Coach was Superintendent Oliver E. Rice. The Tomahawk Leader mentions the team preparing for the season before Thanksgiving. There was nothing else in the Leader until the superintendent made a statement about behavior and rules for athletes to follow, such as eliminating foul play and sportsmanship.
Team members were Edgar Welfley, Herman Foster, Arthur Oelhafen, Elmer Foster, Patsy Stone, Percy Lord, Floyd Slater, James Kopplin, Parker Smith and Earl Wakefield. Edgar Welfley was selected as team captain. No scores were discovered for this season.
1907-08
Professor Beckwith was varsity coach. Games were played at the Opera House and the season record was once again 1-3.
The lone win came over the City Team, 67-23, while losses were to Merrill 30-17, Wausau 54-34 and Rhinelander 33-14.
Team members were Elmer Frye, Ed Schultz, Ray Atcherson, Albert Nelson, Claude Venne, Frederic Oelhafen, William Ball, O.K. Welty, Garrie “Moose” Eldridge and Patrick Twomey. O.K. Welty was selected as captain.
School colors were changed to Yale blue and gold.
1908-09
Coaches Superintendent L. W. Brooks and H. G. Fuller produced the only unbeaten season for Tomahawk at 5-0. Victories were 41-27 over Arbor Vitae, 31-11 over Minocqua, 38-18 over Merrill, 52-18 over Minocqua and 39-13 over Rhinelander.
Team members were Herbert Miller, Garrie Eldridge O.K. Welty, Ray Atcherson, Patrick Twomey, Albert Nelson and William Ball. Herbert Miller was the team manager and Will Ball was the captain.
Tomahawk was denied a trip to state because they did not enter the schedule early enough and did not play enough important games. The state tourney was only five years old and by invitation only.
1910-11
It was noted that no time outs were allowed to be called during games.
1911-12
One game worth noting was an 89-9 victory over Prentice, with Stanley May scoring 33, Frank Hebert 24 and Irvin Mitchell 20. Imagine if you were a Tomahawk basketball fan and watching this game. People were talking about this performance for years.
1913-14
The team traveled by train to away games.
Poor sportsmanship was shown this season when Tomahawk was playing Minocqua. The score was tied 10-10 when Tomahawk coach Clement V. Liner became displeased with the referee and Tomahawk walked off the court and forfeited the game.
1915-16
This was the first time in school history that Tomahawk sent a team to the playoffs.
1918-19
Dr. D.C. Jones presented the team with $10.00 after they defeated Wausau 19-17.
1919-20
Coach was William Lampert. Team members were Ted Doucette, Sidney Engleman, Earl Cronkrite, James Clark, Jule Loftus, Ted Loftus, Ambrose Gahan, Frank Gillette and Roy Bloomquist. Doucette was selected as team captain.
Doucette scored 145 points during the season to lead the team, while Engleman scored 114 and Gahan 104. The team was 11-1 going into the playoffs before Loftus had to withdraw from the team because he had reached the age of 20.
Doucette and Engleman were selected to the Sectional All-Tournament Team.
1924-25
Robert Webster was the coach. Team members were John Smith, Ambrose Smith, Ted Chvala, Carl Ecklund, Eugene Brady, Frederick Cull, Sylvester Polege, John Robarge, George Larson, Paul Bebeau, Maurice Nickel, Richard Nielsen, Albert Marcouiller and Lawrence Foster.
Tomahawk was 13-4 and earned their first trip to the state tournament. In a win against Medford, Tomahawk was leading late in the game, and the wrong man from Medford called a timeout – only the captain could call an official timeout –and Tomahawk sank a free throw as a result of the technical foul called on Medford. Losses prior to the playoffs were to Wausau 22-21 and Marshfield 14-8 (the bus broke down and they arrived at 9 p.m. because they had to take a sleigh the last seven miles).
In the first round of the playoffs, Tomahawk defeated Eagle River 15-10 (coach Webster made the team members carry their own water and had the boys sleep for 16 hours before sectionals). Next came a 19-12 victory over Medford before THS punched their ticket to state by defeating Antigo 17-6.
At state, Tomahawk lost 24-8 to La Crosse (La Crosse went on to become state champions) and 20-18 to Manitowoc. John “Cappy” Smith was All-Conference that season.
1926-27
Tomahawk only had two home games, as most teams refused to play at Tomahawk’s “cheese box.” Only Rhinelander and Antigo played in Tomahawk.
1928-29
Tomahawk lost 17-0 for the first shutout in the history of the Valley Conference.
1930-31
Lloyd Bohm was the coach. Tomahawk came one game away from qualifying for state when they lost to Antigo 29-10. THS was 10-7 that season.
1932-33
A notable game was against Rib Lake. Coach Ambrose Gahan sent all but the starting center to the showers because of their poor showing, and the reserves won the game 16-12.
In the March 16, 1933 issue of the Tomahawk Leader, an article said that in the last five years, Tomahawk basketball was 6-38 and 35-50 the last 10 years in the Valley.
1933-34
Coach was K.M. Cherry. Even though Tomahawk was 9-8 and 8th in the Valley with a 2-6 record, they came one game away from qualifying for state when they lost to White Lake 18-17.
1935-36
Coach was K.M. Cherry. THS was 9-9. Tomahawk lost a playoff game against Washburn 30-20 (Washburn was a state entry from the previous year) when Jim Draeger’s absence hurt the team, as he was home because his brother had scarlet fever.
1936-37
K.M. Cherry was coach. Major letter winners were Bill Fehrman, Clarence Robarge, Clayton Radtke, Howard Rose, Lloyd Koth and Harold Sparks. Other team members were George Fryar, Dave Cowling, Arndt Torkelson, Fred Doucette, Bill Nick, Don Burton, Lawrence Rush, Bill Townsend, Norm Bauer, John Nelson, John Tierney, Jerome Helgeson (manager), Andy Oelhafen, Howie Hetzel, Lee Myre, Bob Koth, Ed St. Peter, Gail Sparks, Joe Chvala, Harold Eittreim, Butch Wee, James Nelson, Ed Ziegler, Luther Polege and Warren Wiley.
THS was 13-9 and tied for 5th in the Valley with a 6-6 record and made their second trip to the state tournament.
The playoffs saw THS defeat Nekoosa 28-15, Merrill 27-18, Adams -Friendship 25-12 and Kewaunee 33-26. At state, Tomahawk lost to Ashland 43-22 and Stoughton 37-25.
All-Conference honors went to Howard Rose, honorable mention; and Clayton Radtke, honorable mention.
1937-38
K.M. Cherry’s team came one game away from qualifying for state when they lost to Merrill 29-16. THS was 8-11 overall. Lloyd Koth was All-Conference.
1938-39
One game worth mentioning was when THS defeated Medford 38-22 in the playoffs. Medford came in as the undefeated champions of the 3C Conference. THS was 6-13 overall. Jim Nelson was All-Conference.
1940-41
K.M. Cherry was assisted by V.K. Derscheid. THS was second in the Valley with a 9-3 record and 15-4 overall.
Dean was second team All-Conference and led the Valley in scoring with 127 points.
1942-43
For the playoffs, the winning teams were required to play two games in one day to produce a maximum in mileage savings and a minimum of time used. Winning teams were also issued certificates enabling them to receive medals after the war.
1952-53
The WIAA changed the free throw rule:
- Make the one attempt and the ball returns to play.
- Miss the shot and the player gets another attempt.
- Can no longer refuse to shoot the free throw.
- Get two free throws for intentional foul.
- Two free throws for not making reasonable effort to avoid contact.
- Two free throws for the player who was in unfavorable position with little chance to reach for the ball and he is fouled.
THS was 15-6 overall. Tom Higgins set a Wisconsin Valley scoring record with 46 points in a 90-44 victory over Merrill. Higgins broke the record held by Johnny Kotz of Rhinelander.
Higgins also set the season scoring record with 326 points, breaking Kotz’s record of 316. Kotz is still the only individual to own four Valley scoring titles. Higgins was All-Conference, while Jim Scott and Jim Obey were All-Conference honorable mention.
1955-56
Tomahawk was no longer in the Valley for basketball. THS spent 35 years in the Valley for one or more sports. This was the first season in the Lumberjack Conference with D.C. Everest (DCE was only a 9-10 school), Medford, Park Falls, Phillips and Mosinee.
Jim Leverance set a school record by scoring 48 points in an 85-50 win over Eagle River.
1959-60
Bill Fischer was head coach, assisted by Jerry Sullivan and Cecil Kavejecz.
THS defeated Medford 94-79 for the most points scored by Tomahawk in a single game. Darrel Zeitelhack scored 41 points in a THS 79-75 win over Antigo. Mac Winker averaged 22.5 points per game. Winker was voted first team All-Conference, while Dar Clements was second team All-Conference.
1961-62
Jim VanderVoort was a Channel 7 All-Star honorable mention selection.
1962-63
Bill Fischer was head coach assisted by Dick Strasser and Bob Meyer.
Team members were Ken Urso, Don Gruhlke, Dennis Hinterleitner, Paul Wallis, Jim Huhn, Pete Trantow, Tom Gabriel, Lance Bell, John Stelling, Jack Smith, Bruce Grube, Gary Hoffman and Bill Sparr.
Tomahawk was conference champions for the first time since the 1927-28 season with a 14-6 overall record and 9-1 in conference.
All-Conference were Jim Huhn-1st Team, Tom Gabriel-1st Team, Ken Urso-2nd Team and Don Gruhlke-honorable mention.
1963-64
THS was coached by Bill Fischer, Dick Strasser and Bob Meyer.
Team members were Dennis Hinterleitner, Peter Trantow, Gary Hoffman, Bruce Grube, John Jones, Mike Timm, Grant Graeber (manager), John Stelling, Bill Sparr, Jim Woodward, Art Zschau, Richard Johnson, Tim Theiler and Mark Alberg.
Tomahawk was co-conference with a 7-3 record and was 9-9 overall.
All-Conference went to Dennis Hinterleitner-1st Team, Bruce Grube-honorable mention, Gary Hoffman-honorable mention and Peter Trantow-honorable mention.
1966-67
Bill Fischer was varsity coach, assisted by Carl Wallace and Russell Schauf.
Team members were Dick Huseby, Craig Kuntz, Gary Gould, Dale Schreiber, Dick Salewske, Steve Gaedtke, Steve Johnson, Jim McCarthy, Mike Johnson, Greg Denman, Dennis Theiler, Mickey Briggs, Al Whitaker, Tom Schoone and Joe Draeger.
THS was 10-7 overall and 8-2 and was co-conference champions with Lakeland and Medford.
All-Conference honors went to Dick Huseby-1st Team, Craig Kuntz-2nd Team and Steve Johnson-2nd Team. Huseby led the team with 255 points and was 3rd in the conference scoring with 143 points.
1968-69
Coaches were Bill Fischer, Russ Schauf and Herb Sosinsky.
Team members were Mark Taylor, Jim Draeger, Tim McCalla, Dean Grube, Tom Timm, Dana Kahle, Bill Wurl, George Buschmann, John Boldt, Terry Timm, Joe Draeger, Al Petta, Paul Taylor and Bob Doucette. Tomahawk was 11-8 over and conference champions at 9-1.
All-Conference honors went to Jim Draeger-1st Team, Tom Timm-1st Team, Dean Grube-2nd Team and Mark Taylor-2nd Team. Jim Draeger was second in Lumberjack Conference scoring.
1969-70
Coaches were Bill Fischer, Terry Dieck and Steve Warren.
Team members were Dana Kahle, Terry Timm, Al Petta, Bill Wurl, Paul Taylor, Jim Timm, Tom Koth, Gene Slaga, Tom Whalen, Don Petta, Joe Draeger and John Lovshin.
Tomahawk was 15-5 overall and won their fifth conference title in eight years.
All-Conference honors went to Dana Kahale-1st Team, Joe Draeger-2nd Team, Paul Taylor-honorable mention and Terry Timm-honorable mention.
Dana Kahle was voted Channel 7 All-Star honorable mention.
1970-71
The WIAA was set to go to two classes in the basketball tournament starting in 1972. Divisions were to be be 400 and lower and above 400.
1972-73
Coaches were Terry Dieck, Ron Zimmerman and Bill Gregor. Conflict between
Dieck and some players resulted in two players quitting the team just before Christmas, and then the team’s leading scorer quit shortly after. One of the players who quit went to hockey, where he lettered in only half a season of competition. Dieck also lettered this same individual in basketball and also selected him to All-Conference honorable mention for his half season of work.
1974-75
Coaches were Ron Zimmerman assisted by Bill Gregor and Dick Huseby.
Mike Olson was the Lumberjack Conference Scoring Champion with 266 points, Lumberjack Conference Player of the Year, honorable mention Channel 7 All-Star, All-State honorable mention and All-Conference, along with honorable mentions Jeff Dallmann and Joe Smith.
1975-76
Coaches were Ron Zimmerman, Bill Gregor and Dick Huseby.
Mike Olson repeated as Lumberjack Conference scoring champion with 267 points in the conference. Olson scored 967 points, breaking the record of 718 held by Mac Winker (1958-1960).
Ron Zimmerman was Lumberjack Conference Coach of the Year.
1979-80
Coaches were Paul DeNoble, Jack Culhane and Bob Jensen.
Team members were Dan Hoover, Jamie Gerber, Larry VanStrydonk, Kyle Zastrow, Jim Olson, Jeff Olson, Jerry Kaminski, Tad Winkler, Gene Hodge, Brian DuPlayee, Terry Moss and Joe Maday. THS was 16-5 tying the school record for most wins.
Tomahawk was conference champions (8th time in school history) and regional champions for the first time in school history.
Paul DeNoble was selected as Lumberjack Conference Coach of the Year.
All-Conference honors went to Jim Olson-1st Team, Jamie Gerber-2nd Team and Gene Hodge-honorable mention.
Channel 7 All-Stars were Dan Hoover, Jamie Gerber, Jim Olson and Gene Hodge-honorable mention.
1980-81
Coaches were Paul DeNoble, Jack Culhane and Gordy Erickson. The school board voted not to hire a non-staff as a coach. Their feelings were that it was better to appoint a teacher than have a non-staff as a coach.
Team members were Jim Charles, Larry VanStrydonk, Gene Hodge, Tad Winkler, Jim Olson, Jeff Zehner, Tom Betka, Carl Maki, Joe Maday, Greg Kaminski, Bill Wickman, Jeff Olson and Kyle Zastrow.
THS was regional champions, producing the most wins in school history with a 19-3 record.
All-Conference honors went to Jim Olson-1st Team, Gene Hodge-2nd Team, Joe Maday-honorable mention, Kyle Zastrow-honorable mention and Jeff Olson-honorable mention.
Channel 7 All-Stars (Large Schools) were Jim Olson, Gene Hodge-honorable mention and Kyle Zastrow-honorable mention.
1981-82
Jeff Olson was voted All State honorable mention.
Channel 7 All-Stars (Large Schools) were Jeff Olson, Jeff Zehner-honorable mention and Jim Charles -honorable mention.
1982-83
Channel 7 All-Stars were Brian Smith -honorable mention and Andy Weizenicker-honorable mention.
1984-85
Mike Charles was a Channel 7 All-Star honorable mention.
1985-86
Randy Scholz scored 44 points in a THS 75-59 win over Mosinee.
Scholz was a Channel 7 All-Star honorable mention.
1987-88
Eric Roberts was a Channel 7 All-Star honorable mention.
1989-90
John Reiff and Bob Peterson were Channel 7 All-Star honorable mention.
1990-91
Bob Peterson was a Channel 7 All-Star.
1994-95
Tomahawk lost to Ashland 103-71. This was the first game in school history that Tomahawk gave up over 100 points in a basketball game. Tim Albert scored 33 points in this game.
1997-98
Coaches were Mike Houle, Noel Pfannerstill and Todd Frederickson.
Team members were Kory McFadden, Mike Scheller, Justin Rigney, Justin Kausch, Andy Steuernagel, Ryan Huseby, Simon Janeczko, Mike Richardson, Dan Pillsbury, Mike Whitaker, Nate Blaubach, Jesse Haring, Justin Riebe, Neil Breitenfeld, Zan Leppi, Matt Farmer and DeAngelo Jackson.
Tomahawk had an 8-15 record, with the season highlight being defeating Medford 49-47 for the regional title. This was the first regional title for Tomahawk in 18 years. Medford had previously defeated Tomahawk 61-32 and 66-55.
2000-01
Coaches were Mike Houle, Noel Pfannerstill and Jeremy Baalke.
Team members were BJ Chase, Jason Kahle, John Bayer, Clint Richardson, Bob Ploekelmann, Derrick Frese, Jon O’Callaghan, Sean Duncan, Andy Deitz, Dan Williams, Dan Clements, Ben Jarvis and Sean DeBels.
Tomahawk was 15-9 overall and regional champions. In the regional finals, Tomahawk defeated Medford 56-40. THS and Medford had split during the regular season.
Clint Richardson was voted All State honorable mention.
2007-08
Brock Roberts scored 47 points in a double overtime 84-82 loss to Northern Pines. He was one point short of tying the school record.
2013-14
Coaches were Tim Albert, Jason Kahle, Jack Jarvensivu, Reggie Smith and David Roe.
Team members were Philip Skubal, Jordan Roessler, Lorne Ahrens, Jared Jarvensivu, Fletcher Schoone, Chris Schoone, Andrew Olson, Jacob Sabielny, Brad Jarvensivu, Justin Jarvensivu and Han McMahon.
THS was 12-13 overall and won the regional title when they defeated Peshtigo 48-46 in overtime. Peshtigo was ranked #8 in Division 3 and came into the game with a 20-2 record. This gave Tomahawk their first regional title since 2001.
2016-17
Justin Jarvensivu became the first THS basketball player in school history to surpass 1,000 points during his high school career.
2019-20
THS defeated Lakeland for the first time since the 1999-2000 season by a score of 43-40.