When I went to college right out of high school, I chose to go to Anderson College in Anderson, Indiana. While I was there the movie Hoosiers was released. It is a basketball movie. I am not a huge fan of basketball, but I went to see this movie. Why? Well, basketball is huge in Indiana and I was in Indiana, so I went to see the movie. And I loved it! It is a David versus Goliath type of film. Spoiler alert — the small town Hickory Huskers win the championship game against the much bigger city school.
My husband, Bobby, and I had traveled to Indiana recently for him to perform a magic show. He discovered that we were only 45 minutes from the gym in Knightstown that served as the home court of the Hickory Huskers basketball team. He really wanted to see the gym, since we were so close, so we took the detour. (We had driven past the exit the last time we were in Indiana for Bobby to do a magic show, which is how it got on his radar to begin with.) The building itself is unassuming. It is beside a former school (which makes sense) and in a pretty residential area. We parked on the street, which appears to be the only parking for the facility. It kind of reminded me of the Lodi Elementary School that I used to attend when I was a kid — which in its early days was Lodi High School.
We got to the gym a few minutes before the tour was going to take place. Our tour guide, Tom Eddy, was very interesting as he discussed the movie, the gym and the role it plays in the community still today. While much of the interior is the same as in the movie, they have added air conditioning, updated the scoreboard and painted the floor of the basketball court with markings required for present day rules.
There is something nostalgic about being in a place that is so familiar because of the number of times I have watched the movie. I thought a couple of times about asking a question, but found a lump in my throat that prevented me from doing so. No rational reason to get emotional, but I just was.
Tom shared a lot of different stories he has picked up over the course of the years. He said when the film was first released, it wasn’t a blockbuster. In fact, he said it wasn’t until 15 years or so ago that it grew in popularity. He, said that Gene Hackman, who plays the lead role as Coach Norman Dale, hadn’t really wanted to be in the film. Hackman thought it was a career ending role. However, over 30 years later, it might be his most iconic role.
Tom is from the area and remembers when the movie was being filmed. His grandmother lived just across the alley from the gym. At the time he was restoring a car, 1968 Camaro in his grandmother’s garage. He remembered the streets being full of trailers for the equipment and staff. Some of the cameramen and crew would wander over to the garage and just hang out talking about the car. They didn’t mention the movie. They were just guys shooting the breeze after work.
He explained that with all the extras needed for the crowd scenes, they had to be bused in. Most of them worked, so they had to come in the evenings. Because the scenes that took place were supposed to be during the day, the crew had to set up spotlights to shine through the windows to give the appearance of daytime.
Another interesting tidbit was about the scene when Coach Dale is talking with Jimmy who was not on the team yet. Everyone thought he needed to be and would tell the coach that he wouldn’t win without Jimmy. The scene is done in one take and the actor playing Jimmy was shooting baskets the entire scene. He hit every one of the baskets until the coach told him that he didn’t care if Jimmy played on the team or not. Then he missed the next shot. Apparently that wasn’t planned at all, but it fit perfectly in the film. Tom also told us the actor who played Ollie, was actually one of the best basketball players in the movie. Yet his character was supposed to not be very good. Finding out these little gems of movie trivia makes me like the movie more.
We went to the locker room where so many scenes took place. They have a blackboard in it with quotes from the movie. The locker room also has jerseys hanging on display. These are from basketball teams across the country who come to play a game on the court where Hoosiers was filmed. Teams come from as far away as Alabama.
The gym itself is used regularly by local players. It can also be rented for $50 per hour. The non-profit organization that runs it wants to make sure the facility gets used. They’ll also play the music from the movie during warm-ups if requested, which adds to the experience. They had it playing while we were there, so I should know.
When we walked into the gym, the alcove was full of displays. There was a display of pictures taken during the filming of the movie, a display of the 30th anniversary reunion with some of the actors and a display of the small town basketball team, the Milan Indians, from 1954. This is the team from which the screenwriter got his inspiration for the film.
They also have the movie playing on a flat screen TV. Interestingly it was at the part of the movie that a few people who attended Anderson College with me, were extras. In fact, one of the basketball players from Anderson, Jeff Bates, played on the opposing team in the regional finals. He was number 41 and says “time out” in the film. I always enjoy telling whoever is watching it with me that I knew him in college.
After the tour were able to shoot a few balls. Bobby didn’t hesitate to try. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t shoot any, but Bobby was adamant that he should get a picture or two of me playing. I am glad I did. I’m no athlete by any stretch of the imagination, but it was kind of cool doing it. And I actually made a basketball after about 10 tries. The kids who were using the gym at the time were super patient with me! (See the video above. Thanks to my wonderful videographer and editor, you’ll not see all my missed shots. You’ll just see the one I made.)
Of course after visiting the gym, it made me want to watch the movie again. I didn’t tell Bobby, but he knows me so well. When I came home from work on Monday after our visit, he had cued up the film from Amazon. It was just as good as always, but now a little more special because I could say, “we were there!” Funny how a basketball movie can move even a non-basketball fan enjoy the game, just a little. It’s a story worth seeing again and again, because David always beats Goliath.
