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Sully’s Court: The best of Indy, Hinkle and Bobby Plump

The best Indy has to offer: I attended a sports editors meeting in Indianapolis this week and, I must say, it’s a great spot for a college basketball fan. * First things first, I went to Hinkle Fieldhouse to see Butler beat Detroit. Hinkle opened in 1928 as the biggest basketball arena in the world. It’s obviously no longer that, but it’s a great old barn built of tan brick with huge windows that actually have huge shades. There are no big concourses; it’s a tight fit wherever you go, using ramps to get up and down the two levels. Great place to watch a game and one of the best old arenas I’ve been in. There are two I would rate ahead of it: the Palestra in Philadelphia and Allen Fieldhouse at Kansas. The three buildings are different but have a lot in common. Give me those three anytime over a new arena like the one at Oregon.

* I also had dinner at Bobby Plump’s Last Shot bar in the northern part of Indy. The character of Jimmy Chitwood in the movie Hoosiers is based on Plump, who hit the game-winning shot in Hinkle to give little Milan (pronounced Mee-lon) High School the Indiana State title in 1954. Amazingly, Plump was at the bar and had time for conversation with many patrons, including my group. He’s a great personality and was one of the best players of his generation. He didn’t play in the NBA because he could make more money playing for a touring team called the Phillips 66ers. The bottom line: Plump said the only aspect of the movie that was accurate was the final 18 seconds. That’s when he hits the shot to win the championship. The other characters are all fictional and, no, the coach didn’t measure the baskets at Hinkle before the game. In fact, Milan had played in Hinkle the previous season when they lost in the state semifinals.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 17th, 2011 and is filed under Education News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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