1939 BASKETBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM

With the death of Victor Buinowski on June 28, there are now only three persons left living who were part of Albion High School’s 1939 State Championship basketball team which won the crucial game: Elton Amsden, Bud Lonergan, and Victor Nester. For all the things that Vic accomplished in his life, he will always be remembered as the player who scored the final two free throw shots in the last 30 seconds that put Albion over the top against Grand Rapids Christian 33-32 at the IMA auditorium in Flint on Saturday, March 18, 1939. This was Albion High School’s only State Championship in basketball. The next day the team was treated to a big chicken dinner in Frankenmuth before heading home to Albion as the Class B Champions.

The line-up for the history-making game was as follows: Forwards: Russell Elushik and Victor Buinowski; Guards: Mike Dubina and Victor Nesterenko. Center: Louis Moon. Also playing were Joseph Veramay, Alex Egnatuk, Elton Amsden, Bud Lonergan, and Glenn Arnold. The coach of course was the legendary Floyd Dorland.

From our Historical Notebook this week we present a photograph of the entire 1939 Varsity and Junior Varsity teams, courtesy of the Buinowski family. Front row, left to right: Glenn Arnold, Victor Buinowski, Bud Lonergan, Louis Moon, Elton Amsden, Russell Elushik, Joseph Veramay, Mike Dubina, Lawrence Kable, and Victor Nesterenko.

Center row: Assistant-coach Ernest Gray, Gordon Ketchum, Rufus Foster, Junior Morgan, Claude Davidson, Herbert Ellison, Alex Egnatuk, Daniel Wiener, Coach Floyd Dorland. Top row: Andrew Maksimchuk, Edward Dunn, Wallace Grooms, Edgar McCoy, Edward Konkle, Darwin Mason, Oliver Burns, Kenneth Wolfe, and Walter Nesterenko.

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