p*CHC
Oregon Gov Charles Sprague holds the NCAA basketball championship trophy, which the 1939 Ducks
won John Dick is second Irom right on the top row
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PREMAtK/ foiiN.5E.lPRy,
/
1939 basketball player
still comes to Mac Court
Dick started on championship team
By Je'' Garrett
I! vo.. vc ever looked around
Mi Arthur Court during .1 bas
ketball gunii' and seen the ban
net that reads i'lt‘1 \( AA
Champions, you tnav have
also unknowingly spotted one
of the lust remaining players
from that team
John Du k. one of two -surv iv
ing starters from the lut'l Ore
gun basketball team that defeat
ed Ohio State to win the first
ever NCAA championship, is
still an av id I hick fan He re
rentlv watched as the Ducks
took on an Icelandic leant
‘Playing on the
road had a different
meaning in those
days. There was a
hometown
advantage you
wouldn’t believe.’
Hum a haH .1 i untury ago.
•i iu . whs !: !imstii i! ■ i 1
.1 nd w >- i;i; k!i.uin‘(i the i a 1.
firs because of l heir unusual
■ i/t Du k w.is an Oregon n.i
tl VC
Ki't rutting on ,1 nationwide
basis was nut as prevalent in
those ihns said Dick original
!\ from The Dalles There
were exceptions. hut fur the
most part rei rioting is .is region
al ”
Du k who is ti-luut -l. said his
primary reason fur coming to
hugeiie was mil liasketball In
stead. lie wanted to he an ultor
ne\ and the l JntVersItV w as
w here the law school was lix.it
ed
I ssas also being recruited
for football at least as much, if
not more than I was for flasket
fiall said Dick, a three sport
athlete "So that was the first
decision I had to make
He eventually i hose basket
ball because Howard "Hobby
Hobson, the recently deceased
Oregon basketball coach, was
..iso the baseball coach, and
Du k knew fie would fie aide to
partu ipate in fxitfi sports
Already at tin University
wen a number ol friends and
athletes Du k bad played with,
mi hiding the four other starters
who would go on lo win the
national championship
I knew we had a chance ol
having *m outstanding basket
h.iii tram here ill Oregon.1 Dil k
S lid It turned out to be .1 wise
del Ssion
During that 1939 season. the
Dusks played a number of
games on the rositi traveling all
ilu wav to New York's Madi
son Square Carden for one
tournament
Playing on the road had <1
different meaning in those
days.' Du k said "Them was a
hometown advantage that you
wouldn't believe
We played (the NCAA
i hampionship) in a Hig Ten
gym. .it Northwestern, against .1
Itig Ten team. Ohio Slate, and
with Big Ten officials."
To arrive at the game, the
Ducks had to travel from San
I rani isi ii, site of the NCAA
western playoffs, to Kvanston,
III , on an IB-hour train ride
When you got off one ol
those shake■ rattle-and-roli train
rides you had vertigo,' Dick
said
Vertigo and home town offi
Mating notwithstanding, the
Dm ks went on to vs in .ill their
pi.a oil games by more than 12
points Thes never trailed in
the -in t t title win iig.iinst Ohio
State, and dies also tailed no
timeouts during the game
in that first ever champion
sliij game Dnk scored I t ol
Oregon's points to deleat
Ohio .Mate tie later vsent on to
be. oine All-Ament an and Ore
gon s team captain the next
rs won that tirst
pionship without
1 three point sliot
iges that .diet t to
1 think the three-point shot,
. ,j.:. h w ,i s ad vot a11ng t v en
hues then, might have made a
i!,! :i ; - ’, ■ 1),. k sa It I [ 11 i t .is
!.it IS vvt Were Concerned wt?
had pi ople who could shoot
. ..!• .>!>• a- well as v\ tthlti
As tar as tin- interior game
was i lira erned. Dn k said it got
pin sit al
In lilt Big l'en it was like
playing football under the
boards he said
1)1 the 11 players on the
Fall Fits team, .ill graduated
I hat was the purpose lor
Being there We were encour
aged anil given lots of help, and
we had to maintain our aca
demu s in order to remain eligi
ble," Dick said
When World War II broke out,
Dick joined the Navy and re
mained there as a naval aviator
for more than III) years Now a
retired admiral living in Lvu
gene, he tails naval aviation the
greatest precision team sport in
the world
About the other team sport in
Ins life. Dick knows the Ducks
could again win a national bas
ketball championship anil has a
simple method for it
Sure, why not," he said
All thev need to do is get five
guys who can play the game."