Celebrating a Long Thread of Basketball History

The very first, and arguably the greatest, Cougars back in 1970-71. Front from left: Steve Hartwell, Gary Cabana, Coach Ray Richard, Paul Boule, Tod Silegy. Back from left: Tom Lithgow, Dan Pratt, Jeff Wheeler, Dick Blood, Bill Bishop McRae, Pete Fontaine, John Banks. Missing from photo: Kevin Chapman.

During the 1969 school year, students at Peterborough and Antrim high schools completed a survey to determine a mascot and school colors for the new Conval High School that would open in the fall of 1970. In the end, the majority chose blue and gold, and Golden Cougars. Yes, Golden Cougars. No one seems to know how it got whittled down to simply Cougars, but not to be forgotten is that one of the contenders for school mascot was Warlanders—a combination of Antrim High’s Warriors and Peterborough High’s Hilanders, symbolic of two storied high schools coming together to form something new.

After all, history was about to be made.

Some teachers were so excited about the new educational opportunities awaiting us that they often went on rabbit trails during class telling us all about Conval. We were wide-eyed in wonder and anticipation, but perhaps never more so than the day when we got to tour the campus for the first time and especially when we walked through the doors to the gym. Everything smelled new and hardwood-varnishy. It echoed beautifully. Compared to what we were used to in our cozy small-town gyms, the closed bleachers seemed to jaw-droppingly rise to the heavens...

The place was ginormous, awesome, itching to be filled with memories and cheers…and wonderful.

Still is.

For those of us who loved basketball—and there were many, from all walks of life and personal interests—we couldn’t imagine what it would be like to play, watch and cheer on the Conval (not Golden) Cougars. We could hardly wait until December. And we were not disappointed, for that very first boys’ team was arguably the greatest Conval High basketball team never to win a championship in the school’s 50-plus years of history. To this day, many who saw them play are convinced that barring a midseason knee injury to star forward Bill Bishop McRae, the very first Cougars from Conval Regional High School (“Who? Where are you guys from?”) were destined to be the very best in New Hampshire Class I — what is now D2.  (There’ll be more about this special team in the coming weeks.)

And so began an era of rich basketball history…throughout the 1970s and much of the ‘80s and ‘90s, Conval High School was known for its basketball team and player excellence, culminating with the ultimate season of 1994 when both the girls and boys brought home the state championship trophy. In the 21st century, two teams have been one shot away from winning championships. And today, a new generation of Cougars is making their mark.

The birth of Conval High School, however, wasn’t when basketball suddenly came to prominence in our towns. In fact, the thread of hoop passion began more than a century ago when our region was one of the early hotbeds for high school basketball in New Hampshire. As early as 1913, Peterborough High School was into the game. In the 1920s, when the University of New Hampshire sponsored an invitational state tournament featuring the finest teams around the state, Peterborough High regularly represented this region, sometimes taking on and beating schools many times their size. They later won five state championships, including back-to-back-to-back titles from 1930 to 1932.

Girls’ high school basketball in the region and state rose to prominence in the 1930s, thanks in large part to locally sponsored invitational state tournaments at the Peterborough Town House. Up the road, the girls’ and boys’ teams in the 1940s and 1950s at tiny Hancock High School (yes, you read that right) represented the town and region well. And in the 1969-70 season, before the NHIAA began an official small school girls’ state tournament, a strong Antrim High team won what is believed to be the unofficial small school state championship.

What has been the consistent thread over more than a century of fantastic high school basketball history in our region? A combination of outstanding coaches, athletes and siblings who played year-round to sharpen their skills (many remember those who have dribbled a ball down the street to the store instead of riding their bike), players’ great pride in their teammates and high schools, passionate and knowledgable fans who show up home and away, and in more recent years, youth development programs that begin as early as first grade and that bubble over into endless day and night games in the summer at outdoor courts and gyms throughout the district.

This is our story, but in a way, though the details will vary, it’s the same thread that has been experienced in basketball-loving towns of every size around New Hampshire. Leave it to a professional football player, Matthew Slater of the New England Patriots, to explain why this all matters. During a recent locker room victory speech, he told his teammates:

“I want to challenge you guys to have an appreciation for history. Where you came from. Who paved the way for you. History is important, fellas. We can’t forget where we came from because in order to understand where we’re going, we’ve gotta be able to look back and learn from what happened in the past. History matters.”

—Matthew Slater

And so during this basketball season, that’s the mission of Conval Hoop Heritage—to help all in Conval Nation but especially the current and next generation of Cougars learn from and be inspired by those who’ve gone before us in our towns and who have set an incredible standard of excellence—both on the court, and in the community.

It begins today. We look forward to having you join us on this journey through a rich thread of memories, great accomplishments, inspiring teams and stories, and just plain fun. And if you have a high school basketball memory that stands out, in any era, please let us know by sending us a message via our Facebook and Instagram pages.

In the meantime, #rollcougs! We love watching future history makers at work!

____________________________________________________________________________________

ABOUT US…Conval Hoop Heritage is a project by alumni Steve Smith (’72), a four-year team statistician and career journalist, and Dick Ellingwood (’75), a player, coach, mentor and teacher, and passionate local history buff. We are grateful for the input and support of fellow alumni of all generations, and the resources from The Monadnock Center for History and Culture. In addition to this blog, you can follow Conval Hoop Heritage on our Facebook and Instagram pages.