Last game tonight at old Brookfield gymnasium

Staff report

Brookfield

The last game in the middle school gym, aka “The Pit,” is tonight when the Brookfield boys basketball team entertains East Palestine.

A new high school is under construction and its gym will become the new home for the athletes beginning in the 2011-12 school year. The new school will be located on Bedford Road, across old Rt. 82 and south of the old middle and high schools.

The gym was dedicated in 1952 and provided Warrior fans with many memories over the next 60 years.

The first game at “The Pit” was against Leavittsburg during the 1951-52 basketball season. Countless basketball games and wrestling and volleyball matches were held in the facility.

To visualize the gym’s history, Brookfield has compiled a memory book using old yearbooks.

Some of the notable accomplishments realized at “The Pit” include the 1967-68 team’s undefeated regular season — Brookfield’s only team to do so. That Warriors squad won the Steel Valley Conference championship by defeating much larger schools such as Fitch, Boardman, and Struthers.

The 1967-68 team averaged 79 points and scored over 100 points in its first two contests. Its season ended in the district finals when the postseason comprised only two divisions.

The 1975-76 team was the only boys team to win a regional championship and advance to the final four in Columbus where the Warriors lost in the state semifinals to Lorain Catholic, 108-84.

Brookfield’s team from the 1974-75, 1976-77, 1977-78 and 1978-79 seasons all won district championships and the 1974-75 team advanced to regional final.

In a three-division system of classes (AAA, AA and A) during the 1970s, Brookfield’s boys basketball was AA.

Brookfield’s girls basketball team of 1989-90 was the only one to play in a state championship game. After Brookfield defeated Richwood North Union in the state semifinals, 57-51, the Warriors lost the state title game to Coldwater, 62-55.

Throughout the 1990s, the Warriors dominated by winning five district championships and sending two teams to the state final four.

The 1990-91 team also won a regional championship at Mount Union College and advanced to the state semifinals where it lost to Sherwood Fairview 50-46.