From the Book
The Milan ’54 Museum
Today I will talk about the The Milan ’54 Museum in Milan, Indiana.
From the Book
Southeast Indiana Day Trips
Transcript:
Greeting, today I will tell you about the The Milan ’54 Museum in Milan, Indiana.
Before we start, I would like you to know that this episode is based upon my book, Southeast Indiana Day Trips available on my web site, http://www.mossyfeetbooks.com. While visiting the web site you can subscribe to it and receive email notifications of when I publish a new book or other content, like this video and podcast. You can also subscribe to the Mossy Feet Books You Tube Channel to ensure you don’t miss any of my content.
Capping off a series of strong basketball teams over a number of years,tiny Milan, Indiana defeated basketball giant Muncie Central in a true Hoosier Barn Burner with a last second, top of the key shot. Milan had defeated Muncie Central 32 – 30 on March 20, 1954.
Sports writers have written reams about the Milan Miracle of 1954 and the on court heroics have inspired a major Hollywood movie starring Gene Hackman. The Milan Miracle was not the anomaly suggested in the movie. Milan had a history of strong basketball teams and a tradition of beating teams from bigger schools. They had to; they were one of the smallest teams in the Ripley County Sectional and the second strongest team in the Ripley County Sectional in the early 1950’s. Neighboring Batesville had advanced to the final game of the Semi-State in 1951 and Milan had gotten to the State Championship in 1953, losing in the semi-final contest. The 1954 team contained all the 1953 players, plus the previous year’s experience in the state championship. Muncie Central was a basketball powerhouse, having won four state championships, the last one in 1952. Thus, when Bobby Plump lined up and took that shot from the top of the key, the swish of the net can still be heard decades later. Milan had beaten Muncie Central 32 – 30.
The Milan ’54 group formed in August 2000 with the purpose of establishing a museum and developing the town with the atmosphere of 1954, the year of the momentous state championship. Forest City Iowa native Roselyn McKittrick founded the original museum and was instrumental in the opening of the permanent museum in June 2013. The new museum is in the old State Bank of Milan building on Carr Street in downtown Milan.
The museum is a treasure trough of mid-twentieth Century basketball in small town Indiana. During these years, basketball was the life and blood of many small town communities and residents cheered their teams on with a passion like consuming fire. When the Milan team won the championship, it was a classic David versus Goliath scenario. Four time state champion Muncie Central slain by a team from a small town in southeastern Indiana. Milan’s high school had only 160 students. An estimated crowd of 40,000 people gathered to line the highway leading to the small town when the team returned from Indianapolis. The team that won the championship entered national sports legend that endures to this day. The 1986 blockbuster movie “Hoosiers,” is based on the story.
The profusion of memorabilia that greets visitors stepping into the museum dazzles the eyes. Here you will see uniforms, photos and documents recording the team and boys that won the state championship. The three-room museum includes the main gallery, a video room and a smaller room in the back, all stuffed with mementos from the team.
Visitors will see the hospital bed and other items from the room that appeared in a scene from the movie, Hoosiers. Glass cases contain all manner of photos, sports jerseys and newspapers from the era. One huge display highlights the cheerleaders that rallied the crowd. A line of listening booths allows visitors to listen to interviews from most of the players. There were no photographs of Plump’s winning shot. However, the game was televised and a photograph has been made from the video recording and is on display in the main room of the museum. Sports buffs can purchase the photo either framed or unframed.
In the Video Room visitors may watch the game on video as it unfolded on that cold March night in 1954. The display includes signed basketballs from the players and coach as well as more sports memorabilia. Included in this room is a glass case that features the accomplishments of another Milan resident in 1954, Cecilia Dennis, who won the Miss Indiana contest and went on to win the Miss Universe pageant that same year.
An interesting attraction of the back room is a gargantuan hand drawn poster that has the playoff brackets of every team that played in the 1954 state tournament. Over 750 schools participated in the 1954 Indiana State Basketball tournament. Two Purdue students assembled the poster at the time of the tournament, painstakingly gathering the scores of every game in the tournament in an age before the instant information of the internet. The poster covers a wall and is a monumental testament to diligence and patience.
The Milan ’54 Museum is a delight to visit.
Milan ’54 Museum, Inc.
201 W. Carr Street
Milan, IN 47031
812-654-2772
milan54@frontier.com
The episode is based upon my book, Southeast Indiana Day Trips, available on the web site, http://www.mossyfeetbooks.com. The book is the first book in the 9 volume Road Trip Indiana Series. The books includes information about the parks, museums, historic sites and many other day trip destination across the state. I encourage you to visit the web site and subscribe to it.
I hope you enjoyed this podcast and thank you for listening.
Mossy Feet Books - Author Paul R. Wonning 