1963 Cloquet basketball trophy has home at museum

The 1963 Minnesota state high school boys basketball tournament runner-up trophy has a new permanent display at the Carlton County Historical Society in Cloquet.

There is also now a film history of that magical season at the museum.

The trophy came after what many basketball pundits still call the greatest state championship game ever, when Cloquet High School lost to Marshall by one point, 75-74, in front of more than 18,000 screaming fans at Williams Arena on the campus of the University of Minnesota.

Donations from Cloquet's Class of 1964 and 1963 coach Ben Trochlil, now 91, helped pay for the case that also includes the net from the region championship game, a District 26 basketball program, a few pictures, and a copy of a Pine Knot story by yours truly from 2022 describing "When Basketball was King."

The 61-year-old trophy was seemingly lost until a few years ago, when the Pine Knot did a little digging, literally, in the basement of the center with director Carol Klitzke.

That 1963 season has been documented by CHS 1964 graduate Howard Lavick. He won't let Cloquet, or Marshall, forget the glorious moment and event. He has finished a documentary story from his retirement home in Medford, Oregon. Last year, on the 60th anniversary of the game, he finalized interviewing players, coaches, staff, cheerleaders, band members, and fans who all added to the recollection of the time.

Those old enough to remember, including me, recalled the whole city of Cloquet basically shutting down to follow the March basketball playoff championship run in 1963. Little kids around Cloquet imitated Dave "Mouse" Meisner's kicking jump shot from their snow-shoveled driveway basketball courts and also played out the scenario indoors at the Civic Center. Radios were on full blast at the Northwest Paper, Diamond Match and Wood Conversion factories so shift workers could follow WKLK broadcaster Harry Newby's play-by-play action. Cloquet was on the map statewide, with accolades from all over.

"Sixty years? When I started this quest in 1963, I had no idea it would weave through my life like it has," Lavick told me. He spent thousands of hours editing all the information. "It has resulted in my documentary, 'Beyond the Prize,' a labor of love."

The DVD can be viewed at the historical society. It is a gift from the Class of 1964 to the Class of 1963 and the entire community that shared in the story. Lavick said it is a bit of our shared history for those who may not have known about it, and he hopes people will "see it and keep the memory alive."

Lavick grew up in Sunnyside in Cloquet. His dad, Rod, operated Roderic's Furniture for decades in Cloquet's West End and was a mainstay at the Cloquet Country Club. Howard was at his 60th-year class reunion this summer at Big Lake Golf Resort. Coach Trochlil was also there.

Late classmates Dick Boyer and Gary Welton were starters on the 1963 team.

After college, Lavick was an Army helicopter photographer with the 25th Infantry Division during the Vietnam War and a reporter with Pacific Stars and Stripes. He was awarded a Bronze Star medal for his service in Laos and Southeast Asia.

He then earned a degree in film production at the University of Southern California, and it launched his storied career in photography and cinematography as a professor and department head at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

"It was a grassroots initiative that brought the trophy case and storyline to our museum. It is appreciated and a great addition," said Carlton County Historical Society director Carol Klitzke. "We hope lots of people come and visit us."

Steve Korby's interest in writing goes back to when he was in fourth grade and editor of the Scan-Satellite school newspaper in Scanlon. He welcomes ideas for human interest stories and tales regarding Carlton County residents, projects, history, and plans c/o [email protected].