Franklin Wonder Five

Franklin Wonder Five
Left to right: Burl Friddle, Ralph Hicks, Paul White, Robert "Fuzzy" Vandivier, Sima Comer, Johnny Gant, Harold Borden, Pete Keeling, coach Ernest "Griz" Wagner
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
  • Indiana High School State Champion 1920, 1921, 1922
  • Indiana State Collegiate Champion 1923, 1924
  • National Collegiate Champion 1923 (undefeated)

The Franklin Wonder Five was a 1920s basketball team from Indiana's "Hoosier Hysteria" era. With basketball king in Indiana, the team from Franklin was dubbed the "Wonder Five". This small town about 20 miles south of Indianapolis produced a team that captured the Indiana State Basketball Championship three years in succession, 1920–1922. They became national college champions in 1923,[1] playing with Franklin College and staying undefeated against teams from major universities. While they passed on a match with the New York Celtics, they twice defeated the Omars, a professional Midwest team.[2]

  1. ^ "Franklin Tops Indiana Quintettes". The Courier-Journal. March 7, 1923. p. 9. Retrieved April 10, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Last Word in Basketball". Indianapolis News. March 2, 1923. p. 36. Retrieved April 10, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.