BEATING THE BRICKIES: Introduction

 INTRODUCTION By Chris Ramirez

This is the first in a series of articles. 

The remaining seven will feature teams who beat the Brickies.

They were better for longer than anyone who came before them and all that have come after. Two decades of domination that more than a quarter of a century after its conclusion remains an unparalleled achievement…and the standard by which all other Region football success will forever be judged.

Just how good were the Hobart Brickies during those two decades? Two hundred
thirty one victories good. Seventy-one straight games at their home field without a loss good. Fifty-seven regular season wins in a row good. Fifty-five straight against Duneland Conference opponents good.

Much has been made of Hobart’s football success during the 1970, 80s, and 90s – and rightfully so. This was a powerhouse program, the likes of which may never be seen again in Northwest Indiana. They were so good for so long that an entire generation grew up expecting the Brickies to play for a state championship every year. Children who were born in the late seventies graduated from high school in the mid nineties without having ever experienced a Brickie defeat in the sectional round of the state tournament. That’s how good they were.

Eight times they were undefeated going into weeks 12, 13, or 14. Twelve seasons ended with just one loss. They once went 87 games between losses to a team from Lake, Porter or LaPorte counties. They were so good that in 1987 nobody could beat the Brickies.

To put things into perspective; the school with the second most wins from Northwest Indiana were the Griffith Panthers, who won 168 games during the era – which is sixty-three fewer than Hobart. That’s how good they were.

Let’s go over this one more time – Twenty years. Two hundred sixty two games. Two
hundred thirty one wins. Nineteen sectional championships, 15 regional championships, 11 trips to a state championship game, nine semi-state titles, seven state runner-up finishes and four state championship victories. 

With 47 post season titles to their credit, the Brickies closed out the era with more hardware in their trophy room than they had losses (47 trophies /31 losses). They also won the Duneland 15 times outright, giving them a total of 62 titles– or two for every loss they took. That’s how good they were.

Don Howell and his teams were so good between 1978 and 1997 that they were only beaten 31 times in 20 seasons. That’s it. Just 31 times. Let that sink in. As hard as this may be to believe, it’s true. And there’s nothing anyone can ever do to change it. That’s how good they were!

Oh yeah, one other thing; the maximum number of games a school could have played had it gone to the state championship every year from 1978 to 1997 is 278. The Brickies, as mentioned earlier, played in a staggering 262 games – quite possibly more than any other school in the state during this era – and if you subtract the 1978 season when they were passed over the tournament, the Brickies missed out on only 13 games over 19 seasons. That’s how good they were!

Sprinkled in on rare occasions during the 262 games were those 31 losses we mentioned. For anyone not doing the fast math, the Brickies were 200 games over the .500 mark during this period, meaning they won an average of 10 games more than they lost every season for 20 years. That’s how good they were.

Now let’s take a quick look at the defeats they suffered; of the 31 times beaten, almost half (15) were in the state tournament; and of those 15, seven (or almost half) were in state championship games. Twenty of the 31 were by seven points or less. Twelve by four points or less. Seven times the loss was by three points or less. Three times by two points or less and twice they were beaten by a single point.

Beating the Brickies was the most challenging assignment a team could have, and often required opposing players to have career best games and for a few fortunate bounces and/or calls to go their way.

They were so good that for most teams beating the Brickies was unthinkable. But
believe it or not, there were some teams who thought it was possible, and for a precious few of them, it would actually become a reality. So much of a reality that anyone who did it hasn’t forgotten about it – and that’s what we want to focus on next – the teams whose claim to fame is beating the Brickies.

Why all the fuss so many years later? Because beating the Brickies didn’t happen often and was such an extraordinary accomplishment that it’s remembered and in many cases celebrated by those who were able to do it. No team in these parts has come anywhere close to the success the Brickies were able to realize and the further back in time we have to go to remember these moments, the more meaningful they become.

Make no mistake about about it – this series is a tribute to those were able to beat the Brickies when the Brickies were king – but it is also a testament to the accomplishments of the Hobart football program during the twenty year reign of tyranny they held over their Region opponents. On a local scale, beating the Brickies on Friday night was the best a team could do. That’s how good they were.

The memories made by beating the Brickies will last the lifetimes of those who were able to do it. We’ll dive deep into those memories with the people who made them, as we go back in time to find out what it took and how it felt to beat the Brickies….because that’s just how good they were!