Pelham set for final game in old gym

PELHAM — Tonight’s basketball game between the Pelham Hornets and the Brooks County Trojans will prove to be more than just a contest between two athletic teams.

It will signal the end of the present Pelham High School gym as the home of the school’s varsity squads. With the construction almost complete on the new school, the old Church Street building will become a place of cherished memories, which can be traced back to 1956 when it was opened.

The high school on Church Street underwent many changes in the mid-1950s and ’60s. The two oldest buildings were razed and additions made to the 1938 building. The old wooden gym on Burum Street known as Conner Hall was torn down and bonds were sold to build the present structure on Church Street in 1955.

However, it’s the memories of those early players who share what the building meant to them in those early days on the court.

One of those players is Pelham resident Don Morrell, who — as a junior — played on the 1956-57 team, under coach Chester Shelnutt.

“We had 20 games that year and we only won six in the regular season,” Morrell said. “Back in that time, we had four schools in the county: Hopeful, Sale City, Camilla and Pelham. At the end of the season, we (always) had a county tournament.”

The county tournament that year came down to Camilla and Pelham.

“It was a very rough game (with) something like 54 fouls called in the game. Just about everybody fouled out,” Morrell recalled. “Danny Royal was a senior in Camilla and he was their high-point man. Coach Shelnutt put our biggest man on him and told him, ‘I don’t care if they have the ball or we have the ball, I want him fouled out.’ “

Royal did indeed foul out by halftime. The game ended with Pelham beating Camilla by 12 points.

Coach Shelnutt himself describes the pre-1956 gym the school once used as being a “real small court that you had to go across a certain line and you could then play full court. It wasn’t even a regulation court.”

Shelnutt said that during that first year, every game was packed to the rafters — a combination of excitement over the new structure and support for the hometown team.

“There have been an awful lot of games played there (since),” Shelnutt said, reflecting on the 54-year-old building. “A lot of the players are still around in the community and they, too, have fond memories of the place.”

To help commemorate the history and significance of the Church Street gym, current Pelham boys coach Warren Roberts is encouraging all of Pelham to come out tonight to support the Hornets and say “farewell” to the building.

“(Tonight), we are going to recognize any former players or coaches for their participation or involvement in the sport,” Roberts said.

Roberts hopes that standing-room-only will be an understatement as the last game in the gym signifies an ending — as well as a beginning.

The Hornets’ new gym will open next season and undoubtedly will provide as many lasting memories as the old one.