CHAMPIONSHIP SPOTLIGHT

The 1939-1940 Rattler basketball team wins first state title

Championship Spotlight takes a look at past championship winning teams from San Marcos High School.

Today will go over the 1939-1940 San Marcos Rattler Boys Basketball team who won the school’s first ever UIL State Championship.

The previous season, the Rattlers finished the season with a 40-10 record and captured the Hays County Championship, defeating the Buda Bulldogs in the final.

In the District Championship tournament, the Rattlers fell to the Temple Wildcats in the first round.

Before the start of the 1939-1940 season, San Marcos elected to hire Shiner Head Coach Milton Jowers to the position. Jowers led Shiner to the district championship and the regional tournament during the 19381939 season.

The season started off well for the Rattlers, who captured the South San Antonio Tournament beating Alamo Heights, Hot Wells, Johnson City and the hosts South San Antonio.

San Marcos then went to win their next nine games to start the season 13-0, including winning the Shiner Tournament.

The Rattlers lost their first game of the season when San Marcos was defeated by the San Antonio Lanier Voks 19-17. The Voks were also the defending regional champions.

San Marcos bounced back to win their next six games to set up a showdown with San Marcos Academy, known as the City Championship Series. Having defeated the Bears earlier in the season 24-20, the Rattlers went for sweep.

Played at Bobcat Gymnasium, San Marcos defeated Academy 38-14 to claim the series.

After defeating San Antonio Harlandale, the Rattlers got their revenge on Lanier in the next game and defeated the Voks 36-31.

San Marcos then played in the Smithville Tournament and captured the championship beating the hosts Smithville, Elgin and La Grange in the championship game.

The Rattlers defeated archrival Seguin and Texas School for the Deaf before heading into the Lockhart Tournament.

Once again, San Marcos brought home the tournament championship, their fourth of the season, beating San Antonio Edison, Smithville, San Antonio Harlandale and Kerrville Tivy before meeting Fentress in the championship game. For the title, the Rattlers defeated Fentress 39-17.

After beating San Antonio Central Catholic and Seguin, the Rattlers entered the Hays County Tournament as the favorites to win it all.

In the opening game of the Hays County Tournament, San Marcos defeated Henley High School 63-22. Bubbo Coers led the team in scoring with 15 points followed by Jimmie Lumpkin with 12. Charles Oldham was second in scoring with 11.

In the semifinals, the Rattlers continued their blistering run and beat Mt. Gainer High School 65-15, setting up a showdown with Dripping Springs for the Hays County crown. Oldham led the team in scoring with 25 points followed by Frankie Edwards with 10.

For the county title, the Rattlers once again dominated and beat Dripping Springs 41-17. Edwards led the team in scoring with 12 followed by Lumpkin with 10. The Rattlers run through the 1940 Hays County Tournament was considered the most dominant run by any high school in the history of the tournament.

With the victory at the Hays County Tournament, San Marcos clinched their spot in the District Tournament in Georgetown.

The opening round of the district tournament saw the Rattlers defeat Lampasas 41-15 to move into the semifinals against Pflugerville. Lumpkin led the team in scoring with 15 points.

While the Rattlers offense was slowed down, it was not enough to keep San Marcos away from victory as they defeated Pflugerville 25-18. Edwards led the team in scoring with eight points followed by Lumpkin and Red Calhoun with six points apiece.

In the championship game, San Marcos found themselves against a familiar opponent in the Austin High Maroons. The Rattlers played the Maroons twice in the regular season and won both times.

San Marcos held just a 13-9 lead at halftime before the combination of Edwards and Coers pushed their lead to 2013. The third quarter spurt was just enough as San Marcos defeated Austin 29-16. Coers led the team in scoring with nine points followed by Lumpkins and Calhoun with seven apiece.

The win marked the first time the boys basketball team had won the district championship.

Advancing to the regional tournament that was hosted in San Marcos, the Rattlers looked to punch their ticket to the UIL State Tournament.

San Marcos met Devine in the Regional Semifinals of the tournament where the Rattlers defeated the Warhorses 23-12. Coers finished the game with eight points followed by Lumpkin with seven points and Calhoun with six points.

The Rattlers met the San Antonio Brackenridge Eagles in the championship final with the winner punching their ticket to the state tournament.

San Marcos led Brackenridge 7-5 at the end of the first quarter. The Rattlers were able to score one point in the second period to take a 8-5 lead into halftime.

The Rattler offense picked up in the third quarter with San Marcos scoring ten points to take a 18-10 lead into the fourth quarter. The third quarter boost was enough for the Rattlers, beating Brackenridge 22-13 and punched their first ticket to the UIL State Tournament. Lumpkin led the team in scoring with seven points followed by Coers with five.

In the State Quarterfinals, San Marcos matched up with the Waco Lions. Despite trailing 20-16 at halftime, the Rattlers rallied in the third quarter to tie the game up at 22-22. San Marcos outscored Waco 6-4 in the fourth quarter to secure a 28-26 win over the Lions. Lumpkin led the team in scoring with 9 points followed by Edwards with six.

The Rattlers advanced to the State Semfinals where they met the Crowell Wildcats. San Marcos found themselves in another battle, leading Crowell by just 16-14 at halftime. Crowell took the lead in the third quarter at 27-25 going into the fourth quarter but was the last time the Wildcats held the lead. San Marcos outscored Crowell 10-0 in the fourth quarter to secure a 37-27 win and advance to the State Championship game.

The Rattlers met the El Paso Tigers for the championship as San Marcos looked to bring home the school’s first ever state championship.

The Rattlers and the Tigers were tied at 6-6 at the end of the first quarter before San Marcos scored eight points in the second quarter to take a 14-9 lead at halftime.

San Marcos managed to keep the lead going into the fourth quarter at 1912 but the Tigers were not out just yet. Coers fouled out of the game, allowing El Paso to make their comeback. The Tigers scored nine points in the fourth quarter and trimmed San Marcos’ lead to just one point with 30 seconds remaining in the game.

However, El Paso was unable to complete the comeback as the Rattlers drained out the clock to secure the state championship, 22-21.

Lumpkin led the team in scoring with 10 points followed by Edwards with seven. Lumpkin was also named first-team all tournament. Coers was named second-team all tournament.

The Rattlers made a return trip to the state tournament in the next season before falling to Abilene in quarterfinals. Jowers was head coach of the Rattlers until he joined the Navy following the bombings of Pearl Harbor. Following his military service, Jowers returned to San Marcos where he became the Head Coach of the Texas State Bobcats and led the team to a national championship during the 1959-1960 season.

cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc