Apr 10, 2003 By Jim Kriek For The 5 min read

In my long career as a sports writer, the enjoyment has been on covering games played by youthful athletes, and at the same time watching them progress from rookie starters to accomplished finishers, going on from there to college and finally out into the world to make something of themselves. Another enjoyable bonus of this business has been the countless nice people met over the years, families of players, those just interested in the sport that is being played and the young athletes themselves.

What also is just as nice, and as welcome as the flowers in May, is when a reader comments on a column and then tells you something that can lead to another column – like this one.

Recently, this corner was discussing career basketball scorers and the name of Sam Sims was mentioned. Sam played basketball for German Twp. back in the late 50s, and when his great career was over, he had scored 2,138 points – still an all-time boys’ record for Fayette County basketball. This total also makes Sims 13th on the all-time list of WPIAL scorers, and he is still the only Fayette athlete to exceed two-grand in career points.

Shortly after that column, we enjoyed a chat with Bernie Homistek of McClellandtown about sports in the “good old days” at German. Bernie and Sam have been friends since they were kids in school, a friendship they enjoy to this day and which is renewed when Sam comes in from Cleveland, Ohio, where he now lives in retirement.

Bernie said, “Sam has never forgotten his old friends, and when he comes back here he sees as many of them as he can, especially his old coach, Adam Donnelly. Sam is a very humble man just as he was then, and he has never forgotten his home. I know my life has been enriched by knowing Sam.”

Unfortunately, I have never had the honor of meeting Sam, but from what I have been told by Bernie and some of his other friends, I can say that I already like him.

As an athlete, today’s generation has no idea of how good Sam Sims really was as a basketball player, but a trip back through the record books show just what he accomplished and what at that time could have been called unbelievable.

When Sam graduated, his 2,138 total was second highest all-time in the WPIAL, exceeded only by the 2,376 scored by Don Hennon at Wampum High, and who graduated four years ahead of Sims. Don is the son of Butler Hennon, who made Wampum a byword in Western Pennsylvania basketball for so many years, and who went on to All-America honors at Pitt. He graduated from Pitt Medical School and is now a surgeon.

Since then, 11 others have achieved 2,000-plus and dropped Hennon to fifth all-time and Sims to 13th.

Sims warmed up for his record achievement by scoring 357 points as a freshman, followed by his single year highest of 609 points as a sophomore, 594 as a junior and closing out with 548. In his freshman year, Sims had “low” games of eight against South Union, Uniontown St. John’s, North Union (twice), and nine in the Point Marion and Uniontown games. Interspersed with those totals were 16 games in double figures, including a high of 24 against Fairchance-Georges.

The following year (1956-57), Sam opened with his season-low of eight against Scottdale, and then went from there to 25 consecutive games in double figures with highs of 34 against Perry and North Union. In his junior year he hit 25 double-figure game, with a “low” of 12 against South Union and a high of 41 against Redstone with 12 games in between of 25 or better.

Then came his senior year when Sims had 20 more games in doubles with his lowest being 16 against Uniontown, and the highest being an all-time county record of 61 in the game with Redstone, which the Uhlans won 107-71. He also had another game in the forties and six of 30 or more. The closest anybody has come to Sam’s record of 61 was Stan Boskovich, who had 54 for Albert Gallatin in a game against West Greene.

But stop and think about another figure Sims owns – consecutive doubles games. From the time he opened the 1956-57 season with eight against Scottdale, until he played his final game, Sims was never again out of double figures. He had a string of 70 consecutive games in doubles, ranging from 12 to 61. Now, throw in those 16 as a freshman which were mingled in with other under-10 games, and you have Sims with a career total of 86 games in which he scored in double figures. Some players don’t score 70 or 86 points in a year, let alone a career of that many games in double figures.

Sure, there are skeptics who will say “so what,” that this or that player can score in doubles today, or get four-five-six hundred points in a season. Yes, they can, and do. But today’s basketball players also have longer schedules, and the way playoffs are lined up today they have additional post-season games that Sims didn’t have. Today a team can finish third or fourth in the section and still go to the playoffs, then if it wins one or two games it advances to the already clogged state playoff lineup. Back in the 50’s, only the section champion went to the playoffs, and one loss put you out of everything.

Wouldn’t it be great to see Sims in all those games today?

Thanks, Bernie, and to all you other readers for your nice and always welcome comments.

Jim Kriek is a Herald-Standard sports correspondent and columnist.