I was only five but remember some of the big events of that year. The first tests of the Salk polio vaccine; Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House (with Dick Nixon); Edmund Hillary (and his Sherpa guide) were the first to reach the summit of Mt. Everest; Patti Page was singing "How Much Is That Doggie In the Window?" on the radio; and the best movie of the year was From Here to Eternity. And the median family income was $4,242. (Okay, I looked that shit up)

I thought a little context might help you appreciate these photographs of some high school basketball teams from southeast Missouri. Holcomb Boys; Hornersville Girls; Steele Girls #1 and Steele Girls #2. The photos were taken by Johnny Mack Reeder, the news director at Kennett radio station KBOA. Email me if you can identify any of these folks and I’ll update the captions. Makes me want to watch Hoosiers one more time.

If you can ID any of the players (for any of the photos), please use comments link below.