Current season, competition or edition: 2015 Far West Classic | |
| Sport | college basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1956 |
| Founder | Slats Gill |
| Ceased | 1989, 1997 |
| No. of teams | 5 |
| Country |  United States |
| Venue(s) | Gill Coliseum (1956–59) Memorial Coliseum (1960–19XX) Moda Center (2015) |
The Far West Classic is a college basketball tournament held in Portland, Oregon. Founded in Corvallis, Oregon in 1956, the tournament moved to Portland in 1960 where it was held annually until 1990. It returned in 1991 with only four teams, as opposed to the eight teams that competed in prior Far West Classics. The tournament ceased in 1997, but was rebooted in 2015 as a five team round robin tournament. The Oregon State Beavers men's basketball team are the hosts of the tournament.
History
edit1956 Far West Classic
editThe first Far West Classic was held on December 29 and December 30, 1956 at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon with the Oregon State Beavers men's basketball team serving as the tournament host. Three teams were invited, the San Francisco Dons, USC Trojans and Washington Huskies. A two-foot tall trophy was made for the occasion, with a "slightly smaller one" going to the runner-up according to The Oregonian. The third and fourth place teams also received trophies. There was a tournament most valuable player award and all-tournament honors. The winning team also received a set of desk pens.
Reserved seats were being sold for US$2.50 (equivalent to $28 in 2023), $1.50 for general admission (equivalent to $17 in 2023) and $1 (equivalent to $11 in 2023) for students. It was reported in The Oregonian that the tournament "broke even" financially.[1]
- Semi-finals
The two semi-finals games were scheduled for December 29, 1956. USC went against Washington at 7:30 pm and Oregon State faced San Francisco at 9:30 pm.[2]
In the first match-up of the night the Washington Huskies took on the University of Southern California Trojans. Behind a 14 point showing from center Bruno Boin and center Doug Smart the Huskies took a 55–27 lead into halftime. Despite a comeback from the Trojans after halftime, Washington's lead held and they won the game 80–61. Boin led all scorers with 27 points. Washington went 32 of 66 from the field as opposed to USC's 21 for 77.
After the USC–Washington game, the hosting Oregon State Beavers took on the defending National Champion San Francisco Dons. At the end of the first half of the San Francisco and Oregon State match-up the Beavers led 29 to 12. They extended the lead through the second half and won the game 62 to 40. Oregon State shot 47 percent from the field (21-for-45). The Dons made 13 of 54 field goals attempted (24%). Bob Allord for the Beavers led all scorers with 18. San Francisco's top scorers were Art Day and Mike Preaseau with ten points apiece.[3][4]
- Third place game
The third place game between the San Francisco Dons and the USC Trojans took place before the championship game on December 30 at Gill Coliseum. Approximately 4,000 people watched the Trojans defeat the Dons after rallying from nine points down with 11 minutes remaining in the second half. With less than a minute remaining in regulation a foul was called on Dons player Dave Lillevand against Jim Pugh for the Trojans. San Francisco's assistant coach Ross Giudice, who was upset over the call, "almost came to blows" with referee Bill Fouts after the game according to The Oregonian. Mike Farmer for San Francisco led scorers on both teams with 17 points. Danny Rodgers led USC players in scoring with 14 points.[5][6]
- Championship game
With their wins in the semi-final round of the Far West Classic, tournament host Oregon State faced off against Washington. Washington center Bruno Boin led all scorers with 30 points, 11-for-19 from the field and 9-for-11 from the free throw line. Oregon State's Bob Allord led the Beavers in scoring with 19 points with Kenny Nanson's 18 points taking a close second. Oregon State had a ten point lead at halftime (39 to 29) and extended it to 13 points by the end of the game for a final score of 71 to 58.[7][8]
- Awards
The awards were given out on December 30 by Oregon Governor Elmo Smith.
1956 bracket
edit| Semi-finals | Finals | |||||
| December 29, 1956 at 7:30 pm at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon | ||||||
| Washington | 80 | |||||
| December 30, 1956 at 9:30 at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon | ||||||
| USC | 61 | |||||
| Oregon State | 71 | |||||
| December 29, 1956 at 9:30 pm at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon | ||||||
| Washington | 58 | |||||
| Oregon State | 62 | |||||
| San Francisco | 40 | |||||
| Third place game | ||||||
| December 30, 1956 at 7:30 at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon | ||||||
| USC | 58 | |||||
| San Francisco | 52 | |||||
1957 Far West Classic
editIt was announced in March 1957 that the second Far West Classic hosted by Oregon State University was scheduled for December 28 to December 29, 1957 at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon. The Washington Huskies were invited again, along with first time invitees the Yale Bulldogs and the Utah Utes.[9]
- Semi-finals
The Huskies and Utah faced off in the first game of the tournament on December 29 at 7:30 pm. Utah entered the game with an undefeated record (7–0). The game went down to the wire with Utah having a 64–62 edge with 33 seconds remaining in regulation. Washington had a chance to tie it, but Huskies center Doug Smart failed to convert the field goal and Utah got the rebound and ran the clock out. Smart finished the game with 30 points, setting a record for scoring in a game in the Far West Classic. The previous record (29 points) was set by Washington center Bruno Boin in 1956.[10]
In the second game of the night, which was scheduled to start at 9:30 pm, Oregon State took on the Yale Bulldogs. Behind a 35 point showing from Dave Gambee, the Oregon State Beavers beat Yale 79–69. Gambee's 35 points set a new record for scoring in a single game in the Far West Classic, which was set in the first game of the night by Doug Smart of Washington who scored 30 points in their loss to Utah. Johnny Lee led all Bulldogs in scoring with 27 points, 21 of which came from the free throw line.[11]
- Championship game
The Far West Classic host Oregon State Beavers again found themselves in the championship game of the tournament, which was founded just a year prior with the Beavers taking home the honors in that game against the Washington Huskies. This time they faced the Utah Utes, who were riding a perfect 8–0 record coming into the game. The game was close at halftime, with the Beavers holding a 31–29 edge.
- Awards
- Far West Classic Most Valuable Player — Doug Smart (Washington)
- All-Classic Five — Johnny Lee (Yale), Milt Kane (Utah), Doug Smart (Washington), Dave Gambee (Oregon State), Lee Harman (Oregon State)
1957 bracket
edit| Semi-finals | Finals | |||||
| December 28, 1957 at 7:30 pm at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon | ||||||
| Washington | 62 | |||||
| December 29, 1957 at 9:30 at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon | ||||||
| Utah | 64 | |||||
| Oregon State | 65 | |||||
| December 28, 1957 at 9:30 pm at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon | ||||||
| Utah | 63 | |||||
| Oregon State | 79 | |||||
| Yale | 69 | |||||
| Third place game | ||||||
| December 29, 1957 at 7:30 at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon | ||||||
| Washington | XX | |||||
| Yale | XX | |||||
1958 Far West Classic
edit- Semi finals
In the first game of the tournament
- Third place game
- Championship game
The host Oregon State Beavers faced off agaisst the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes took a lead into
- Awards
- All-Classic Five — Jim Anderson (Oregon State), Lee Harman (Oregon State), Bob Washington (Iowa), Dave Gunther (Iowa), Terry Happel (Wyoming)[12]
1958 bracket
edit[13][14]Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page).[15]Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page).[16][17][18][19]The template only supports up to 9 references.
1959 bracket
edit| Semi-finals | Finals | |||||
| December 28, 1959 at 7:30 pm at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon | ||||||
| December 29, 1959 at 9:30 at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon | ||||||
| Oregon State | 49 | |||||
| Oregon State | 60 | |||||
| December 28, 1959 at 9:30 pm at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon | ||||||
| Oregon | 56 | |||||
| 'Oregon | ' | |||||
| Third place game | ||||||
| December 29, 1959 at 7:30 at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon | ||||||
| Washington State | 59 | |||||
| Idaho | 57 | |||||
1960 Far West Classic
edit- Awards
- Far West Classic Most Valuable Player — Larry Armstrong (Arizona)
1960 bracket
edit| Fifth place | Consolation semifinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | |||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon State | 56 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 54 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Idaho | 65 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portland | 51 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seattle | 72 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington State | 61 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona State | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Year-by-year participants
edit| Year | First place | Second place | Third place | Fourth place | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Oregon State | Washington | USC | San Francisco | |
| 1957 | Oregon State | Utah | |||
| 1958 | Oregon State | Iowa | Wyoming | Air Force | |
| 1959 | Oregon State | Oregon | Washington State | Idaho |
References
edit- ^ Frizzell, Pat (January 1, 1957). "Northwest Notes". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. p. 27.
- ^ "OSC Awaits Don Contest: Far West Classic Draws Top Teams". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. December 24, 1956. p. 13.
- ^ Frizzell, Pat (December 29, 1956). "OSC, Huskies Win Games; Oregon State Tops in 62-40 Tilt". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. p. 11.
- ^ Frizzell, Pat (December 29, 1956). "Oregon Starters Roll Up Easy Victory Over Dons". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. p. 12.
- ^ Frizzell, Pat (December 30, 1956). "Trojan Top Dons For Third". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. p. 33.
- ^ Frizzell, Pat (December 30, 1956). "Trojans Down Dons 58 to 52; USC Takes Third in Far West Meet". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. p. 38.
- ^ Frizzell, Pat (December 30, 1956). "OSC Trips Huskies in Final of Classic". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. p. 33.
- ^ Frizzell, Pat (December 30, 1956). "OSC Trips Huskies in Tourney Final, 71-58". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. p. 38.
- ^ "Beavers Fill Hoop Slate; Far West Classic Tops Schedule". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. May 12, 1957. p. 67.
- ^ Frizzell, Pat (December 28, 1957). "Indians Post 64-to-62 Win; Smart Hits 30". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. p. 9.
- ^ Frizzell, Pat (December 28, 1957). "Gambee Sets Score Record in 79-69 Tilt". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. p. 9.
- ^ "Harmaan,, Anderson on All-Classic Five". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. December 30, 1958. p. 13.
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