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Before many of the smaller schools in Ohio consolidated, popular "county tournaments" were held in lieu of sectionals.  The tournament pitted 8 JV and varisty teams in a double-elimination bracket. 
 
Winning the tournament meant the pride of your school, and your town.  There has never been a more heated athletic competition than the Adams County Tournaments. 

The Beginning of the Peebles Dynasty

Peebles suffered a tournament drought from 1942 till 1961.  That was the year Coach Bob Horton turned the team around, and ended the school's 19-year drought.  The Indians finished first in the league and won the tournament for three consecutive years. 
 
They were runners up in the final tournament ever held, in 1964.
 
The teams' dominance within the county led them to start thinking past the local level.  They joined the Tr-County League to compete against teams in Scioto and Pike counties.  When the schools consolidated, ending the county tournaments, Peebles and new coach Jerry Copley set their sites on a higher goal: to go to Columbus and win the state championship.
 
 

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Newspaper headline from Peebles' 3rd consecutive AC Tournament win, in 1963.

Peebles/Franklin Rivalry

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One of the greatest rivalries within the Adams County League was between the Franklin Panthers and the Peebles Indians.  The close proximity of these schools and the devotion of their fans made every contest feel like a tournament game.
 
On a bitter January night in 1965, during a regular reason game played  at Franklin High School, the stands were jammed with fans and the sidelines were crowded with standing spectators.  The  heat generated from 1,000 spectators in the small gymnasium raised the humidity so high that one fan said, "You could hardly get your breath.  It was like watching a basketball game in a jungle."
 
Water pooled on the ceilings and dripped to the tiled court, causing players to slip across the floor.  For safety reasons, the referees wouldn't allow the varsity game to be played in the gym.  It was announced that the game would be moved to Peebles.  One-thousand fans stood up, put on their coats, and drove three miles to the other gymnasium.
 
Franklin was still counted as "Home" on the scoreboard, making it the only time the Peebles Indians were visitors in their own gym.  

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Tournament Champions

Year Regular Season Tournament Champion Runner-Up
1969 North Adams Green Devils No Tournament -
1968 Jefferson Eagles No Tournament -
1967 Jefferson Eagles No Tournament -
1966 West Union Dragons No Tournament -
1965 North Adams Green Devils No Tournament -
1964 North Adams Green Devils North Adams Green Devils Peebles Indians
1963 Peebles Indians Peebles Indians Franklin Panthers
1962 Peebles Indians Peebles Indians North Adams Green Devils
1961 Peebles Indians Peebles Indians North Adams Green Devils
1960 West Union Dragons West Union Dragons North Adams Green Devils
1959 Franklin Panthers Franklin Panthers West Union Dragons
1958 West Union Dragons Manchester Greyhounds Franklin Panthers
1957 Franklin Panthers Winchester Rifles Franklin Panthers
1956 West Union Dragons West Union Dragons Franklin Panthers
1955 Manchester Greyhounds West Union Dragons Manchester Greyhounds
1954 North Adams Green Devils Manchester Greyhounds West Union Dragons
1953 Manchester Greyhounds Manchester Greyhounds West Union Dragons
1952 West Union Dragons West Union Dragons North Adams Green Devils
1951 West Union Dragons West Union Dragons North Adams Green Devils
1950 Manchester Greyhounds Manchester Greyhounds West Union Dragons
1949 Franklin Panthers West Union Dragons Franklin Panthers
1948 West Union Dragons Manchester Greyhounds West Union Dragons
1947 West Union Dragons West Union Dragons North Adams Green Devils
1946 North Adams Green Devils North Adams Green Devils Franklin Panthers
1945 Franklin Panthers Franklin Panthers Winchester Rifles
1944 Manchester Greyhounds Franklin Panthers West Union Dragons
1943   Manchester Greyhounds Franklin Panthers
1942 Manchester Greyhounds Peebles Indians West Union Dragons
1941   West Union Dragons Manchester Greyhounds
1940 Manchester Greyhounds Franklin Panthers Winchester Rifles
1939   Manchester Greyhounds Franklin Panthers
1938   West Union Dragons  

YEAR ALL-COUNTY SELECTIONS
1969 Dan Bailey, Jeff McCoy
1968 Anthony Ogden, Kenny Williams
1967 Harty Wallingford, Kenny Williams
1966 David Garrison, Eddie Wallingford
1965 Duane Harris, Vic Warfe
1964 Terry Dean Johnson, Jack Austin, Dan Turner
1963 Terry Dean Johnson, James Hall, Steve Kremin
1962 John David Leshy, Mike McFarland
1961 John David Leshy, Mike McFarland, Jim Fisher
1960 Ronnie Caplinger
1959  
1958  
1957  
1956  
1955  
1954