Hortonville vs Appleton – 1958 Sectional
Over 56 years ago, Hortonville High School took on Appleton High School in a sectional basketball matchup. Yes back then there was only one high school for all of Appleton and Hortonville’s enrollment was only about 300 students. Despite this the WIAA had not yet implemented divisions so a behemoth like Appleton could match up with at the time tiny school like Hortonville in the playoffs.
It was a true David and Goliath matchup. Hortonville was going into the game undefeated led by a strong starting five of Jim Steffen, Dennis Sommers, Bob Broehm, Joe Steffen, and Don Otto.
Hortonville was down by 10 points early and battled back hitting 31 of 38 foul shots to take down Appleton 65-61 in one of the biggest upsets in state history.
In recent days we have come into possession of a number of newspaper clippings, yearbooks, and a complete audio recording of the radio broadcast of this game that has been preserved over the years. Thank you to Brad Collar, Nick Steudel, and Gloria Coenen for sharing these materials with us.
Radio Broadcast of the Game
Press Coverage
Photos
