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MU's 56 year old record
Posted on: September 23, 2016 at 15:49:51 CT
FIJItiger MU
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March 6th of next season will mark the 56th anniversary of a game played against Nebraska that MU won 97-76. The game of basketball is not one that lends itself to long-standing records. The athleticism of the players, the advent of the shot clock, the adoption of the three point line, and freshman being eligible for varsity play have for the most part eradicated the statistical achievements of the players from bygone eras. But on that day in 1961 senior shooting guard Joe Scott scored 46 points for MU to set a new single game record for the program. Nobody has ever topped it. In fact, in an article from 1986 (30 YEARS AGO) marking the 25th anniversary MU’s sports information director is quoted as saying at the time “That record is the oldest individual offensive record on the Missouri books.”
In 1956 the MU single game scoring record was established twice, Norm Stewart initially set a new high mark with 35 in a game against Texas Tech and then would break his own record with 36 against Colorado. The next season a sharp shooting guard named Lionel Smith would easily surpass that mark with 44 points in a game against Marquette. That mark stood for four seasons.
Joe Scott was a senior in 1961, and formed one half of what is perhaps the greatest inside/outside duo the Tigers have ever fielded. Scott was a 6’4 shooting guard from Gainesville, MO and he teamed with 6’7 center Charlie Henke in the same class. Henke would become MU’s all time career leading scorer at the conclusion of the season and remain so until 1973, and the 24.6 ppg Henke would average that season is still the second highest in Tiger history. Henke had scored 41 points in a previous match up that year with Nebraska, so with the Cornhuskers focusing a considerable amount of effort on shutting Henke down Joe Scott found room to work and shots available.
Joe Scott had scored 58 points in a single game while in high school and had averaged over 30 ppg his senior year at Gainesville prior to coming to Missouri. Scott had averaged 18.4 ppg as a Tiger junior, a season which included a 31 point game in a victory over Indiana and a 32 point outburst against conference foe Oklahoma. Scott had already scored 31 in a game against Oklahoma State that season and became only the fourth player in school history to top the 1,000 point mark, so he was certainly no stranger to big scoring nights. He was known as the “Gainesville Gunner” and had a reputation very similar to one that Tiger Jason Sutherland would make famous 35 years later at MU of being scrappy and not backing down from anyone.
As his teammate Lynn Wilkinson described, “Joe played the game of basketball with an intensity that caused him to grimace. His grimace looked a little like a smile, but most of the time, he wasn't smiling. I remember reading a newspaper reporter's account of the game the next day and he said that Joe was smiling at Nebraska throughout the game. That was not accurate. Joe played each game with the same facial expression. Not many players played with his intensity.”
"If they had the three point line I truly think it would have been about 60 points," said teammate Terry Turlington. "If he got over the half-line, 2 or 3 steps, everything was fair game.”
“I’ve never seen anybody shoot like that in one ballgame,” said teammate Howard Garrett. “He was a living terror. He knew he was on and felt like he could score from any place…and he did.”
The thing that is striking about the game against Nebraska is rarely did Scott take a bad shot and rarely did his points come outside the flow of the normal offense. He simply took the shots that were necessary for Missouri to win the game, and converted at a very high level. His teammates do not recall anyone even being aware he was approaching the Missouri record during the game or mentioning it on the bench.
Below is a highlight reel of Joe Scott’s game against Nebraska from March 6th, 1961. Scott scores in a variety of manners in the game utilizing a quick mid-range jump shot, long outside shots, converting in traffic, drawing contact and getting to the line, and breaking down the defense and driving all the way to the basket. Scott would make 18 field goals in the game, as well as 10 free throws. He demonstrates a quick release, the ability to rise and shoot immediately, and the ability to play through contact that indicates that his game would have been transferable to the college game today. And it is important to keep in mind that the 46 point total came without the benefit of a 3 point line.
Scott said one of things that makes him happiest in remembering his record-setting game at Mizzou was the fact that his parents were there to see it. “They weren’t able to come to but a couple of games a year, but they were at that one,” he said. In the years following the game, his dad would often say, “If Joe had had that 3-pointer rule ...” Scott said, “I think Dad had me up to about 65 points before he passed away.”
Scott would finish his career at MU in fourth place all time in scoring, and despite only playing three varsity seasons still ranks 33rd in Missouri history. He was the 20th player in Big 8 history to top the 1,000 point career scoring mark. He would play professionally in Abe Saperstein’s (creator of the Harlem Globetrotters) new professional ABL league for the Chicago Majors. The league was notable for the innovation of the three point line, and the Major’s finished 3rd in the Eastern Conference and made the playoff quarterfinals. Scott would earn both his master’s and his doctorate degree and is currently a practicing lawyer in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. In 2013 he was named to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
http://www.scottlawgroupmo.com/
56 years. To put that in context, several weeks later a 26 year old Mizzou assistant named Norm Stewart would accept the head coaching job at what would eventually be called Northern Iowa. In fact only once during the last 55 years has any Tiger come within 2 points of that scoring mark, when Doug Smith scored 44 points in a game against Nebraska. No Tiger has scored 40 since Thomas Gardner did so on Jan 16th, 2006 in a victory over Kansas. While 46 points does not seem out of reach in this day and age, there will likely be many more seasons come and go at MU and Joe Scott will still be the single game record holder for points in a game. Asked about the breaking of the record at a 50-year reunion with his teammates, Joe had this to say: "I said if there's one 3-pointer, it don't count," he said with a laugh.
1961 team then:
1961 team now (at recent reunion):
Edited by FIJItiger at 15:56:55 on 09/23/16
In 1956 the MU single game scoring record was established twice, Norm Stewart initially set a new high mark with 35 in a game against Texas Tech and then would break his own record with 36 against Colorado. The next season a sharp shooting guard named Lionel Smith would easily surpass that mark with 44 points in a game against Marquette. That mark stood for four seasons.
Joe Scott was a senior in 1961, and formed one half of what is perhaps the greatest inside/outside duo the Tigers have ever fielded. Scott was a 6’4 shooting guard from Gainesville, MO and he teamed with 6’7 center Charlie Henke in the same class. Henke would become MU’s all time career leading scorer at the conclusion of the season and remain so until 1973, and the 24.6 ppg Henke would average that season is still the second highest in Tiger history. Henke had scored 41 points in a previous match up that year with Nebraska, so with the Cornhuskers focusing a considerable amount of effort on shutting Henke down Joe Scott found room to work and shots available.
Joe Scott had scored 58 points in a single game while in high school and had averaged over 30 ppg his senior year at Gainesville prior to coming to Missouri. Scott had averaged 18.4 ppg as a Tiger junior, a season which included a 31 point game in a victory over Indiana and a 32 point outburst against conference foe Oklahoma. Scott had already scored 31 in a game against Oklahoma State that season and became only the fourth player in school history to top the 1,000 point mark, so he was certainly no stranger to big scoring nights. He was known as the “Gainesville Gunner” and had a reputation very similar to one that Tiger Jason Sutherland would make famous 35 years later at MU of being scrappy and not backing down from anyone.
As his teammate Lynn Wilkinson described, “Joe played the game of basketball with an intensity that caused him to grimace. His grimace looked a little like a smile, but most of the time, he wasn't smiling. I remember reading a newspaper reporter's account of the game the next day and he said that Joe was smiling at Nebraska throughout the game. That was not accurate. Joe played each game with the same facial expression. Not many players played with his intensity.”
"If they had the three point line I truly think it would have been about 60 points," said teammate Terry Turlington. "If he got over the half-line, 2 or 3 steps, everything was fair game.”
“I’ve never seen anybody shoot like that in one ballgame,” said teammate Howard Garrett. “He was a living terror. He knew he was on and felt like he could score from any place…and he did.”
The thing that is striking about the game against Nebraska is rarely did Scott take a bad shot and rarely did his points come outside the flow of the normal offense. He simply took the shots that were necessary for Missouri to win the game, and converted at a very high level. His teammates do not recall anyone even being aware he was approaching the Missouri record during the game or mentioning it on the bench.
Below is a highlight reel of Joe Scott’s game against Nebraska from March 6th, 1961. Scott scores in a variety of manners in the game utilizing a quick mid-range jump shot, long outside shots, converting in traffic, drawing contact and getting to the line, and breaking down the defense and driving all the way to the basket. Scott would make 18 field goals in the game, as well as 10 free throws. He demonstrates a quick release, the ability to rise and shoot immediately, and the ability to play through contact that indicates that his game would have been transferable to the college game today. And it is important to keep in mind that the 46 point total came without the benefit of a 3 point line.
Scott said one of things that makes him happiest in remembering his record-setting game at Mizzou was the fact that his parents were there to see it. “They weren’t able to come to but a couple of games a year, but they were at that one,” he said. In the years following the game, his dad would often say, “If Joe had had that 3-pointer rule ...” Scott said, “I think Dad had me up to about 65 points before he passed away.”
Scott would finish his career at MU in fourth place all time in scoring, and despite only playing three varsity seasons still ranks 33rd in Missouri history. He was the 20th player in Big 8 history to top the 1,000 point career scoring mark. He would play professionally in Abe Saperstein’s (creator of the Harlem Globetrotters) new professional ABL league for the Chicago Majors. The league was notable for the innovation of the three point line, and the Major’s finished 3rd in the Eastern Conference and made the playoff quarterfinals. Scott would earn both his master’s and his doctorate degree and is currently a practicing lawyer in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. In 2013 he was named to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
http://www.scottlawgroupmo.com/
56 years. To put that in context, several weeks later a 26 year old Mizzou assistant named Norm Stewart would accept the head coaching job at what would eventually be called Northern Iowa. In fact only once during the last 55 years has any Tiger come within 2 points of that scoring mark, when Doug Smith scored 44 points in a game against Nebraska. No Tiger has scored 40 since Thomas Gardner did so on Jan 16th, 2006 in a victory over Kansas. While 46 points does not seem out of reach in this day and age, there will likely be many more seasons come and go at MU and Joe Scott will still be the single game record holder for points in a game. Asked about the breaking of the record at a 50-year reunion with his teammates, Joe had this to say: "I said if there's one 3-pointer, it don't count," he said with a laugh.
1961 team then:
1961 team now (at recent reunion):
Edited by FIJItiger at 15:56:55 on 09/23/16
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MU's 56 year old record - FIJItiger MU - 9/23 15:49:51