Schwomeyer captures hoops history

For years, the most definitive, authoritative and complete history of boys high school basketball in Indiana could be found in the small type and 600 pages of a book simply titled Hoosier Hysteria. It was Herb Schwomeyer's labor of love. First published in 1970, HH was updated nine times by Schwomeyer, the last in 1997. No coincidence there. That was the last year before, as he terms it, "that dadburn class basketball" came into existence. "Author" is just one of many titles Schwomeyer has carried over the years. Now 89 and residing in Greenwood, he remains remarkably active. Why, just this past October, he boarded an airplane and flew to Boston to witness Game 2 of the World Series. And he remains a courtside fixture in Hinkle Fieldhouse for Butler University basketball. A graduate of Indianapolis Manual High School, Schwomeyer earned his bachelor's and masters's degrees at Butler and was a three-sport standout under the legendary Paul "Tony" Hinkle, for whom the fieldhouse is named. Beginning in 1945, Schwomeyer went to work for Hinkle as an assistant coach, which began a remarkable 38-year career at the Fairview campus. Schwomeyer eventually served as Dean of Men for 22 years. He became synonymous with Indiana high school basketball in three different areas. First, as an official, he rose through the ranks and worked two State Finals, 1955 and 1956. After retiring as an official, his long-time friend, Channel 6 sportscaster Tom Carnegie, invited Schwomeyer to become part of the state basketball tournament broadcast team that included Carnegie and Hinkle. Schwomeyer did that for 21 years. Then came Hoosier Hysteria. As part of earning his doctor's degree at Indiana University, Schwomeyer decided he would write the definitive history of boys high school basketball. His advisor said, "You'll never finish it." Four years later, the manuscript was complete. The book is filled with fascinating tidbits and trivia, not to mention a recap of every State Finals from 1911 and 1997. Of course, it should be pointed out, Herb was there for almost all of them. He attended 73 straight State Finals, from 1932 through 2004. Also a huge baseball fan, Schwomeyer has been to every Major League baseball park, including the most recent ones to come on line. He plans to go to Washington, D.C., next summer when the Nationals open their new stadium, and he also hopes to attend the next summer's All-Star game because it will be the last to be played in Yankee Stadium. Asked which memories stand out in his exceptional career, Schwomeyer takes a pass. "There are just too many great ones to choose from," he says. Suffice it to say, Indiana high school basketball has never had a greater ambassador, which has been recognized with Schwomeyer being awarded the coveted Silver Medal and placement in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. "I've just been very fortunate," Schwomeyer says. "It's been a good life." That's because he's gotten out of it what he put into it.