[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 10, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S1471]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

SENATE RESOLUTION 102--RECOGNIZING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE HOOSIER 
  GYM AND THE 35TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE RELEASE OF THE FILM ``HOOSIERS''

  Mr. BRAUN (for himself and Mr. Young) submitted the following 
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 102

       Whereas The Hoosier Gym is a basketball gymnasium, museum, 
     and community center located in Knightstown, Indiana, and is 
     famous for being a filming location for the 1986 basketball 
     movie ``Hoosiers'', starring Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper;
       Whereas, in 1920, the Knightstown Community School had no 
     gymnasium;
       Whereas, in February 1921, a half dozen Knightstown 
     businessmen met to discuss the fact that Knightstown was 
     lagging behind other towns in the development of children's 
     athletic education;
       Whereas, after much debate, a plan to build a ``gymnasium 
     and community house'' was developed and approved;
       Whereas, to help fund the new gym, the Knightstown 
     businessmen raised more than $14,400 in donations from more 
     than 250 citizens and several local businesses;
       Whereas, on December 1, 1921, construction of the gym was 
     completed;
       Whereas, at 105 feet (32 meters) long and 80 feet (24 
     meters) wide, the new gym was big enough to accommodate not 
     only basketball games and spectators (with bleacher seating 
     around the sides and ends of the playing floor), but also 
     many civic and community-oriented events;
       Whereas it was not long before arrangements were made for 
     several professional basketball teams to play on the new 
     floor, including the EmRoes, the Michigan Rails, and the 
     Baltimore Orioles, and the town even persuaded players from 
     various colleges to compete against local teams;
       Whereas, by 1966, the gym had become obsolete with the 
     building of a new high school and gym;
       Whereas the Panthers of Knightstown played their last 
     official regular-season basketball game at the gym in 
     February 1966;
       Whereas, after 45 years of serving the community and 
     providing a place for its young people to grow and develop, 
     the gym was closed, and for the next 19 years, the gym saw 
     little use;
       Whereas, in 1985, interest in the gym increased when a film 
     crew descended upon Knightstown, Indiana, looking for a place 
     to film ``Hoosiers'';
       Whereas ``Hoosiers'' is an American sports film written by 
     Angelo Pizzo and directed by David Anspaugh in his feature 
     directorial debut, and both individuals were raised in 
     Indiana;
       Whereas the film tells the story of the unique phenomenon 
     known as ``Hoosier Hysteria''--Indiana's obsession with 
     basketball;
       Whereas the film is inspired by the 1954 Milan High School 
     team, which made an unlikely run to win the Indiana High 
     School Boys Basketball State Championship, which consisted of 
     a single class of high school basketball for all schools 
     throughout the State;
       Whereas about \1/3\ of the film was filmed in the gym, and 
     the film included many Hoosiers, including players on the 
     team and most of the stand-ins;
       Whereas Dennis Hopper's role earned him an Oscar 
     nomination, and Jerry Goldsmith was also nominated for an 
     Academy Award for his score;
       Whereas the film ``Hoosiers'' is often considered the 
     greatest sports movie of all time and was added to the 
     National Film Registry in 2001 by the Library of Congress as 
     being ``culturally, historically, or aesthetically 
     significant'';
       Whereas, as a result of the success of this film, the old 
     Knightstown gymnasium came to be known as The Hoosier Gym;
       Whereas The Hoosier Gym has kept the same look as it did 
     when ``Hoosiers'' was filmed in 1985;
       Whereas, by 1988, the gym faced possible demolition when 
     the 112-year-old school next door, then serving as an 
     elementary school, was replaced by a new school north of 
     town, but Historic Knightstown and Historic Landmarks of 
     Indiana stepped forward to help preserve the gym;
       Whereas now The Hoosier Gym usually hosts 80 high school 
     basketball games with teams from throughout the country and 
     over 100 games in total each year;
       Whereas, each year, the gym holds the Hoosiers Reunion All-
     Star Classic, where Indiana's best high school athletes play 
     against each other, with the teams named ``Hickory'' and 
     ``Terhune'', as in the film;
       Whereas many of these athletes have gone on to play in the 
     National Basketball Association and the Women's National 
     Basketball Association;
       Whereas ``Hoosiers'' and The Hoosier Gym have highlighted 
     the cultural impact and importance of basketball in the State 
     of Indiana to the world;
       Whereas, in 2021, The Hoosier Gym is celebrating its 100th 
     anniversary, and the film ``Hoosiers'' is celebrating its 
     35th anniversary; and
       Whereas the film ``Hoosiers'', The Hoosier Gym, Hinkle 
     Fieldhouse, and all the other locations throughout Indiana 
     used for filming highlight Hoosiers' love for basketball and 
     ``Hoosier Hysteria'' at its finest: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) The Hoosier Gym, which is celebrating its 100th 
     anniversary in 2021, continues to remain an important 
     historical and cultural location for the State of Indiana, 
     Henry County, the Town of Knightstown, and the nearly 80,000 
     basketball enthusiasts and tourists throughout Indiana, the 
     United States, and the world that visit the location every 
     year;
       (2) the film ``Hoosiers'', which is celebrating its 35th 
     anniversary in 2021, continues to remain one of the top 
     ranked and most influential sports movies of all time, 
     highlights the love of basketball in the State of Indiana, 
     and provides a better understanding of ``Hoosier Hysteria'' 
     to the world;
       (3) both the film and this historical location deserve 
     recognition for the continued legacies that greatly enrich 
     the State of Indiana, its local communities, and its citizens 
     by providing the world with a better understanding of the 
     love of basketball in Indiana and what it means to be a 
     Hoosier;
       (4) continued admiration for this film and historical 
     location reinforces the quote by Dr. James Naismith, 
     basketball's inventor, after visiting an Indiana High School 
     State Basketball Championship game that ``Basketball really 
     had its beginning in Indiana which remains today the center 
     of the sport'', and such admiration continues to promote 
     throughout the world a better understanding of the motto ``In 
     49 States, it's just basketball, but this is Indiana''; and
       (5) the anniversaries of the film ``Hoosiers'' and The 
     Hoosier Gym should be recognized due to the historical and 
     cultural significance each had and continue to have in 
     introducing the State of Indiana and its love of basketball 
     to the rest of the country and the world.

                          ____________________