Monroe City School District

The 1948 and 1949 Monroe City High School boys' and girls' basketball teams left behind some of the best tournament records. 1948 also marked the return of the Panther Tracks school yearbook. In the forward to the 1948 yearbook, School Board president Scott Conway notes the return of the book after several years' absence. He also notes the inauguration of the Quint City Activities Association and that the school hosted the Vocal Music Festival and the band participated in the Palmyra tournament. The first junior-senior prom was held in May 1949, Conway noted. As a side, you'll see several relatives of our present-day teams and scorekeepers.

At 93, Marilyn Frankenbach Tucker of Hannibal is Monroe City High School Tournament’s oldest living female player. She and Marge Smith O’Donel, the second oldest Lady Panther, graduated in 1950. They are followed in age by Billie Romig McClintic, Janann Roland Hedberg, Margaret Tipton Raetz and Norma Stone Rubison. Marilyn grew up on a farm at West Ely. She was a first string guard during her senior year and the 1949-50 team won every game except one. They had 20 straight tournament wins. Marilyn thought she had appendicitis and unfortunately sat out that game. She rode the school bus from West Ely and “begged a way” when needed. She stayed with a sister and brother-in-law, Marge and Bob Holliday, who lived at 523 E. Cleveland at the time. They became long-time Hannibal residents. She and her husband, the late Bill Tucker, had three sons, Dr. Mark Tucker, Brad Tucker and Breck Tucker. She and Bill, a biology teacher at Hannibal High School and Hannibal-LaGrange College, met while she was playing baseball. She retired from the Social Security Administration. Marilyn, we look forward to seeing you Saturday!

Final Score! #MCPRIDE

The years of Monroe City Lady Panther basketball with Dewella Holliday Shuck were some of the best in school’s history. A crowd pleaser, Dewella brought the hardware home for the Lady Panthers for three consecutive seasons. Dewella starred on the state championship teams in 1998 and 2000 and the third-place team in 1999. She earned First Team All Conference, First Team All District and First Team All-State all three years as well as earning Player of the Year in 1999 and 2000 and USA Today Player of the Year 2000. She averaged 19 points per game and was the top player of the tournament in 2000 state games. In 1998-1999, she was one of the seven senior players who ended their senior year with a remarkable 30-2 record. Dewella still holds the Monroe City R-1 school record set in 2000 (10) for the most steals in any game in the game against St. Piux X, Kansas City, according to MSHSAA. (As a side note, Teresa Jackson still holds the school state record for the most total points in a quarter-15. Jackson’s records were set in 1998 and 1999. See https://www.mshsaa.org/MySchool/SchoolStateRecords.aspx?s=134.) Dewella played at Moberly Area Community College from 2000-2002 where she averaged 20.7 points per game in 2000-2001 and 22.8 ppg in 2001-2002. She had a single season scoring record of 781 points. In the 2001-2002 season, she broke a 30-year scoring record which she still holds. Her total points for two years were a phenomenal 1408 points. The Lady Greyhounds advanced to the national tournament and placed sixth. She was named to the NJCAA Div-1 All-Tournament Team, was on the first team all regional and honorable mention all-American team. In 2017, she was inducted into the Lady Greyhounds Hall of Fame. The 5-foot-9 forward transferred to University of Texas at San Antonio. At UTSA, she was named Newcomer of the Year 2002-2003 with an average 15.8 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game. She was named the Southland Conference Player of the Week on several occasions. Shuck lives in Moberly with her husband and two daughters. She is employed by the State of Missouri and holds a degree in social work. You can look back at Holliday in playing action for the Lady Panthers in this WGEM YouTube clip at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHK71T4_uBM.

Game Day! 100 Annual Monroe City Basketball Tournament #MCPRIDE

Congratulations to the MCMS Boys on their 28-19 victory over Knox Co. to take the Consolation trophy at the SS Tourney!

MS Final Score! MS Boys win Consolation! #MCPRIDE

MS Game Day! #MCPRIDE

MS Final Score 12/6/24 #MCPRIDE

Did you know that the first basketball banquet was held in 1957? The banquet would have celebrated arguably one of the best boys' basketball teams to ever play in Monroe City. Some of the members of that 1956-57 Panther team are still alive. They include Jerry Burditt , Gary Wayne Mayes, John Henderson and Jim Gottman. Other members coached by Bill Key were Alvin Feldkamp, Richard Warren, Gene Mudd, Gene Ely, Mark Swearengen, Kermit Reynolds, Kenny Sullivan and Robbie Harris.

Final Score! Varsity wins in Overtime! #MCPRIDE

Who will sign your tournament book this year? The "Welcome" banner here is held by 1955 athletes Jerry Burditt, Ann Gillespie, Ruth Eaton Tadlock and Gene Mudd. Notice, that Coach Goldie Burdhardt, Phyllis Ketsenburg Olson, Carroll Gosney Hood and Elaine Ely Spalding are among the signers in 1955. The 1956 tournament book signatures include Jimm Gottman, Edna Ryan Cook, Sally Hawker Galbraith, Doris Murray Farrell, Wilma Sullivan Kastner and others.

Former MHS cheerleader Sally Galbraith Hawker decorated the trophy case at the entrance of the high school gymnasium in preparation for the 100th Monroe City High School Tournament which begins Monday, Dec. 9, and runs through Saturday, Dec. 14. Sally's daughter, Shelley Buhling, also was a cheerleader.

Game Day! #MCPRIDE

Final Score! #MCPRIDE

Today the Ladies of the P.R.I.D.E. Class prepared a homemade meal under the direction of their teacher, Mrs. Kendrick. Thanks Ladies!!

Possible engineers? These students are learning to read blueprints! #MCPRIDE

Our future elementary principal, Mrs. Amanda Spalding, participated in the MC tournaments and is also a proud former State Champ! 🏆 #MCPRIDE

Game Day! Girls BB @ Paris #MCPRIDE

Nothing is sweeter than when Monroe City boys and girls win the championship titles at their own tournament. There have been only five years that this has happened: 1962, 1967, 1981, 2016 and 2020. Monroe City boys have won 25 championships and Monroe City girls have racked up 23 wins in the tournament's 100 years. The 1955 boys team still holds the Monroe City record for the most wins in a season. The record of the 1955-56 and 1956-57 Panther teams was a ghoulish 65-6. Just like this 1957 group of boys' basketball players deciding their next play, we're planning a winning tournament where both the Monroe City boys' and girls' teams get to keep the 100th tournament trophies in Monroe City.