Long live The Hoosier Gym

In the wake of actor Gene Hackman’s death, reflections on a non-profit group helping to preserve the memory of the movie in which he played one of his best roles.

Pretty much everyone over the age of 40 has more than a few Gene Hackman movie memories, the outgrowth of a prolific award-winning career.

So when news emerged this week about his mysterious death—and that of his wife and one of their dogs—my mind began scanning through many of his roles. Of all those, one that especially stands out is his portrayal of basketball coach Norman Dale of the underdog Hickory Huskers in Hoosiers.

Despite my basketball zeal, I didn’t see the film when it came out in Fall 1986, during my freshman year of college. Then the years piled up and when Hoosiers came up in conversation with friends and I’d confess not having seen it, they’d express disbelief.

Finally, somewhere along the line, maybe 15 or 20 years ago, I saw it. And, of course, loved it. My favorite scene is when Dale intentionally gets himself thrown out of a game so that he can give his assistant Shooter Flatch, a former hoops star-turned-town drunk played by Dennis Hopper, the opportunity to coach the team.

The next time I encountered the film was in a much different way. Last April, about a half-hour east of Indianapolis, I noticed a sign promoting The Hoosier Gym—the location in quaint Knightstown where many of the movie scenes were shot.

I was on my own and had about 700 miles to go before getting to a gathering of college fraternity buddies in South Myrtle Beach. Briefly, I debated whether I should keep going or stop. I’d first heard of this place a few years earlier and had dreamed of checking it out, but maybe I can pop in on my way back home at the end of my trip?

Nope—I had to seize the moment. I turned off I-70 and drove four miles to the hoops mecca. It would prove to be one of the top highlights of my entire trip.

I spent an hour there, chatting with volunteers, making a donation, buying a Hickory jersey and—best of all—lofting a few hundred shots with my own basketball.¹ (Yes, like a good Boy Scout, I’d come prepared if a moment like this arose.)

Unless it’s reserved by a group (part of the facility’s funding), the gym is open for free to the public. Though I came along a generation after the 1950s period depicted in the film, The Hoosier Gym evokes memories of spots where I played in as a kid: the feel of the floor, the make of the rims, even its old-building aroma.

My timing was perfect. For most of my hour on-site, I was the only one in this hallowed place. And I can’t wait to get back.

1. Most of my shots were from the free throw line: 34-of-40 lefty, 94-of-100 righty.