Looking back at a county-wide high school basketball tournament that began more than 100 years ago. That’s what Mercer County High School boys basketball assistant coach Morgan Braucht is doing with research on the Mercer County Tournament.
The annual high school boys basketball tournament ran from 1921-43. It featured Aledo, Joy, Seaton, Keithsburg, New Boston, Sherrard, Viola, Matherville, New Windsor, and Reynolds High Schools, along with Roosevelt Military Academy in Aledo as the participating schools.
Braucht learned about the tournament while compiling records for the Mercer County High School boys basketball program. He says that through his research, he has found that the Mercer County Tournament was a big deal in the county.
Aledo won 17 of the 22 tournaments. Reynolds won three championships, and Viola and Sherrard each won the tournament once.
In its final scheduled year in 1943, the tournament was canceled due to gas rationing surrounding World War II.
A full conversation about the history of the Mercer County Tournament with Braucht is available on the WRMJ Sports podcast feed as part of Saturday’s Sportsline.