Wall of Fame Class of 2008
Mr. Albert Goedecke ‘45 played varsity basketball at MMI and East Stroudsburg University State Teachers College and semi-pro basketball with a Stroudsburg Area team. Coach Goedecke returned to MMI as boys basketball coach and physical education teacher in 1952. As MMI Boys Basketball Coach from 1952 to 1964, Coach Goedecke consistently coached teams that competed in playoff games in the Anthracite League compiling a record of 166 wins and 121 losses. In 1956, the Preppers were 21-4 and won the Anthracite League Championship. In addition, his teams won ten Freeland Conference crowns. He was the coach of one of the most memorable wins in MMI Boys Basketball history, a 7-5 win over previously unbeaten West Hazleton in 1964. At the time, West Hazleton had won 62 straight games and needed one more victory for the state consecutive win record. According to the 1964 Minamek, “the strategy was simple: play possession ball, freeze the basketball and dominate the game.” The Preppers finished the 1963-64 season with a 17-6 record. In the April 25th edition of the Hazleton Standard-Speaker in 1964, Sports Editor Ray Saul reported on Coach Goedecke’s resignation writing “Al’s teams were always well drilled and he was a strict disciplinarian. There were years when there were barely enough boys out for basketball to have a varsity and junior varsity at MMI but Al juggled his personnel around and always came up with something, as his record indicates.” Coach Goedecke was inducted into the Anthracite League Hall of Fame in recognition of his coaching achievements at MMI.
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