(The St. Louis American celebrates the 40-year anniversary of the 1983 Vashon Wolverines basketball team that won the Missouri Class 4A state championship).
Floyd Irons began his legendary career as the head coach of Vashon’s basketball program in 1974.
A former standout point guard at Vashon, Irons continued the program’s great tradition for winning by leading the Wolverines to the Final Four of the state tournament in 1977, 1979 and 1982.
It was the following season in 1983 when Irons’ guided the Wolverines to the Class 4 state championship, which was the first in his Hall of Fame coaching career.
What made this Vashon team so unique is that this wasn’t the typical large-school state championship team that had plenty of height and size on the front line. This was a team that was small in stature, but huge in terms of speed and quickness. They applied full court pressure from the opening tip off to the final buzzer as they ran opposing teams into the ground with its withering up-tempo style of play.
The tallest player in the starting lineup was 6’2” senior Russell Arms, a determined young man who battled bigger players on a nightly basis with his heart and hustle. Coach Irons employed a four-guard offense, which was perfect for the Wolverines full-court pressure defense.
The offensive standouts were 6’2” junior guard Ramon “Pistol” Trice and 5’10” junior Altonio “Shotgun” Campbell. Trice was a talented southpaw with a smooth jump shot while Campbell was a tremendous point guard who could score and distribute the ball with equal effectiveness. Rounding out the starting five were guards Raymond “Mouse” Collins and Ernest Poke, who were both excellent playmakers and tough defenders who could also score.
The Wolverines qualified for the state playoffs by getting through the always tough O’Fallon Tech district. They defeated Public High League rivals Soldan and O’Fallon Tech to advance to the sectional round. Subsequent victories of Mehlville and Washington landed the Wolverines back in the Final Four.
In the state semifinals, the Wolverines took on PHL rival Beaumont at the Hearnes Center in Columbia. The Wolverines defeated the Bluejackets 64-56 to advance to the state championship game. Waiting for them in the state finals was an undefeated Van Horn team from Independence.
The bigger and taller Van Horn team was 31-0 and favorites to defeat Vashon to complete its perfect championship season, but the Wolverines had other ideas. Vashon’s speed proved to be too much as they sprinted to a 75-62 victory to win the state championship. Ramon Trice led a balanced scoring attack with a game-high 23 points. Poke scored 18 points while Arms and Collins chipped in with 14 points each.
Floyd Irons went on to lead the Wolverines to several more state championships during his illustrious career on the sidelines, but it was this 1983 team that will be remembered as the one which jump-started the Vashon championship dynasty.
