70th Anniversary Celebration of the “Milan Miracle” to Take Place March 23

Festivities will take place in the Milan High School gymnasium.

Photo by Travis Thayer, Eagle Country 99.3.

(Milan, Ind.) – A 70th anniversary celebration of Milan’s legendary 1954 Indiana Basketball State Championship will be held on Saturday, March 23.

Festivities will take place in the Milan High School gymnasium beginning at 11:00 a.m.

The celebration will include remarks from dignitaries and feature a panel discussion with the Milan players. Greg Rakestraw, of the ISC Sports Network in Indianapolis, will moderate the discussion.

Following the ceremony, the Milan players and actors from the movie Hoosiers will sign autographs.

Other highlights include food trucks and merchandise from the Milan ’54 Hoosiers Museum.

The event is free and open to the public. Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP by clicking here.

The anniversary celebration comes nearly 70 years to the date of Milan’s historic state championship win. It was March 20, 1954, when Milan became the smallest school in Indiana history to capture the state championship.

Bobby Plump was the hero, hitting the game-winning shot to defeat powerhouse Muncie Central by a score of 32-30.

"It's hard to believe that it's been 70 years since we achieved our goal of winning the Indiana State High School Basketball Championship. My teammates and I are thrilled to reunite in Milan on March 23rd to relive so many great memories and celebrate with our family members, friends, dignitaries, and others who appreciate our story and the rich history of Indiana basketball. It's most meaningful that the celebration will occur in Milan-it's where our journey began and remains a place that we hold dear to our hearts." Bobby Plump, Guard on the 1954 Milan Indians team.

Read what others had to say below.

“As someone who was born and raised in Milan, Indiana, I find it hard to believe that we will be celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Milan Indians’ iconic victory in the 1954 Indiana State High School basketball championship game. We hope to have a tremendous crowd on hand to honor the team on March 23 in the Milan High School gymnasium. Featuring remarks from several dignitaries and interviews with players and actors from the movie Hoosiers, this day will also be a historic one for the town of Milan. We welcome all who have a love for the "Milan Miracle", the movie Hoosiers, and Indiana basketball and look forward to seeing you on March 23!” – Tom Kohlmeier, Board Chairman of the Milan ’54 Hoosiers Museum

“Indiana and basketball go hand-in-hand, and the sport is forever ingrained in our rich, historic proud past. The Milan Miracle of 1954 was key in solidifying Indiana’s reputation as the state that grew the game. From Bobby Plump to Bobby Knight, Oscar Robertson to George McGinnis and Larry Bird to Reggie Miller, Indiana’s history is full of Hoosier legends. While many theories exist on what is a Hoosier, to me the word Hoosier will always be tied a deep love and respect for the game.” Eric Holcomb, Governor of the State of Indiana

“Growing up, I can recall that each year, prior to the state tournament, our local newspaper would pull out the story of the mighty Milan Indians vanquishing the Muncie Central Bearcats. No doubt our paper was not unique in this regard. Most other small or medium-sized towns were doing the same to inspire the local team that they, too, could pull off a miraculous tournament run. Of course, that game would become the core story representing the special relationship between the people of Indiana and basketball. As Milan’s mythic journey has inspired countless players and coaches in the past 70 years, it too inspired me 40 years ago to write the movie Hoosiers. I look forward to celebrating the 70th anniversary of the greatest game in Indiana high school history with the very special members of that team.” Angelo Pizzo, Screenwriter for the movie Hoosiers

For more information on the Milan ’54 Hoosiers Museum, please visit the website at https://milan54.org/.