Recently, George L. Long, a star basketball player for Wiconisco High School in the early 1960s, was inducted into the Capital Area Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. The photograph above was taken at the induction ceremony, which took place on June 17, 2023.
The following statement was released by the Capital Area Chapter in recognition of his accomplishments:
George L. Long played basketball at Wiconisco High School (Upper Dauphin County. He was a two time Upper Dauphin league scoring leader in the 1962-63 and 1963-64 seasons. He was the Pennsylvania State Scoring Leader in the ‘63-’64 season with 794 points (37.8 ppg avg.). His 3 year career total was 1525 points (24.5 ppg avg.) and 984 rebounds. He had a record-breaking 70 point performance vs. Mahanoy Joint High School. Despite 25 college/university offers, he decided to stay home to aid in the family support of his widowed mother and younger sister.
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An article from the Shamokin News-Dispatch, January 29, 1964, describes his record-breaking scoring at a game vs. Line Mountain High School:
George Long, ace scorer for the Wiconisco Eagles of the Upper Dauphin League, last night bombarded the hoop for 70 points.
Long, the league’s leading scorer, stole the show when his team scored a 113-77 victory over Mahanoy Joint on the Wiconisco floor.
The six-foot, one-inch forward, hit on 26 of 40 shots from the field and sank 18 of 22 foul attempts to set a league and school record. He broke the mark of 55 points set by Upper Dauphin’s Larry Cooper against Halifax Joint in 1956.
Long is leading the league in scoring with 285 points in 14 games for the season.
Long’s outstanding scoring last night overshadowed the results of other games and stole the show from the Upper Dauphin and Trevorton lead in the circuit.
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News article from Newspapers.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.