OCEAN CITY- Seventy years ago this week, the Ocean City High School boys’ varsity basketball team won it one and only state championship.
Ocean City High School for decades existed in what is now City Hall through the first half of the 20th century. On March 22, 1952, the Ocean City High School team won the state Class C championship at the University of Maryland in College Park.
It was quite an accomplishment for the Ocean City High School team. Ocean City High School was one of the smallest high schools in the state in terms of enrollment. The team had reached the state championship games two times prior in 1948 and 1951.
After finishing with a 16-2 regular season record in 1952, the Ocean City team advance through the state Class C playoffs. On March 21, 1952, Ocean City beat Barton High from Alleghany County, 70-60, in the state semifinals to reach the championship game. The following day on March 22, 1952, Ocean City beat New Windsor of Carroll County, 70-55, in the title game to claim the Maryland Class C championship.
City Hall served as both an elementary school and the high school for 38 years. Two years after Ocean City High School’s basketball team won the state championship in 1952, the student body merged with Berlin’s Buckingham High School to move into the brand-new Stephen Decatur High School.
Players on the 1952 state championship team included Burt Raughley, Art Herbst, Gary Hurley, Robert Mumford, George Hurley, Ray Shockley, Ron Bassett, Jim Shockley, Bill Brown, Forrest Bradford, Paul Brown, Ben Lewis, Lionel Massey, and Dick Hall. The team was coached by Richard DeHart and managed by John Russell.
