Ruklick says his Tigers no match for today's Tigers

PRINCETON — Joe Ruklick and the Princeton Tigers went to the Sweet Sixteen State Tournament in 1954 and made it back it the next year to land a fourth-place finish in the one-class format.

The Tigers went 60-7 games over a two-year period under coach Don Sheffer with back-to-back NCIC championships.

They had players, Ruklick said, “who could do some things,” like guard Lew Flinn, who had a deadly set shot and could drive the basket, hard-nosed rebounder and defender Dick Hult, steady performers Forrie Finn and Gary Mulally and Ruklick himself, whose hook shot prowess was unmatched by anyone in the country.

And yet, Ruklick says his ‘50s-Tigers couldn’t match up with today’s Tigers, who improved to 20-1 with Saturday’s win over Streator.

“Nowadays guys do everything,” he said. “They’re quick. They have skills inside and outside ... terrific shooters. We wouldn’t have a chance.”

Fifty-five years after graduation, Ruklick returned to his alma mater to be honored by PHS for his accomplishments in the game, before Saturday’s game at Prouty Gym. He was presented with replicas of the uniforms he wore for PHS, Northwestern University and the Philadelphia Warriors by the PHS Booster Club, which will be forever enshrined in the Prouty Gym trophy case.

Ruklick joked about remembering how coach Sheffer had their managers pick their uniform numbers each season “because he didn’t want any player thinking his favorite number would be retired some day.”

Accompanying Ruklick Saturday were his two sons, John and Grant, and PHS teammates Flinn, Finn and Dick Coddington, whom Ruklick repeatedly said over the course of the weekend, he could have never done it without them. Former PHS team managers Bob Hudson and Dick Hade were also in attendance.

Ruklick kept his public comments short and sweet but told the Prouty crowd he always takes pride in being a Princetonian. Perhaps some in attendance witnessed Ruklick and gang beat Streator, 48-37, for the 1955 sectional championship.

“The beauty of Princeton it seems is that it’s natural to feel like you’re around friends,” Ruklick told the BCR. “It was thrilling to stand at mid court and feel the affection coursing through the stands and the pride that citizens feel about their town and its history. The school is the center of things, the town’s pride, the source of its hope.”