Wabash College Athletics

The very first Wabash Wonder Five, the 1908 Wabash College basketball team, produced a 24-0 record, boasted five All-Americans, and were declared by various newspapers to be World Champions. Writing in his book, Some Little Giants Max Servies celebrates Coach Ralph Jones and his basketball teams of the early 1900s:
 
“During a five-year span from 1904-05 through 1908-09, Coach Ralph R. Jones put Wabash basketball squarely on the map. While coaching the YMCA, Crawfordsville Business College and a Crawfordsville High School team featuring Piggy Lambert and future Wabash coaching legend Pete Vaughan, Jones found time to lead the Little Giants to a 75-6 record.  His first Wabash team went 8-0 with two wins each over Purdue and I.U. His 1905-06 team went 17-1, a record marred only by a one-point loss to Purdue. In 1906-07 Coach Ralph Jones executed a rare coaching double. His Wabash Little Giants emerged with a 17-2 record, their only defeats at the hands of a Crawfordsville High School team also coached by Jones. The climax came in 1907-08, with the 24-0 “World Championship” team.”