Hatchet History History of the Hatchet Nickname Using the name “Hatchets” has its beginnings back in the 1920’s. Washington’s athletic tradition began in 1896 with the organization of a football team. Basketball followed in 1906. The football team had adopted “old gold and black” as their colors and they became the colors of the school. Washington High School’s athletic teams were simply known as the “Old Gold and Black”. A remnant of that era can be heard in part of the school song, “for the Old Gold and Black on high, sing Washington’s praises to the sky.” When, in 1911, Washington dropped football due to the death of a player. Basketball became the main sport at Washington High School (football would be re-instated as a varsity sport in 1935). During the 1920’s Washington had several successful basketball teams. Coach Harry Hunter led Washington to the old 16-team state finals in 1925. The dominant player of those teams was James (Bud) Gill. Gill’s father owned Gill’s Funeral Home and donated the funeral home’s cars to transport the team to out of town games. Bud Gill’s nickname (because of his father’s occupation) was “Undertaker”. Because of the use of the funeral home’s automobiles and Gill’s nickname, the team, and many people in the community, began to call themselves the “Undertakers”. To some of the more “gentile” people in the community a high school team with the name “Undertakers” did not seem appropriate. There was some pressure to find a more appropriate, or at least acceptable, nickname. A local newspaper columnist for the Washington Democrat, Harold Brouillette, had begun a campaign to change the name to change the name of the team. In several of his articles about Washington’s games of the 1924-25 season he made a point to mention that “Washington’s team cut through the opposition just like George Washington’s “hatchet” cut trough the cherry tree”. The forces of nature seemed to align in 1925. After a successful tenure as head coach, Harry Hunter retired from coaching after a trip to the 16-team state finals in 1925. James Gill graduated and took his basketball skills to Indiana University. The basketball team was also scheduled to move into a new facility (the new Washington Community Gymnasium) in the fall of 1925. That summer, Washington hired a new basketball coach, Burl Friddle. Coach Friddle was a member of the Franklin “Wonder Five”, the team that won three consecutive state championships in 1920, 1921, and 1922. Friddle was aware of the “name” situation. In October, 1925, Friddle called the basketball players together to discuss an official nickname for the team. The basketball team chose the name “Hatchets”. Coach Friddle took this name to the principal at the time, A.O. Fulkerson, who had been Washington’s basketball coach from 1919 to 1921. Fulkerson approved the name and the athletic teams at Washington High School officially became the “Hatchets”, just in time to open the new 5,200 seat gymnasium. The first game played in what quickly became known as “the Hatchet House” was on Nov. 6, 1925, the first home court appearance for the Washington Hatchets. The opponent was Martinsville, who featured a young sophomore named Johnny Wooden, who later would be an All-American at Purdue and a national coaching icon at UCLA. Martinsville defeated Washington 44-33 in that first Hatchet House game and went on to be state runner-up that year. The Hatchet House Washington takes great pride in this facility, as it is home to not only boys and girls Hatchet basketball, but also many community events, and finally is the yearly home for IHSAA sectional and regional basketball tournaments. The original Hatchet House, now our junior high gym facility, was constructed in 1925 and was home to three state championship teams in 1930, 1941, and 1942. Today’s Hatchet House opened in 1967 with a capacity of 7,090 seats. During the forty-three years it has been the home of the Hatchets, it has been the site of many great games and events, including being the home of the 2005 and 2008 3A state champions. One of the most notable events to occur at the Hatchet House happened in February, 1968. Richard Nixon had agreed to speak at the Daviess County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner. In the days prior to the scheduled speech Nixon had announced his candidacy for President of the United States. The speech Nixon gave in the Hatchet House was the opening speech of his campaign for the Presidency. Another notable event was the hosting of the Soviet National Junior Olympic team’s game with the Indiana All-Stars in 1979. The Indiana All-Stars were led by Mr. Basketball, Steve Bouchie, of Washington. The Hatchet House has also hosted several exhibition games for the Indiana All-Stars and collegiate all-stars over the years. Some of the notable figures to have appeared at the Hatchet House include current and former NBA players: Larry Bird, Damon Bailey, Calbert Chaney, Steve Alford, Craig Neal and Coach Jack Butcher (Indiana’s high school career win leader), NCAA championship coaches: Bob Knight and Roy Williams. Washington Hatchet All-Stars who have called the Hatchet House home include Julie Helm, IHSAA Mental Attitude Award winner, 1979 Mr. Basketball and Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame member, Steve Bouchie: 1983 All-Star and former NBA player and coach, and current associate head coach at New Mexico, Craig Neal; 2005 Mr. Basketball Luke Zeller (also a recipient of the IHSAA Trester Mental Attitude Award), and 2008 Mr. Basketball Tyler Zeller; and Hall of Fame member, Coach Dave Omer. Cody Zeller 2011 Mr. Basketball Coach Gene Miiller Hall of Fame Member Hatchet Hollow Hatchet Hollow, home to Washington Hatchets football, is a picturesque setting for high school football that is one on the unique football venues in the state of Indiana. The Hollow is one of the oldest high school football sites in Indiana, as games were first played at the site going back to 1937. The facility was built with federal works program money during the Great Depression. Hatchet Hollow is situated between North Elementary and the Washington Armory just to the north of Washington High School. The field gained its name from a 1939 Washington newspaper reference to “having a big time down there in the hollow.” Concrete bleachers with locker rooms underneath provide a distinct home field advantage for the Hatchets. Hatchet Hollow is also home to the famous Hollow Bell that is rung during all Hatchet touchdowns .