Ten years after his father went into the Salem Sports Hall of Fame, Howard Thurman Jr. now joins him in this elite group.

The son of former Salem coaching great Howard Thurman Sr.,Thurman Jr. was a strong athlete in basketball, track and football during his days as a Wildcat.

A 1952 graduate, Thurman Jr. set school records in both basketball and track at Salem. He set a single game scoring record of 34 points during a game in the 1951-52 season.

During that same year he broke the North Egypt Conference track record in the 180 yard low hurdles with a time of 22.9.
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When people look at the Salem Community High School girls’ basketball record book, they will find the name Marla (Sapp) Tolliver in numerous places.

Tolliver is Salem’s all-time career scoring leader for both boys and girls with 2347 points. At one time it was believed she was the state’s all-time career scoring leader. Sixteen years after she graduated from Salem that total still ranks among the top 20 in Illinois history for girls.
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It took Salem Community High School basketball 44 years to produce a 1000 career points player in Mike Gibbs. Fifteen years would pass before the next Salem player reached that plateau and that player was Carla (Haney) Jourdan.

Haney reached that plateau late in the 1978-79 season. She wound up with a final career mark of 1087 points.

Haney saved her best season for last. In her senior campaign of 1978-79, she averaged 21.8 points per contest. Haney was a member of the All-North Egypt Conference First Team, a member of the Decatur Herald All-Area Team and a member of the Chicago Tribune All-State team.

Haney’s senior team produced the best overall season mark for both boys and girls at Salem. The Lady Wildcats went through the regular season undefeated at 23-0 before losing to Centralia in the regional championship game. Salem won its only NEC girls basketball championship that season with Haney.

Haney was also a great track athlete at Salem.
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A three-sport standout at Salem Community High School, 1964 graduate Mike Gibbs probably made his biggest impact for the Wildcats on the basketball court.

Late in the 1963-64 season Gibbs became the first player in school history to score 1000 points. His career total of 1023 points stood as the school record for 18 years until Jim Gaule broke it in 1982. He led the North Egypt Conference in scoring in both his junior and senior seasons and was an All-NEC First Team pick both years.

During his senior season he averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds a contest, both team highs. Those accomplishments led to Special Mention to the Champaign News Gazette All-State team.
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The 1956 Salem Wildcats baseball team had one of the most complete squads in school history with strong pitching, a potent offense and sharp defense.

That combination spelled one of the best seasons in school history. The Wildcats won their third straight North Egypt Conference championship with a 5-0-1 mark. Their 16-1-1 overall mark set a school record for wins in a season. Salem won its second regional championship that season and advanced to the sectional finals for the first time.

Outside of a 3-3 tie against Fairfield, the Wildcats cruised by the rest of their NEC competition. Salem outscored their other five league opponents by a combined 45-2.
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The sports cliche defense wins championships applies to the 1952 Salem Wildcats football team.

While Salem did not have an overpowering offense that season with a 21 points per game average, the defense picked up the slack and carried the squad to a North Egypt Conference championship with a 5-0-1 record. The Wildcats overall record that season was 7-1-1.

The 1952 Salem defense gave up just 63 points that season, an average of only seven points a game. The Wildcats posted three shutouts against Fairfield 34-0, Mt. Carmel 28-0 and Centralia 7-0. Lawrenceville, Flora and Olney were all held to seven points or less.
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