In the early 1970′s no other athlete displayed more ability to excel in three sports than Don Jones. Don played football, basketball and baseball for SCHS and was a large contributor to the success of all three teams.

As a quarterback on the football team, Don was a 1st Team North Egypt Conference quarterback. His head coach, Gary Brandt, stated “Don does a fine job of running the club and I have not seen any other quarterback as good as Don this season.” He was also named the “Player of the game” vs. Mt. Carmel on October 15, 1971.
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The athletic career of Jeff Morris is a lot like wine. It has gotten better with age.

Morris followed up a good high school career with an even better collegiate and coaching career.

A 1980 graduate of SCHS, Morris participated in both baseball and football in high school. His best sport was baseball where he earned All-North Egypt Conference honors as a junior and led Salem in hitting with a .353 average. He also led Salem in hitting during his senior season.

Morris landed an opportunity to continue his baseball career at Kaskaskia College.
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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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In the first four years baseball was a league sport in the North Egypt Conference, the Salem Wildcats won the title every year.

The 1954 squad began that streak of dominance and as a result earned selection to the Salem Community High School Sports Hall of Fame.

The 1954 Wildcats, coached by Sam Bliss, were one of the most successful squads in school history. They went 15-3 overall and won the NEC title with a 10-2 record.
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A hard-throwing right-hander who made sports history with five no-hitters, four in succession, Jerry Mercer led the Salem baseball team to a North Egypt Conference championship and to the sectional finals in the state elimination series. Mercer graduated from Salem Community High School in 1956.

Mercer, who had an 11-0 record in regular season action, opened with a 4-0, no-hit victory over Vandalia, striking out 18 batters. He walked one batter that game and then promptly picked him off at first. He next recorded an 8-0 no-hitter over Lawrenceville, also fanning 18. Then came a no-hit, 11-0 win over Centralia, with 13 strikeouts, and a 13-0 no-hitter over Olney, with 10 strikeouts. Both of those games were five-inning affairs. National recognition came after the fourth no-hitter with a two-page spread in Life magazine.
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