Recognized as one of the top football teams in SCHS history, the 1946 Wildcats inducted in 1993 compiled an 8-1 record, outscored their opponents 216-25 and rolled up 2,594 yards from scrimmage. The Wildcats finished second in the North Egypt Conference, losing to Flora, 12-0, in the third game of the season. The only other scores against the Wildcats were in the 13-6 opening win at Lawrenceville and in the closing 20-7 win over Mt. Vernon.

With a strong line of Bud Alderson and Arlin Wade at tackle; Bill Chance and Richard Laney at guard; and Glenn Holler at center, the Wildcats had the protection to unleash the speed of Bill Hooks who scored 22 touchdowns, and the power of Gay Thomason and Carle Blackwell to dominate their opponents.
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A team that generated high hopes for its followers and confirmed some of those hopes with a 23-5 record and a forth Egypt Conference Championship.

Although they opened and closed with losses, Coach Walt Kirk, Jr. , led his Wildcats, the “Knights of Marion County”, to 23 victories in the intervening 26 games while winning the NEC title with an 11-1 mark.

After the opening loss, Salem started a string of victories with an 81-66 win over Effingham with four players scoring in double figures led by Ed Perry’s 28 points, and following with a 52-51 win over Mt. Vernon as Jack Moore led with 16 points.
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The 1945 Wildcat team was one of the smallest teams in SCHS history, and one of the grittiest.

One of the better football teams in the school’s history, they parlayed quickness and speed with deception to offset their lack of size – the first team average weight was 150 pounds. Usually, their opponents outweighed them on an average of 30-60 pounds per man.

They were an explosive team on offense and stingy on defense, outscoring the opposition 273-60 in a 10-game season. Head coach Kenny Farrar and his assistant, Howard Thurman, stressed physical conditioning, an explosive and deceptive offense, and quickness on defense to offset the lack of size.
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The 1941 Salem football team, North Egypt Conference champions with a 6-0 record, were deemed one of the best teams in the state.

In addition to winning the conference, the first ever outright title for Salem, the Wildcats compiled an 8-1 record, including a 13-12 win over Centralia in a classic “Battle of Marion County” contest. They were also invited to play in the first ever Shriner’s benefit football game, and were the cause of Centralia severing athletic relations with Salem.

Some of this group started the renaissance of Salem football as sophomores on a team that finished 7-1-1, including a 16-0 win over Centralia-the first ever in football for the Wildcats over Centralia. As juniors some of these players tied for the NEC crown with a 5-0-1 mark.
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The Salem Wildcat Basketball team that is recognized as one of the best in the school’s history, a team that holds the best won-lost record of any Salem basketball team, was inducted into the Salem High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.

The 1947-48 Wildcats ranked from No.2 to No.4 in the State all season ran up a record of 27-3. They captured the North Egypt Conference championship with an 11-1 mark, repeating the championship they won the year before when they were a predominately junior team. Members of the team, selected as the tournament squad, were Carle Blackwell, Darrell Brame, Jim Bredar, Kenny Burchett, Bill Chance, Bob Frala, Bob Hayden, Glenn Holler, Mark Johnson, Richard Laney, John McMackin, Bob Warden, and their coaches, the late Michael E. Lenich and Steve Lenich.

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The Salem Community High School basketball team that set scoring records in the state tournament and won the hearts of many of the fans at the 1943 state tournament, was the second team to gain induction into the Salem Sports Hall of Fame. The 1942-43 Wildcats basketball team that won third place in the tournament was only the second Salem team to make it to the state tournament.

That team, posting a 27-7 record while winning the third place honors, also won the North Egypt Conference title, the regional championship (50-40 over Centralia) and the sectional championship.

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