I compared state tournament--and at times, regional--game scores to come up with the 2 best small town teams each of the tournament. Then I came up with a game score, an actual meeting of the 2 teams if it exists, or otherwise based on common opponents.
# The actual championship game teams and score
+ An actual tournament game score, but not the final
** Both teams played in the tournament, but did not play each other
* One of the teams played in the tournament, the other did not
1913 Fosston 29 Mountain Lake 27#
1914 Fosston 29 Howard Lake 15**
1915 Fosston 29 Mountain Lake 23**
1916 Virginia 20 St. Paul Mechanic Arts 9#
1917 Mountain Lake 22 Fosston 12**
1918 Lake City 26 Fosston 6**
1919 Fosston 30 Chisholm 15**
1920 Morton 18 Fulda 9**
1921 Fosston 35 Sandstone 18**--7 title games and 5 mythical titles in 9 years for Fosston
1922 Madison 28 Crookston 27**
1923 Aurora 22 Blue Earth 11**
1924 Two Harbors 26 Kasota 9**
1925 St. Paul Mechanic Arts*--the only small school in the 1925 field
1926 Gaylord 13 Gilbert 9#
1927 Bagley*--the only small school in the 1927 field
1928 Virginia 28 Appleton 13**--1st other than Fosston to mythically repeat
1929 St. Paul Mechanic Arts 23 Ely 22**--3rd repeater
1930 St. Paul Mechanic Arts 30 Chisholm 11**--2nd to repeat consecutively
1931 Glencoe 25 Glenwood 10**
1932 Chisholm 25 Balaton 17**
1933 Chisholm 28 Montevideo 18+
1934 Chisholm 29 St. Paul Mechanic Arts 27#--Chishom is 2nd 3-peat champion
1935 Glencoe 24 Rushford 21*--Rushford lost to eventual state champ Austin in the Region 1 final
1936 Wadena 28 Buhl 27+--in reality, a huge semi-final upset
1937 Crosby-Ironton 32 Virginia 30**
1938 Crosby-Ironton 37 Appleton 22**
1939 Mountain Lake 38 Gilbert 24**
1940 Breckenridge 35 Mountain Lake 28**
1941 Buhl 39 Braham 29*
1942 Buhl 44 LeCenter 21*
1943 Arlington 34 Virginia 22*--1st mythical champ not in state tournament field
1944 Litchfield 39 Crosby-Ironton 38*--2nd champ not in state tournament field
1945 Fulda 44 Ely 26*--3rd champ not in state tournament field
1946 Mountain Lake 60 Lynd 35**
1947 Mountain Lake 39 Crosby-Ironton 38**--Lakers now 4-2 in mythical finals
1948 Mountain Lake 46 Crosby-Ironton 26**--Lakers 5-2, C-I 2-3
1949 LeSueur 33 Jackson 31--1st time neither was in the field
1950 Mpls. Vocational 43 Canby 38*--5th champ not in actual field
1951 Gilbert 69 Canby 52#--only the 3rd time #, and Gilbert in 2 of them
1952 Mountain Lake 53 Halstad 49**
1953 Albany 55 Virginia 52--only second time neither was in the field
1954 Renville 58 Braham 52*
1955 Esko 66 Fairmont 52+
1956 Halstad 64 Blue Earth 62*
1957 Foley 52 Lyle 51--Foley led by the great Norm Grow
1958 Virginia 64 Luverne 59
1959 Carlton 61 Hawley 53**
1960 Edgerton 67 Dodge Center 55*
1961 Edgerton 61 International Falls 54*
1962 Danube 65 Jordan 50*
1963 Granite Falls 63 Sauk Centre 61**
1964 Luverne 68 Spring Valley 60*
1965 Henning 67 Virginia 62**
1966 Henning 69 Chisholm 68*
1967 Hayfield 63 Walnut Grove 58**
1968 Hayfield 84 Luverne 52**
1969 Wells 68 Crosby-Ironton 55**
1970 Sherburn 92 Albany 53*
1971 Melrose 72 Renville 60**--you had big schools in Class A; Renville lost to Red Wing in a semi
1972 St.James 57 Melrose 55#
1973 Chisholm 53 Melrose 52#
1974 Melrose 55 Waseca 47**--Waseca lost to Mound in a semi
1975 Chisholm 41 St. Paul Mechanic Arts 33#
1976-1984 The small school tournament was "pure" with 2 classes and no larger schools to speak of in Class A, except DeLaSalle. The actual finals for 1976-1996 are the same as our mythical ones with the following exceptions:
1985 Winona Cotter 50 Ceylon 49**--DeLaSalle won Class A, later moved up to AAA
1988 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 51 Bigfork 48--DeLaSalle won Class A
1992 Austin Pacelli 60 Clearbrook 35--DeLaSalle was the runner-up
1995 Staples-Motley 46 Chisholm 44+--this was a Sweet Sixteen semi
1996 Staples-Motley 60 Fertile-Beltrami 48**
Then in the 4-class era we have to imagine the result of a 2-class tournament.
1997-- Caledonia 71 Janesville-WP 66+
1998-- Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 54 Norman County East 52
1999-- Watertown-Mayer 61 Southwest MN Christian 52**--DeLaSalle win Class AA both years, but is now AAA
2000--Litchfield 42 Waterville-EM 28#
2001--Kenyon-Wanamingo 54 Southwest MN Christian 48**
2002--Litchfield 62 Lewiston-Altura 51#
2003--Litchfield 53 Mankato Loyola 49**
2004--Braham 73 Martin County West 47**
2005--Braham 59 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 49
2006--Braham 72 Breck 54#
2007--Holy Family 61 Maple River 57#
2008--Ellsworth 50 New London-Spicer 49**
2009--Pelican Rapids 80 St. Bernard's 68#
2010--Minnesota Transitions 67 New London-Spicer 62**
2011--Springfield 56 Perham 54**
2012--Belgrade-BE 62 Plainview EM 60**
Big Winners
This of course includes the 1976-1996 winners not listed above.
Mountain Lake 6 titles-3 runnersup. Champions in 1917, 1939, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1952. The 2nd great small town dynasty not counting the Iron Range.
Fosston 5-2 in the finals. Champions 1913, 1914, 1915, 1919, 1921. The 1st great small town dynasty.
Chisholm 6-5. Champions 1932, 1933, 1934, 1973, 1975, 1991.
Litchfield 4-1. Champs in 1944, 2000, 2002, 2003.
Lake City 4-0. Champs 1918, 1978, 1979, 1990.
Winona Cotter 3-2. Champs in 1977, 1982, 1985.
Braham 3-2. Champions 2004, 2005, 2006, runnersup 1941, 1954.
St. Paul Mechanic Arts 3-3. Champs in 1925, 1929, 1930.
Virginia 3-5. Champs 1916, 1928, 1958, runnersup 1937, 1943, 1952, 1953, 1965.
Pelican Rapids 2-1. Champs in 1984 and 2009.
Melrose 2-2. Champs in 1971 and 1974.
Crosby-Ironton 2-5. Champs in 1937 and 1938, runnersup 1944, 1947, 1948, 1969 and 1987.
Buhl 2-1.
Bird Island, Glencoe, Edgerton, Henning, Hayfield, LeSueur, and Staples-Motley all 2-0.
By decade the dynasties were Fosston 1910s, St. Paul Mechanic Arts 1920s, Chisholm 1930s, Mountain Lake 1940s, Virginia 1950s, Luverne 1960s, Chisholm and Melrose 1970s, Staples-Motley the 1990s, and Litchfield and Braham in 2000s.
Note the Iron Range with Chisholm, Virginia, C-I and Buhl for a total of 13 "titles" and 15 runnersup. Except for Chisholm, however, there has not been a mythical small town finalist from the Iron Range since C-I in 1987, nor a Mesabi Range finalist since Virginia in 1965, nor a Mesabi Range champion since Virginia in 1958.
One-Shot Wonders
These are schools who have been judged the #1 small town (or small school) team one year, who never were among the top 2 again.
The 1920s
There would appear to have been lots of parity in these early years, as we had one-shot wonder "champions" in 1922 (Madison), 1923 (Aurora), 1924 (Two Harbors), 1926 (Gaylord) and 1927 (Bagley). Madison was runner-up in reality. Aurora, Two Harbors and Gaylord won state titles. Only Bagley "snuck in," you might say.
But Gaylord was clearly the class of these one-shot wonders. They won 7 consecutive upsets, stretching as far back as the sub-district finals and including wins over Moorhead, Austin and Gilbert at state. They were the first champion to be called by the name "Cinderella," and when they won the state title it was as if every small town had won, excepting of course Gilbert. Excited fans literally passed a hat around the lobby of the Kenwood Armory, where the tournament was played in 1926, and raised $500 to help with the team's travel expenses to the national tournament in Chicago.
1930s and 1940s
Parity lapsed for about 20 years as there was but 1 one-shot wonder in each of the next 2 decades: Wadena in 1936 and Arlington in 1943.
Buhl had upset favored Mpls. Edison in the 1st round in 1936, and an easy win over Wadena was imagined. Instead, Wadena shocked Buhl 28-27 in the semi but then lost to Austin in the final.
In 1943 Virginia was the only small school in the tournament field. They finished a respectable 3rd, beating Bemidji and Austin by a total of 6 points, and losing to Alexandria in the semi-finals, also by 6 points. St. Paul Washington demolished Alex in the final, 55-33. Ergo, Arlington. Arlington lost to Anoka 17-16 in a Region 4 semi. Anoka then lost to St. Paul Washington 26-23 in the region final. That makes Wahington 4 points better than Arlington, 22 points better than Alex, and 28 points better than Virginia. If it were close, I might stick with Virginia, but it's not close. Arlington was clearly a better ball club than Virginia.
The 1950s
The 1950s again saw some good parity as there were 5 different 1-shot-wonders and several who have a story to tell: e.g. Mpls. Vocational 1950 was a smaller school that played in the Lake Conference rather than the Mpls. City. Yet it won the Mpls. district title and lost to eventual state runner-up Robbinsdale 43-37 in the Region 5 final. Esko in 1955 in fact defeated Fairmont in the consolation championship game. Carlton 1959 would have been the smallest school from the smallest town to win the state title, if it had indeed won the finale, but it lost to Wayzata instead.
But the most interesting small town teams of the 1950s were Halstad 1956 and Foley 1957.
A great and widely recognized Halstad team had finished 3rd in the 1952 tournament, as Jim Akason finished his career as the #1 scorer in MN history. But Halstad yielded to Mountain Lake, a 1-point loser to eventual champion Hopkins, as the best small town team. Now, in 1956, Halstad lost to Bemidji 75-72 in the Region 8 final, whereupon the Lumberjacks took defending state champ Mpls. Roosevelt into OT before losing 73-70 in the 1st round at state. This is enough to establish Halstad as the top small town team, ahead of state runner-up Blue Earth, who lost to Roosevelt in an infamous rout in the state final 101-54.
Foley, meanwhile, was the District 19 champion in 1956 and 1957, Norm Grow's sophomore and junior seasons. By 1958 Grow would displace Akason a MN's all-time scorer but even Grow could not bring his team to a win vs. state champ Mpls. Roosevelt in the 1956 and 1957 Region 5 tournaments. In fact, St. Louis Park beat Foley 68-59 in a 1956 semi while Roosevelt themselves did it 50-37 in 1957. Still, Foley looks like the best small-town team in MN though Lyle, a 1-point loser to Rochester in the Region 1 final, also looks like a toughie.
No small town team won a state title between 1951 (Gilbert) and 1960 (Edgerton). It is teams like Halstad and Foley and Esko and Lyle that make me wish we had had 2 classes all along,
The 1960s
Parity was perceived to be at an all-time low as the Lake Conference dominated. Yet, small towns won state titles in 1960 (Edgerton) and 1964 (Luverne), and Henning and Hayfield each won two mythical titles. But Danube 1962 was the toughest of the 1-shot wonders of the 1960s.
The 1970s
Sherburn (1970) and St. James (1972) were not only 1-shot-wonders but in fact both won the overall state title undefeated. Mpls. Marshall-U did the same in 1976. They're a 1-shot-wonder among the small schools but obviously don't qualify as small-town.
The 1980s
Barnum (1983) and Norman County West (1987) were the only 1-shot-wonders of the '80s and both are in fact Class A champions.
The 1990s
Ditto Catholic powers Austin Pacelli (1992) and St. Agnes (1994), plus Caledonia (1997, Class AA among 4 classes). Long Prairie (1998) and Watertown-Mayer (1999) lost to DeLaSalle in Class AA but the Islanders have since moved up to Class AAA. The best of these 1-shot-wonders would be Caledonia, who defeated DeLaSalle 69-47 as Aaron Middendorf scored 45 points in the 1st Class AA final in 1997 to finish undefeated.
21st Century
The 1-shot-wonders include Kenyon-Wanamingo (2001), Holy Family (2007), Ellsworth (2008), MN Transitions (2010), Springfield (2011) and Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (2012). The 1st 2 were Class AA, and Holy Family was probably the best of the 5, while the latter 4 are Class A. For their class you gotta love BBE, with just 1 loss over 2 years--that to Springfield in the 2011 state final. In 2012 BBE came back to beat SW MN Christian 54-45 for its 1st state title.
The best of the 1-shot-wonders throughout the years look to me like this:
1. Mpls. Marshall-U 1976
2. Gaylord 1926
3. Sherburn 1970
4. St. James 1972
5. Caledonia 1997
6. Aurora 1923
7. Madison 1922
8. Foley 1957
9. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 2012
10. Ellsworth 2008
But more to the point, the best of the small school teams are:
Top Small School Teams
1. Mpls. Marshall-U 1976
2. Litchfield 2000
3. Edgerton 1960
4. Melrose 1974
5. Braham 2005
6. Sherburn 1970
7. Lake City 1979
8. Gaylord 1926
9. Chisholm 1934
10. Buhl 1942
11. Luverne 1964
12. St. Paul Mechanic Arts 1925
13. Braham 2006
14. Caledonia 1997
15. Gilbert 1951
16. Mountain Lake 1939
17. Pelican Rapids 2009
18. St. James 1972
19. St. Paul Mechanic Arts 1930
20. Ellsworth 2008
21. Breckenridge 1940
22. Staples-Motley 1995--the best small school not to win a state title
23. Chisholm 1991
24. Chisholm 1973
25. Fosston 1913
26. Henning 1966--#2 non-title winner
27. Buhl 1941
28. Mountain Lake 1946--3rd best non-title winner
29. Melrose 1971
30. Aurora 1923
31. Bird Island-Lake Lillian 1980
32. Lynd 1946--4th best non-title winner
33. Chisholm 1975
34. St. Agnes 1994
35. Virginia 1916
36. Danube 1962--5th best non-title winner
37. Madison 1922--#6 non-winner
38. Carlton 1959--#7 non-winner
39. Foley 1957--#1 non-state tournament participant40 (tie). Crosby-Ironton 1937--#9 tie non-winner
Virginia 1937--#9 tie non-winner
42 (tie). Mountain Lake 1952--#11 tie non-winner
Mountain Lake 1948--#11 tie non-winner
Mountain Lake 1947--#11 tie non-winner45. Wadena 1936--#14 non-winner
46. Winona Cotter 1982
47. Glencoe 1931
48. Halstad 1952--#15 non-winner
49. Rushford 1989
50. Braham 2004
51. Maple River 1993
52. Two Harbors 1924
53. Edgerton 1961--#16 non-winner
54. LeSueur 1986
55. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrose 2012
56. Gilbert 1926--#17 non-winner
57. Chisholm 1995--#18 non-winner
58. Litchfield 1944--#2 non-state tournament participant
59. Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 1988--#20 non-winner
60. Litchfield 2002
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