Editor's note: This is part one of a three-part series regarding the Hudson junior varsity boys basketball team's 65-game winning streak in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
by Rob Barrone | Correspondent
With a 20-1 record in the books, the Hudson junior varsity boys basketball team became the first Hudson boys squad to reach the 20-win plateau.
The JV team was soon followed by the boys varsity team, which finished 20-4.
Along the way, the two squads put together a couple of double-digit winning streaks. The varsity won 13 in a row at one point and the JV team racked up a 12-game run to start the campaign and closed with another eight-game streak.
Those are some nice streaks, but you will have to add them all together and double that total to eclipse a mark set more than 40 years ago.
In the early 1970s when comedian/songwriter Ray Stevens had a hit novelty song "The Streak," there also were a pair of long winning streaks on the hard court.
Two basketball streaks reached 88 and 65 games, respectively, just prior to that Stevens' hit in 1975. The most notable across the country was the 88-winning streak by the UCLA Bruins.
And which team had a 65-game winning streak?
Before Bill Walton led the Bruins on the court and before John Wooden coached and recruited the nation's best to play for him, there was another streak far from the public eye: Hudson at the junior varsity level. That streak spanned parts of five seasons (including three undefeated years).
"That's unbelievable," current Hudson junior varsity head boys basketball coach Grant Spaite said. "Going undefeated over one season is impressive but over that stretch, that's got to be one of those records that would stand the test of time.
"They [the UCLA Bruins] could hand pick [their recruits], but when you're a public school and dealing with the hand you've been dealt, that makes it even more impressive."
"The Streak" has almost been forgotten.
In December, that memorable run reached 40 years since it ended.
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