The 1951 Portsmouth Trojans went 18-4, and won a memorable showdown with the Chillicothe Cavaliers in the district championship. CHS had come into the game with a perfect 20-0 mark, and had their sights set on making the state tournament. But the Men of Troy had plans to end the Cavaliers hopes, and that they did with a late rally to sqeeze by the Ross Countians by a 53-51 score.
The 1952 Portsmouth Trojans posted a mark of 14-8 for the regular season, and with it was the 3rd consecutive district championship. The Trojans had a rough year in the tough Greater Ohio League, failing to win a game as they went 0-6. The GOL proved how tough it was because PHS went 14-2 in all the other games, and Middletown won the state championship, giving the GOL its 6th state title since 1944.
The 1954 Portsmouth Trojans district championship team was the school's 4th in 5 years. Despite going 9-9 in the regular season, the Trojans still had some commendable wins along the way. PHS crushed Cincinnati Roger Bacon, Cincinnati Elder, and Cincinnati Walnut Hills. The Trojans beat Ironton twice, beat Columbus East, nipped Springfield 71-70, and handled Lima easily 78-60. Portsmouth then pulled off a big upset to end the regular season, as state ranked Dayton Stivers fell to the Trojans 81-52. Leroy Carr was the leading scorer on this team, and had games of 35, 33, and 32 points.
The 1955 Portsmouth Trojans not only won the school's 5th district title in 6 years, but at one point of the season they were ranked #1 in the AP Poll. PHS had an outstanding record of 20-4, only the 4th time in school history that a Trojan basketball team had won 20 games. In addition, it was the first time in Portsmouth's GOL history that the Trojans swept Middletown, Hamilton, and Springfield twice each. The only league losses that year were to Lima and Mansfield (Mansfield was a member of the GOL at that time). The only other loss in the regular season was to Columbus East.
The 1956 Portsmouth Trojans' district championship was the school's 6th in 7 years. PHS compiled a record of 16-7, with a 5-5 mark in the Greater Ohio League (at that time Mansfield was a member of the GOL). In the regular season, Portsmouth gave a double whipping of Ironton, beat Cincinnati Western Hills and Cincinnati Hughes, and also topped Columbus East. The win over Hughes was a nice way to start out the season considering that the Big Red had eliminated the Trojans in the regional final the year before.
After coming off 3 straight losing seasons for the first time in school history, the 1960 Portsmouth Trojans brought the basketball program back to prominence with an 18-5 season, winning a district title. The Trojans secured their first opening Greater Ohio League win in 4 years with a 64-40 triumph over Hamilton Taft. Portsmouth finished a very respectable 6-4 in the GOL, with a sweep of Middletown 68-58 and 62-52, and Hamilton Taft. The sweep of Middletown was particularly sweet in that the Middies had beaten the Trojans 9 straight times.
Here is the roster and scores for the 1961 Portsmouth Trojans district championship and state championship team:
Roster: Jim Malone, Dick Spencer, Jim Fuller, Stan Burgess, Bill Parker, Steve Robinson, Dozier Carter, Clem Hartley, Rudy Shively, Mike Haley, Jim Nagle. All were seniors except Bill Parker, who was a junior.
Coach: George Heller
Regular Season:
The 1963 Portsmouth Trojans won their 3rd district title in 4 years, as they defeated AP #6 unbeaten 21-0 Marietta. In the regular season, the Trojans conquered Columbus Eastmoor, Lancaster, Chillicothe 75-67, Ironton twice, Lima 76-62, Springfield South 50-38, and beat Hamilton Garfield twice, 73-61 and 60-59. PHS lost to Middletown twice. Portsmouth at one point of the season was tied with Logan for 19th in the AP Poll.
The 1964 Portsmouth Trojans posted an 18-5 record en route to a Class AA district championship. Larry Hisle and Al Oliver were the two leading scorers on this team, which had some notable wins along the way. The Trojans opened the season with wins over Columbus Grandview and Hillsboro, and then added a win over Lancaster. PHS beat Middletown at Grant Gym 69-67 in 3 OT, and the Men of Troy also knocked off highly touted Huntington WV 82-79 in OT. The Trojans destroyed Chillicothe 95-59, and bested Ironton twice.
The 1967 Portsmouth Trojans posted a record of only 11-11, but played some of its best basketball in the tournament. In the sectional opener, PHS beat Northwest 65-42, then upset previously unbeaten 19-0 Waverly 67-59 to capture the sectional crown. In the district semifinal, PHS crushed Belpre 73-51, then won the district title with a 57-53 win over Miami Trace. The Trojans' season ended with an 83-54 loss to then undefeated Columbus East in the regional semifinals.