“Here’s a song for dear old Granite
Lift your voice and sing
Here’s a cheer for dear old Granite
Shout it, let the echoes ring
Victory’s our habit,
Let’s win this game.”
—Granite City fight song
GRANITE CITY, Ill.—It may not be a film depicting the Armenian Genocide, but it’s the next best thing to be coming out of Hollywood this year.
Some conclude it’s every bit as touching and motivational because it depicts the story of what occurred following those tumultuous years in Ottoman Turkey.
It’s the story of a small community of poor immigrant Armenians who forged their own version of the epic “Hoosiers” basketball film by winning a state title of their own with a never-say-die attitude.
They represented the children of survivors who never knew the likes of a basketball until they arrived here.
The year was 1940. The place? A community center in town where teens gathered to play their sport. It wasn’t much. A pair of BF Goodrich sneakers for those who could afford it and a basketball hoop that wasn’t much better than a grocery basket with the bottom cut out.
It is here that four Armenians gathered with their counterparts and learned the rudiments of their game. They ran roughshod over teams that year, going 28-5, and squeezing out a 24-22 victory in the championship game.
They paid little heed to the fact that our country was off to war and many of them were headed for the battlefield. The Happy Warriors were the toast of the town.
There was a “ringer” that year and he was destined for greatness. His name was Andy Phillip and he captained the team before being drafted by the Boston Celtics right around the Bob Cousy era while playing 11 years in the NBA. Philip was the real deal, going on to the Naismith Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.
But so was this Armenian quartet.
Two were starters. The other two were pivotal players. It was not uncommon to see all four Armenians on the same floor at the same time, perhaps giving each other a signal in their native language.
So now, Hollywood has jumped aboard the bandwagon and decided to turn this fairy tail into a full-scale production from a book written by another Armenian, Dan Manoyan, an award-winning sportswriter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where he worked 15 years before retiring.
The project was formerly known under the title, “The Boys of Lincoln Place,” based on a true story of how a group of poor, immigrant kids from the wrong side of the tracks rose above bigotry by proving themselves on a basketball court.
Producers tapped Shirley MacLaine for a starring role, only to see her leave the set. Her replacement is Susan Sarandon. The male lead was given to William Hurt who is still aboard.
Hurt expressed interest in the part of the coach, who suffers a string of defeats and feels it unlikely his school will ever win a game until this band of Armenian players takes to the court. Only then does his passion for the game reignite.
Filming began this month and is set to conclude in April with a release date in mid-November. It’s been in the works for two-and-a-half years. Manoyan’s book was published five years ago.
In conjunction with the film, the entire team this year was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame. Ironically, only two survivors were able to join the celebration—Hagopian and Markarian—both well into their 90s and still living in Granite City.
Both men expressed their pride in a conference call, so buoyant in fact that one kept pre-empting the other to tell his story. Their recollection never struck a lull, not after 75 years!
“When you stop and think about it, this is an amazing story,” said Markarian. “Our families were exposed to brutal massacres. Some survived. Many were put to death. They came to this country, a land of opportunity, worked in the factories, and made the most of their opportunity. And it was the game of basketball that gave this community its notice back then.”
Hagopian concurred. The film, he says, is a tribute to all Armenians who came here as immigrants, sacrificed, and sent their children to fine colleges. They fought hard to gain the respect of other ethnic groups.
“My parents never saw a game, not even the championship,” he remembered. “They were too busy working and providing for their family. They were proud of us, all right. What was more important than the sport was education.”
Only 2 of the 10 players that year attended college, despite their skills. Phillips was destined. Hagopian was not, until he earned the GI Bill.
“I sent three boys to good colleges,” boasted Hagopian, a prince of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America. “And each of them made me proud in their own way, very involved in the Armenian community and raised wonderful families of their own.” Michael played soccer in college. Stephen participated in track and field. Jeff was a tennis player in high school.
While Markarian excelled in machine shop, working for an aircraft company for $22 a week after high school, Hagopian served on an Air Force bomber. He gave up a budding career as a violinist, got involved in the family bakery business, did agriculture for a while, and worked the steel mills.
The church and Armenian community has always remained a staple of his life, which clearly matriculated down to his sons and grandkids.
The opening segment of Manoyan’s book speaks rather extensively about the genocide. He dedicated it to the 1.5 million victims, along with his two sons.
“As we have seen in the years since, athletics can be a great equalizer and agent for change in this country,” Manoyan tells us. “A high school basketball team with Armenians who called themselves the Happy Warriors changed the city’s perception of immigrants forever at a time when discrimination manifested itself.”
Getting to the stars, Hurt plays the coach who sent his team spiraling to the top after nearly a win. He greets the band of Armenian-speaking kids and fills his blood vessels with their passion.
Sarandon assumes the role of a 50-year-old schoolteacher who watches over her boys with steely eyes, takes no guff, and encourages the downtrodden players to leave their broken-down neighborhood gym for the more formal school court.
By mentoring, encouraging, and helping to pave the way for these boys, she firmly believes that she is doing God’s work.
The project is set in Granite City, a steel town in southern Illinois across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. The city was a true melting pot in terms of culture and economic social classes. All four of the Armenian names are prominent fixtures in town.
Andy Philip was a Hungarian-born kid named Andras Fulop before having his name Americanized. Aside from the Armenians, the other boys were Yugoslavian and Macedonian, living in a town settled by Western Europeans (mostly Germans).
The story is being culled together by casting agent-turned-producer Valerie McCaffrey, who is also Armenian. The screen writer is another Armenian named Armand Kachigian, also from Granite City.
Insiders agree the film has Oscar tendencies and is being released at a time when critics take wide notice of awards. Both Hurt and Sarandon have quality star power and are Oscar winners.
There is also talk about the two survivors—Hagopian and Margarian—making cameo appearances in the movie. No doubt, the other two Armenians will be mentioned posthumously.
Among the litany of comments is one from Pam McCollum who grew up in Granite City and whose dad was a basketball fanatic.
“The story of the 1940 state championship basketball team is well known in my hometown,” she says. “These are kids who played in socks, some so poor they didn’t own tennis shoes, and all from hard-working immigrant families who moved to America in hopes of a better life. They had to suffer the indignity of being called ‘dirty’ because of the complexion of their skin and their obvious poverty. They were even dubbed ‘The Terrible Turks’ before people set the coach and media straight.”
In the end, Shirley MacLaine might have been a natural had she stuck with the cast. It was as if she were tailor-made for the role. She was born on April 24th!
Tom Vartabedian
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Moving story!!
Growing up in Lincoln Place in the 60s and 70s was the greatest place in the world to be raised . Most of my fondest memories of life are deep in that melting pot people call the wrong side of the tracks . It was the only side people stand tall and say that’s where I’m from . I could wright a book about Lincoln Place values that are instilled in you growing up that last a lifetime
Thanks for the wonderful article of Men of Granite. However, there were two major errors that I feel I must address. First, Shirley MacLaine is still committed to the project and there has never been, to my knowledge, any disscussion with Susan Sarandon (or anyone else for that matter) on replacing her. Also, the movie has not begun production as reported in the article. The latest target date to begin shooting is April 2015.
Grew up in Lincoln Place best childhood ever still live in Granite City love this place. My youngest son graduates from Granite City High School in May
How well I remember the parade after the boys won the championship. I was only 12 & we lived across from the Community Center. It was built for us by the Howard Family that owned the steel mill where most of our fathers worked. They hired Miss Prather to run the place – & run it she did. She couldn’t have been more than 5′ tall but if she said “sit” – you “sat”. She convinced people from the “other side of the tracks” to come to Lincoln Place & conduct Sunday School & Bible School as we did not have a church. The Catholics could go to “Church” in town.
The school we played against was Herron, another small school, in the Southern part of the State.
From the railroad tracks to the levy (that protected us from flooding of the Mississippi River) our area was known as “Lincoln Place”. The main street in Granite City was Niedringhaus Ave. (up to the railroad tracks) named for the brothers from Germany that founded the NESCO factory . When the Lincoln Place boys won the championship, the name of our street was changed from “Pacific” Ave. to Niedringhaus Ave. We were accepted as citizens of Granite City.
i grew up in Granite City. Still have friends n family there. It was a great place to to grow up in.
I’m very happy to find out there is a weekly publication about the Armenian existence and life in the Tri Cities. I knew so many of these kids its a comfort to find this out.
Love reading about this movie. My brothers and I played basketball for Granite. 9 years straight one of us were on the team (3 year high school at those times) My father did not miss a game for 9 years, even the Christmas Tournament held at Centralia or Pontiac. Great memories