Knox College Athletics

The 1959 men’s basketball team finished its season with a 20-3 record overall and a 15-1 mark in the Midwest Conference. The 1959 team is the only Knox basketball team to reach the 20-win mark and still has the highest winning percentage in Knox men’s basketball history. The team, coached by Frank Adams, averaged nearly 80 points-per-game in league play in winning the conference title. The nucleus of the team also helped Knox share conference championships in 1958 and 1960.

The 1959 squad was the second straight Knox men’s basketball team to earn a berth in the NCAA College Division Tournament. Knox advanced to the quarterfinals and finished second in regionals both years.

Team members were Bob Bennett, Chuck Davis, Gordie Faubel, Denny Geraghty, Bill Graning, Gary Hoopes, Lanny Kiest, Dan Littell, Jim Marks, Mike Morin, John Napiersky, Joe Pankus, Dick Pierson, and J.B. White.

In nominating the 1959 men’s basketball team, Ron Streibich said, “In the late 1950s, I was sports editor of The Knox Student and the sports information director for the College. I witnessed the formation and development of the Knox basketball team of 1959, surely the greatest in college annals.”