Ghosts of '45. Massillon, McKinley almost met in state basketball finals

If glimpses of Earth are allowed from the other side, one imagines Harry Strobel and Elwood Kammer seeking permission to look in on the Massillon Tigers’ first trip to the state basketball final four in 81 years. In the here and now, Massillon’s breakthrough 2026 team will battle Lima Senior in an OHSAA Division II state semifinal at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 21 at Wright State. McKinley vs. Massillon was a fabled football feud by the mid-1940s. Those two almost met for the 1945 state basketball championship. Ohio had only two basketball divisions then, a Class A for larger schools and a Class B for smaller ones. McKinley and Massillon made it through separate Class A district tournaments to...