Junior Mannies
High School: Peru 1945
College: Ball State 1951
Oscar “Junior” Mannies was veteran basketball coach who served as the IBCA Job Placement Director and Record Book editor for several years until passing away in March 1983.
Mannies compiled a 309-301 record in 29 seasons as a varsity boys’ basketball coach at Gilead (1951-54), Washington Township-Cass County (1954-57), Delphi (1957-62), Mississinewa (1962-74), Lewis Cass (1974-77) and Elwood (1977-80).
He five times was named Mississinewa Valley Conference Coach of the Year. In addition, he was the 1970 Marion Chronicle-Tribune area Coach of the Year, the 1976 Logansport Pharos-Tribune area Coach of the Year and the 1977 Kokomo Tribune area Coach of the Year.
Mannies also was a varsity baseball coach for 23 years, and he concluded his career in education by serving as athletic director at Danville High School from 1980 until his passing at age 55.
A 1945 graduate of Peru High School, Mannies was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and served in World War II. After his military service, he attended Earlham College from 1947-49, then earned a bachelor’s degree from Ball State in 1951. He later earned a master’s degree from Ball State. During college, Mannies played basketball for two seasons at Earlham College and one season at Ball State.
Mannies became a popular figure in the early years of the IBCA, and he enjoyed working with coaches from across the state to help them find jobs, beginning in that role in 1976. He also founded the Indiana boys’ basketball Record Book, the first issue being published in 1980.
Since 1983, as many as five Junior Mannies Scholarship Awards have been presented annually to students who have overcome some physical adversity to still contribute to their school’s basketball program. (Most years, one or two awards have been presented. Several years, three or four awards were presented. One year, 2009, five were presented.)
Click here to view the PDF document with the history of the Junior Mannies Award Winners.