A tall, lanky, six-foot-five 17-year-old stepped on the polished gymnasium hardwood for his first collegiate basketball game as a starter for Western Michigan College. His leather sneakers were tied, short shorts buckled, and kneepads strapped on, ready for action on the road at Loyola University in Chicago. He looked young, but no one in the crowd knew he had just graduated from high school a week ago.
The Broncos only had four games left in the 1942-43 season when coach Herbert W. (Buck) Read found out a pair of players failed to meet eligibility. Lacking players with height, the legendary coach sought out recent local high school graduate Van Dis to work out with the team. A few days later he was put into the starting line-up.
“I was real nervous to join the team and I remember coach telling me not to shoot from the corners,” he said. “He told me you can’t get rebound opportunities from the corner. Coach Read had a great basketball knowledge and was very respected.”
Van Dis scored seven points the game and sank two key free throws in overtime to help the Broncos beat rival Loyola 58-57 in two overtimes.
“I went back to the hotel room and I couldn’t join the guys for dinner because I was so fatigued,” he said. “I was just 17 and the experience was too much to swallow.”
News quickly spread around Kalamazoo about the youthful Van Dis and his role in Western Michigan College’s road to victory.
“It was really exciting to win and make a few baskets,” said Van Dis. “Back then there weren’t as many entertainment choices so people were really engaged with the college sports. That’s all there was, so people spread the news about me playing.”
He went on to start the remaining three games and scored five, nine and 12 points to give Western Michigan a four-game win streak to the end the year. The Broncos finished with the best record in Michigan at 15-4 and the University awarded Van Dis a varsity letter for his outstanding contribution to the team.
More than 70 years later, he is regarded as the only player in Michigan high school basketball history to ever play on a high school and college team in the same season.
War Puts Basketball On Hold
Van Dis turned 18-years-old after his first semester in July and was drafted into the Army as a reserve replacement to serve in World War II.
“I was bummed I had to leave school and basketball, but I knew it would happen with the war still going on,” he said.
Van Dis trained in Texas for three months and was given one night to decide if he wanted to serve in the Pacific or Europe. The army needed replacements in both but he, and many of the others, chose Europe because they thought they would be treated better if captured.
He went on to Maryland and was shipped overseas to Ireland. On the way to Europe, his ship had to zigzag to avoid being hit by the German submarines. One of the ships in his convoy was struck and many people died.
His company was a replacement for the 1st Infantry Division and landed at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France during the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944.
“Our only mission and instructions were to get to the top of the beach and dig in,” Van Dis said. “We were told to help no one and move as fast as we could. It was hard not to stop to help people but it was every man for himself.”
Six days after the invasion a group of five, including Van Dis, moved ahead over the hedgerows fighting and pushing back the Germans. Eventually, US tanks followed, which proved to be tragic for Van Dis’ group.
The tanks were supposed to clear the hedgerows and a safe path, but for some reason, as one of them came over a hill, the U.S. tank fired on Van Dis and the four other soldiers. Three of the five were killed, and Van Dis suffered a 50-caliber shot to his left buttocks and down his hamstring.
“If felt like I got hit with a line drive,” said Van Dis. “I was fortunate to be the least hurt, but was down on the ground for about three hours before medics came for us.”
He was taken back to England and spent a few months recovering before returning to his company. Van Dis eventually suffered trench foot during the winter of 1944 in the Hurtgem Forest and was sent back to the U.S. where he was discharged and given a Purple Heart.
Return to Bronco Basketball
Van Dis came back to Western Michigan in the fall of 1945, and started again on the basketball team. That season, the Broncos were invited to participate in the prestigious Madison Square Garden Collegiate Invitational for a third time in a row. The invitational showcased some of the best college basketball in the country and contained two NYC colleges against two other teams.
Coach Read’s nearly all-freshmen Broncos were heavy underdogs and St. John’s had an All-American player. Up against great odds, Western Michigan College upset St. John’s 60-57 in overtime in front of more than 18,000 fans. The local Kalamazoo newspapers described it as the greatest game ever played.
The upset made the New York Times and when the team returned on the train from NYC, President Sangren cancelled Friday classes to allow students to greet them at the station downtown. Nearly 2,000 students and residents carried the team off the train on their shoulders.
“We were so young we didn’t really know how big of a deal it was until we got home,” said Van Dis. “The school and townspeople loved it.”
Western Michigan played in front of packed home crowds all season and finished the year with a 15-7 record. Van Dis played two more seasons before graduating in 1948 with a degree in business administration.
After Western he joined his uncle and cousin in business at V & A Bootery in Kalamazoo and worked there until retiring at age 65.
In 1961, 13 years after finishing his last basketball season, Van Dis had an x-ray taken and found out he still had the WWII bullet in his leg. The doctor told him it would do too much damage to remove it so he decided to leave it in.
“I went back to see Coach Read years later and told him I played three season for him with a war bullet still in my leg,” said Van Dis. “Coach’s response was, ‘You moved so slow, I always knew you had lead in your a--.”
Van Dis is still a big Bronco fan and spends his time attending Western Football games in the fall. He celebrated his 70th high school reunion this past summer and is grateful for the life he has had.