25th anniversary of All-PHL State Championship Game

It was 25 years ago that Public High League rivals Vashon and Soldan met each other for the Class 4A state championship. This excerpt on that memorable game is from Earl Austin Jr.'s book, "The PHL in the STL: The Public High League, A St. Louis Basketball Legacy," which is available on this website.

On March 9, 1985, the best of the Public High League was on display for the entire state of Missouri to see as rivals Vashon and Soldan met for the Class 4A state championship. Such a meeting was a rarity for many years because most of the powerful PHL teams were put in the same district tournament at O’Fallon Tech, thus nullifying many top teams from the state-title chase early.

Vashon and Soldan had met in two hotly-contested district games in 1983 and ’84, but Soldan was sent to another district before the 1984-85 season. As the season unfolded, Vashon and Soldan had established themselves as the top teams in the state and they were on a collision course for the Hearnes Center in Columbia, the site of the Final Four. The PHL had long been the domain of some of the best basketball played in the state. Now, a statewide television audience would get the opportunity to see the best of the PHL, up close and personal. Those mini-turf battles that had been taking place in inner city gyms all over St. Louis was now being played on the state’s biggest stage for everyone in the Show-Me State to see. It was electric. “It definitely wasn’t planned because we were always in the same district for years,” said Vashon coach Floyd Irons. “For some reason, Soldan was moved into another district. It showed how strong the league was at the time to have two teams playing for the state title.” The two teams had already played two spirited games during the regular season. Soldan won the first meeting 60-59 in the championship game of the Normandy Christmas Tournament. Senior point guard Patrick Price came through for Soldan with 19 points to lead the Tigers to the victory. The rematch was held two months later at Vashon and it was the Wolverines that got revenge with a 61-57 victory in another hotly-contested game that eventually decided the PHL title in the Wolverines’ favor. As the postseason came around, both teams steamrolled their way to the championship game. Vashon defeated Hazelwood Central and DeSmet to get to Columbia.