Keith Taylor: A road trip after UK’s loss to UT; rediscovering Milan Indiana’s David vs. Goliath history

Sometimes a road trip can lead you off the beaten path.

Following Kentucky’s 78-65 loss to Tennessee in the Midwest Regional finals last Friday, Rhonda and I decided to take our time driving home from Indianapolis. We didn’t have an agenda or a certain time frame to return home. We simply took our time.

We took the Cincinnati route on I-74 and opted to take a country drive to Milan, Indiana. A sign on the interstate led us to the “Milan ’54 Hoosiers Museum.” We followed US-50 and took it to Indiana SR 350 to Milan, a small town with a population of approximately 1,832 residents.

Our first stop was at the black water tower that still has the words, “State Champs 1954” written in fancy white stencils. The water tower didn’t hold much H20, but instead sat next to the Milan Furniture Store Company. The tower now sits on a gravel lot, was restored to its original look in 2018. The tower was restored to serve as a “symbol of achievement and hope, and a reminder to future generations that anything is possible.”

On West Carr Street, where money was once exchanged at State Bank of Milan, memories are now exchanged in the building converted into a museum to showcase the remarkable 1954 state title run by the Milan Indians. The unique museum still has the vault that once stored money for the people of Milan and now serves as a backdrop for photographs.

It remains one of the most memorable achievements in high school basketball in that state of Indiana and beyond.

Milan, a school with an enrollment of 161 students 71 years ago, defeated Muncie Central at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Muncie Central had an enrollment of 1,662 students at the time. The David versus Goliath feat served as the inspiration for the 1986 movie, “Hoosiers,” featuring the late Gene Hackman.

Memorabilia and artifacts in the museum provide a step back in time and a walk down memory lane. The museum also features more than 100 items of props and uniforms from the move “Hoosiers,” which remains one of the most watched sports movies in history.

Following Milan’s historic win, the small town in Indiana became a big deal locally, nationally and worldwide. Fans from 52 of Indiana’s 92 counties greeted the team on its return to Milan, and a series of celebrations that followed turned the town into “Hoosier Hysteria.” An estimated 40-50,000 fans welcomed the team back from Indianapolis. Fans lined the roads, streets and anywhere they could to help the “Mighty Indians of Milan” celebrate a state basketball championship.

The artifacts in the museum were like a time capsule back to an era when instant technology didn’t exist and small-town America beamed with pride when their teams won a state basketball championship. Milan had a population of 1,150 at the time.

Following the tour of the museum, Rhonda and I had lunch at the Reservation in Milan, another must-stop along the Indiana countryside. As we were having lunch, we overheard the townspeople talking about the NCAA Tournament and the fact that Kentucky “got smoked” by Tennessee the night before. They talked basketball, but nothing takes the place of the “Milan Miracle.”

A year ago, the museum celebrated the 70th anniversary of the feat and more than seven decades later, it remains the talk of the town.

Keith Taylor is sports editor of Kentucky Today, where this column first appeared.