Friends of Basketball

Mike Houma

Year Inducted: 1986

Category: Friends of Basketball

Schools / Organizations: (Taylorville) St. Mary Grade School

Biography: Mike Houma took two basketballs given to him by the IBCA Hall of Fame Coach Dolph Stanley in the fall of 1945, and traded them for one good one in Taylorville. With it, Houma, in a non-paying role, started the basketball program at Taylorville’s St. Mary Grade School. On Houma’s first team was George Zigman, an IBCA Hall of Famer. Houma coached basketball at St. Mary’s for 23 years, 15 of those without its own gymnasium, compiling a 230-167 record.  Mike Houma died on January 12, 1998.