"He was well-known all over southern Illinois-all over Illinois-at that time. Trout was one brilliant man," remembers Bill Castleman, who played for the Orphans during their peak years of 1940-41 and who has lived in Centralia nearly all his life. He led his teams to 801 victories during his remarkable 36-year coaching career in Centralia. Whatever the inspiration, the moniker stuck.Īlthough some opponents may have snickered when they heard Centralia's cheerleaders shout, "O-R-P-H-A-N-S! Orphans are the very best," players today continue to take pride in the team's name and in Trout's legacy. The fans, yet again, were reminded of poor, neglected orphans. "When two players arrived on the floor at the same time in matching uniforms, it was by accident, not design," Schnake writes. Others point to Trout's well-known frugality and the fact that he often had his players pick their game-day uniforms from a stack of previous years' leftovers. Trout said he renamed the team after his favorite movie, the 1922 silent classic "Orphans of the Storm." But in his book "Trout: The Old Man and the Orphans," author Don Schnake suggests that the team's fans played a role in the new name: Some thought the players looked "as sad as a band of unwanted orphans" when they hit the boards. The origin of the Orphans name has become the stuff of local legend. is the one thing that always brings us together, the one common thread between black and white, different groups, whatever." Mike McManus, a 1987 graduate of Centralia High School and now a sportswriter for the daily Centralia Sentinel newspaper, says: "Centralia is a town that's been hit with one setback after another. That record has played a crucial role in shaping the town's identity. Before you scoff at the name, know this: For nearly 70 years, the Orphans have been the winningest high school boys basketball team in the nation, achieving a lifetime record of 1,937 wins and 814 losses by the close of the 2002-03 season. Specifically, basketball as played by the Centralia Orphans. The enterprise that really drives this town, that has captured its imagination for almost a century, is basketball. So the residents of Centralia have learned to invest their hopes elsewhere: in the hardwood floorboards of Centralia High School's Trout Gym and the gymnasiums of rival schools.
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