PUEBLO, Colo. (Feb. 25, 2026) - With the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame and its historian, David Plati, establishing a committee to select the 150 most significant moments in Colorado's sports history, the Colorado Collegiate Chronicle will promote those memorable moments featuring collegiate happenings in the Centennial State.
The latest collegiate addition features a national junior college basketball title captured by Pueblo Junior College on March 18, 1961, in Hutchinson, Kan. Listed as No. 114 in the countdown, the achievement was recognized on the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame podcast, posted on Monday. PODCASTÂ
Coached by the late Harry Simmons, a 1982 inductee into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, Pueblo Junior College completed a four-game tourney sweep by defeating Tyler (Texas), 79-66. Bob Warlick, named the tournament's MVP, led the Indians in the tournament, scoring 86 points; he had 26 in the title game. 65th Anniversary Article
Pueblo Junior College, which became a four-year institution in the fall of 1963 and is now known as Colorado State University Pueblo, posted a 31-2 record during the 1960-1961 season.
In a book titled "THE JUCO CLASSIC," Michael L. Johnson wrote the following about the 1961 national tournament played at the Sports Arena in Hutchinson.
"Everyone was smiling. Since the school (Pueblo College) had a long tournament history and was long overdue, the Indians' championships were popular. Pueblo had been one of the first non-California participants in the Western States Tournament at Compton, the forerunner of the present national event. The Indians were a Midwest regional favorite in 1948, the national tournament's first year, before a snowstorm stranded them in Greensburg, Kansas, forcing them to forfeit a first-round game. Four subsequent trips to Hutchinson produced three consolation trophies and a strong desire to attain the summit. It was fitting that the school earned the top prize in its last tourney appearance."
The "Natty" highlighted a seven-season run by PJC, where the then-Indians (now ThunderWolves) have placed five times in the national tournament. During this stretch, PJC posted an 184-38 record (82.9 winning percentage, 12-7 record at nationals).
- 1954-55 (24-7) – tied for ninth, 1-2 at nationals
- 1955-56 (24-7) – sixth, 2-2 (Eugene Poston MVP)
- 1956-57 (31-6) – third, 3-1
- 1957-58 (25-5) – lost in the regional finals to Mesa Junior College (now Colorado Mesa University)
- 1955-59 (21-6) – lost in the regional finals to Mesa
- 1959-60 (28-5) – eighth, 2-2
- 1960-61 (31-2) – 1st, 4-0 (Bob Warlick MVP
During the "golden era", six of Simmons' players earned junior college All-American honors, led by Poston, who was the national tournament's MVP despite playing on a sixth-place team. Poston was an honorable mention in 1955 before being named to the first team in 1956. Other all-Americans were Ken Anderson (1957, second team), Al Roots (1958, third team), Curtis Jimerson (1960, second team), Les Pollack (1960, honorable mention), and Sam Smith (1961, first team).
Colorado's sesquicentennial (150th) birthday is on August 1, the date the territory was admitted to the Union as the 38th state in 1876. The committee with nearly 300 years of involvement in Centennial State sports is selecting the moments, and the CSHOF will count down the memorable happenings at a rate of five per week, then daily for the top 10 by the end of July. Plati has identified more than 1,930 of these moments, all listed chronologically by date to indicate their importance at the time. Plati, who served over 40 years as the sports information director at the University of Colorado, and Denver Broncos icon Jim Saccomano will unveil the list weekly on the CSHOF podcast at coloradosports.org/podcast/. The Denver Gazette has partnered with the CSHOF to publicize Colorado's top 150 sports moments.
