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Bill Hougland - Gold Medalist


category : Famous People
Bill Hougland transferred to Beloit High School his junior year in 1947. He then took the team to its first state championship game, and brought them back again his senior year. After graduating, Bill was recruited by KU's Phog Allen. Hougland's senior year saw the Jayhawks emerge as champions of the now Big Eight conference, and of the 1952 NCAA tournament.

Seven of the KU team were selected to play in the Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. Among those was one Bill Hougland.

That year was the first year Russia sent a basketball team. The U.S. team came up against the Eastern country twice, winning both times to take home the gold.

Working for the Phillips Petroleum Company, Hougland was eligible to play for the Phillips 66 team in the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) league. In 1956, Hougland's team won the Olympic playoffs, and he was off to Melbourne, Australia, as captain of the U.S. team.

Again, the U.S. team took the gold, and it was Hougland, as team captain, who accepted the gold on the victory stand.


Come visit us in Beloit, Kansas

Attractions and Upcoming Events

Mitchell County Museum

The museum, organized in 1971, has four floors of displays featuring historical items of Mitchell County. The building was formerly a nurses home built in 1929 in a "Williamsburg" design. Displays include: Dishes, quilts, guns, china head dolls, iron toys, old maps, 400 bells, an 1867

Beloit, KS Museums

Healing Waters: the Legend of Waconda Springs

Waconda Springs for centuries inspired wonder among its visitors. Both Indians and whites marveled at Kansas' largest saltwater spring. The diameter at the base is 300

Beloit, KS Indian Heritage

Mitchell County Courthouse

Built in 1901 for a total of $38,310. of 8" pitchfaced native limestone, of Richardsonian Romanesque design. The Seth Thomas four-faced clock in the courthouse tower was installed in 1904 and paid for by donations. Originally run by hand, the clock was electrified in 1950. Of the 25 rooms on 3

Beloit, KS Historic Courthouses

St. John's Catholic Church

A structure built of native limestone completed in 1904 in the form of a Latin Cross of Romanesque and Gothic style. It was the first church built in the United States with flying buttresses and an entire stone ceiling. The twin towers are 100' tall, 108' including the crosses adorning each tower.

Beloit, KS Historic Churches

Beloit Recreation

Beloit has a well maintained system of parks and recreation facilities. The city has 4 parks covering 50.2 acres. There are six reservoirs and lakes within 60 miles of Beloit, the closest being Waconda Lake located 11 miles west. Beloit's annual events include a county-wide 4

Beloit, KS Recreation

Things to do Famous People near Beloit, KS

George Washington Carver Memorial Plaque

George Washington Carver made Minneapolis, Kansas his hometown from 1880-1884, when he graduated from Minneapolis High School...

Bill Hougland - Gold Medalist

Bill Hougland transferred to Beloit High School his junior year in 1947. He then took the team to its first state championshi...