I should say right from the start that my cousin, Chris Kampe, was captain of the Mercer Island team so one should guess that I write this with the type of bias normally seen only from someone named “Olbermann” or “Coulter”.
This is the story of the 1981 Washington State basketball championship game between Shadle Park and Mercer Island. Over the years, it has been referred to as the “Game of the Century” or “The Game that Never Ended” and is without a doubt the most controversial high school game of which I am aware.
Shadle Park came into the game as the favorite and featured future NFL standout Mark Rypien. The game was close, back and forth, and exciting. In short, everything you could hope for in a championship game. Earlier in the day, during the consolation game, a problem developed with the scoreboard clock. The horn that typically sounds automatically when the clock reaches zero had malfunctioned. The scorekeeper would instead blow an air horn into the microphone when the clock struck zero. As you may guess, this is going to play a significant role at the end of the game.
With the score tied and only a few seconds remaining, Mercer Island was on the line making one out of two free throws to take a one point lead. Shadle Park inbounded the ball and rushed up the floor getting off a shot that 
depending on who you are listening to, either clearly did or clearly didn’t beat the air horn. The scorekeeper did not think the shot was off in time, made no adjustment to the scoreboard and believing they had won the state championship, Mercer Island rushed the floor.
Though they insist now that they never disagreed, one official waved off the shot while the other counted it, all without consulting the scorekeeper, as you would typically expect in a situation with malfunctioning equipment, and then bravely rushed off the floor to barricade themselves in their locker room. Eventually, the scorekeeper relented; counted the basket and the Shadle Park side began to rush the floor.
As one Mercer Island played told me:
“After a few moments of jumping around at our end of the court with fans and teammates I remember looking to the other end of the court and seeing one of their guys sitting on the rim. I really had no idea why he would be doing that and then slowly it dawned on me that folks in green were celebrating all over the other end of the court. I recall waiting for the officials to come out, and they never did so finally heading back to the locker room”
Mercer Island filed an official protest of the game, believing the officials had erred in not consulting the scorekeeper. The protest was ultimately denied. Lawsuits were threatened, but never materialized and to this day Shadle Park is considered the 1981 State of Washington Boys Basketball champion. Unless, of course, you are talking to someone from Mercer Island.
In his final column covering high school sports in the state of Washington, Seattle PI writer Craig Smith, who had perhaps the most unbiased opinion that could be found among the observers of that game, wrote that “I was there in 1981 when a referee counted the final shot good and Shadle Park beat Mercer island for the big-school title on the most disputed basketball title in state history (by the way, the shot was late).”
In 1993, my cousin, Chris Kampe, the captain of the 1981 Mercer Island state championship team, passed away after a protracted battle with cancer. This evening, Mercer Island is honoring him with a jersey dedication ceremony in his memory. As one former classmate put it on the facebook page of the ceremony,
“Chris inspired me. He had a special quality that he used in basketball and live. Gandhi and Mother Teresa played the same game… Chris was about inspiring, moving the ball forward, and the Assist.”
Many of his friends and family members will be in attendance and no doubt the 1981 state championship game will be a topic of discussion.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Amazingly, I do not think I have ever heard that story. Incredible.
I can’t even begin to imagine winning the state championship and to have it ripped away from you. Such a crazy story.
Craig Smith (aka Sideline Smitty, who just retired not more than two months ago) wrote for the Seattle Times, Not the Post Intelligencer.
MRB – You are absolutely correct, thank you for pointing out the mistake.
My wife, Jeanie, and I attended the game last night to see the ceremony honoring my nephew Chris. Also there, were my two brothers, (more uncles) and of course, my sister, his mom. All three of Chris’ sisters were there, along with their husbands and children, all 8 of them. Unfortunately, none of the nephews and nieces were born before Chris’ death. They did not have the good fortune to know their Uncle Chris, but they know enough about him to love him. A very touching picture was taken with Chris’ mom, sisters and all the young ones gathered around the plaque with Chris’ jersey that will be put up on Mercer Island’s gym wall. While Chris was captain of that ’91 team, he was being honored not because he was a great player, but because he was a special person.
The turnout by our family was no surprise to me because of the love we have for Chris. However, what was so touching to me was how many of Chris’ teammates and friends also attended. It has been 16 long years since his passing, but people still want to honor him. They still care about him, they still miss him, and they still admire the person he was. Christopher was a wonderful son, brother, nephew, cousin and friend.
My thanks to Coach Ed Pepple and the Mercer Island basketball program who saw fit to honor Chris once again. It was very much appreciated.
I actually attended the game. I believe there was no question the shot was late. The horn sounded and clock ended before the player even began to shoot. In my estimation at the time it was probably at least one maybe 2 seconds later that he got the shot off.(It was that obvious) THe crowd as a whole, with the obvious dissenters from Shadle Park, stood with their mouths agape and in disbelief. Everyone thought the play would be reevaluated. But the refs never returned and everyone walked out mumbling to themselves. There must have been a camera somewhere in the stands (nowadays it would be all over U-tube) that could have proved the mistake to all concerned, but I never heard that the state high school basketball officials looked to clear up the mistake. To my knowledge, Mercer Island refused to accept the 2nd place trophy, and it still sits in a warehouse somewhere. It has to rank up there as one of the most unfair finishes to a major game for the players involved, that I have heard about (the US/Russian Olympic BB game being another).
It was a wild scene. Our guys started taking down the net from our hoop and those thugs from Shadle Park starting taking down the net from their hoop. I sat there in disbelief thinking surely the refs would go tell them that they got their shot off late. But that never happened. 6 years later I married a guy from Spokane ( not from Shadle Park ) but when I went over to Spokane to meet his friends and family everyone said “ooooh – you’re from MI. That was some game against Shadle Park” It was crazy…6 years later. Now it is over 25 years later and the memory of this one particular game is as fresh as is if it was last year. There has never been another game like it.
I dont think Chris ever told me this incredible story. Thanks for sharing this story with everyone. I wish that I could have been there for the ceremony honoring Chris. Chris was an amazing person and it does not suprise me that after 16 years people still want to honor his life.
I, too, was in attendance at this game and had a clear view of that final play *and* the score board clock. We were counting down the time and had no doubt that the shot was late. The staff even brought out a ladder for the MI team to take down the net… and then… there was a Shadle Park player lifted up to take down the net on the other end of the court…
Back to the tribute to Chris: I was privileged to know him and am sorry I was not able to attend this honor to his life and character.
That game got me started on my sports jag … I still haven’t forgiven myself for leaving my camera on the kitchen table at home.
The other opinion on the game that I haven’t heard too many people mention was that of Bob Robertson, who did the radio broadcast of the game. His “Mercer Island got robbed! Mercer Island got robbed! The shot was late and they counted it!” was pretty significant — seeing as he even then was Washington State’s announcer, not only an east-sider, but where Rypien had signed to go to school. If he were going to be biased, it certainly wouldn’t have been in MI’s favor.