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Miami High School Photographs 1950

CP SPC 340

Historical Note

Miami, a small mining town in central Arizona, was first settled in 1909. The town's major industry is copper production, so most of the town's residents worked in the mines in some capacity. Miami suffered from the racism and discrimination rampant in the United States during the early 20th century, including segregated educational facilities and the "Mexican Scale," under which non-white workers were excluded from supervisory positions and paid less than their Anglo counterparts for the same work. Miami High School was founded in 1916. Primary education was segregated, with Anglo children attending the George Washington Elementary School or the Inspiration Addition School and Mexican American children attending Bullion Plaza Elementary School. Miami High School was integrated, but discrimination against non-white students was widespread.

Ernest Kivisto came to Miami High School in 1947, where he taught English and coached the Miami Vandals basketball team. Kivisto quickly discovered that the team included a number of talented Mexican American players, many of whom had grown up playing basketball at the "Mexican Y," and under Kivisto's leadership the Vandals surpassed both state and national scoring records in their first season. Kivisto also fought to secure proper equipment for the Vandals, including making a deal with Converse to procure new uniforms, shoes, and warm-ups. Previously, the team's uniforms were extremely old and many players needed to borrow each other's clothes and shoes in order to play. Kivisto also insisted that his players wear suits and ties on game days, purchasing these items himself if the player could not afford them.

Kivisto emphasized teamwork, insisting that his players put aside their prejudices and treat each other as equals on the basketball court. He also stood up for his players when they encountered discrimination outside of basketball. In one memorable incident, he refused to allow part of the team to eat at a restaurant displaying a sign reading "No Mexicans Allowed" on the grounds that they were a team and if part of the team couldn't eat, then none of the team would. Word of this advocacy spread quickly, helping to unite not only the Vandals but also the town of Miami.

The 1950-51 basketball team, dubbed the "Mighty Miami Vandals," won the Class B State Basketball Championship after an undefeated season. Interestingly, they defeated the team from Carver High School, a segregated school for African Americans in Phoenix, to win this title. Miami was extraordinarily proud of its winning team and hosted several celebratory events, including the Miami Chamber of Commerce's "Vandal Night," which sold over 200 tickets. The Vandals were praised as far away as Helsinki, where a newspaper described the accomplishments of Ernest Kivisto, "a coach of Finnish extraction."

In addition to improving ethnic relations in Miami, the championship provided opportunities for the players, many of whom were offered athletic scholarships that allowed them to attend college. After graduation, the former Vandals went on to professional careers, thus escaping a working-class environment and achieving the upward mobility their parents had sought. Although Kivisto left Miami to accept a position at East Moline High School in Moline, Illinois, he remembered the Vandals as "the 'dream team,' the team every coach hopes and plans for, but never quite gets."

Scope and Content Note

This collection houses twenty photographs depicting students at Miami High School during the 1950-51 school year. Most of the images show the basketball team, widely known as the "Mighty Miami Vandals," which won the Class B State Basketball Championship. Also included are photographs of children descending from the families of early Miami settlers. All of these images are copied from Miami High School's yearbook, the Concentrator.

Arrangement

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.

Copyright

Arizona State University does not own the copyright to this collection. We recognize that it is incumbent upon the researcher to procure permission to publish information from this collection from the owner of the copyright.

Access Terms

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Miami High School Photographs, CP SPC 340, Arizona State University Library.

Provenance

These photographs were separated from CP SPC 56, to which they had been erroneously appended, in 2017 (Accession #2017-05082).

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