The athletic fieldhouse at Galesburg High School will soon bear the names of a pair of Silver Streaks who made their marks on the football field and basketball court in the 1950s.
District 205 has announced it will name the athletic facility after twin brothers and multi-sport stars Albert and Elbert Kimbrough. The school board will vote to approve the “Albert and Elbert Kimbrough Fieldhouse” designation at Monday’s school board meeting.
Retired teacher and longtime Galesburg girls basketball coach Evan Massey, along with former Streaks Rodney Bunch and Jimmie Carr sent a letter of nomination to District 205 requesting to name the athletic fieldhouse after the Kimbroughs.
They played in ‘stall game’ and on unbeaten Streaks football team
The Kimbroughs built a long list of accomplishments in their time at GHS, but are especially known for playing on a special team and in a special game.
Albert and Elbert Kimbrough were key players on the unbeaten 1956 Streaks football team — widely considered one of the best teams in Galesburg history. The brothers also were starters on the 1956-57 basketball team known for upsetting Rock Island in the 23-21 “stall game” at Wharton Fieldhouse in Moline.
Massey tells WGIL, “Albert and Elbert Kimbrough are arguably the greatest athletes to ever attend GHS. To my knowledge, no African-American graduate of GHS or staff member of GHS has ever been honored by District 205 for their achievements.
“Albert and Elbert’s success as athletes, and more importantly their role in changing our community should be honored, and become a source of education and inspiration for our present students.”
A 9-member ad hoc naming committee met to consider a request to name the fieldhouse after the Kimbroughs. The committee members — Steve Abron, Steve Cheesman, Jim Jacobs, Craig Hillier, Kim Brannon Sibley, Natalie Kessler, Jerry Albright, Mark Reed, Nick Youngs — unanimously agreed to forward this nomination to the Galesburg District 205 Board of Education for approval.
It marks the second athletic naming designation for District 205 this year. In April, District 205 has announced it would name the competition court in John Thiel Gymnasium after legendary Streaks girls basketball coach Evan Massey.
The Kimbroughs were the stars of the 1956 football team that went undefeated. Albert set the school record of 295 points scored in a season and 45 career touchdowns while averaging 9.0 yards per carry during his career. While Albert got the glory carrying the ball, Elbert was his blocking fullback. Both were the stars of the defense.
In basketball, the 5-foot-11 Kimbroughs started on the 1957 team that reached the Elite 8. On their run to state, the Streaks recorded the famous 23-21 win over Rock Island and Don Nelson in the sectional championship at Wharton Fieldhouse in Moline.
Galesburg eventually lost to undefeated and No. 1 ranked Collinsville 61-59 in Champaign.
Brothers went on to star at Northwestern
Both Albert and Elbert went on to play football at Northwestern University under the legendary Ara Parseghian. They were star defensive backs for the Wildcats. Elbert was twice selected All-Big Ten, and his senior year earned All-American honors.
Elbert then became the only GHS grad to ever play in the NFL. Elbert was drafted and played one year with the Los Angeles Rams. He was traded to the San Francisco 49er’s where he started every game at safety for six seasons. He finished his career with the New Orleans Saints.
After graduating from Northwestern, Albert went into public education. He was a teacher, coach and later administrator at Evanston High School.
Albert Kimbrough died May 21 in Arlington Heights. He was 86.
Jimmie Carr, Class of 1959, was a sophomore when the Kimbrough twins were seniors.
“I’ll always remember the toughness of those guys,” Carr previously told WGIL. “They were just men, when we were all boys. They were more mature — they spoke like it, and they acted like it.
“They worked hard, but everything seemed to come so easy to them. A was so relaxed on the basketball court. I learned a lot from him when I was brought up to the varsity as a sophomore, but I think we all did. We looked up to the twins. And we admired them from a distance after they left Galesburg.”
Rodney Bunch, GHS Class of 1958, previously told WGIL, “Basically, I grew up with A & E,” Bunch said. “You just knew at a young age they were going to be great athletes. But they were also phenomenal individuals. You just knew they were going to do something by the time they got to high school.
“God just touched them and said ‘you’re going to be natural athletes.’ They could do it all — basketball, football, baseball, track … it didn’t make any difference what sport it was. They were good at everything. They would match up with anybody.”
Kimbroughs were pioneers for local Black athletes
In their nomination letter, Massey, Bunch and Carr noted the Kimbroughs were pioneers for Galesburg Black athletes in the 1950s. Along with Jim Range and Al Williams, the Kimbroughs gave the Streaks four African-Americans in the starting lineup on the 1957 Elite 8 basketball team.
The nominators said, “Without realizing it, these African-American teenagers changed the perceptions of many people in our community. At the start of the season, the coach received hate mail, but because of how well these young men played basketball and how well they represented our community, by the end of the season they had become the heroes of our community.
“It might be said that Albert and Elbert along with their teammates changed Galesburg forever.”
