Burnsville High School (closed) (Burnsville, West Virginia)

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Burnsville High School, which has sinced closed, is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records for the performance senior basketball player Danny Heater had on January 26, 1960 when he scored 135 points in one game in a 173-43 victory over Widen High School (also since closed) from Clay County. Burnsville coach Jack Stalnaker instructed his team to press the entire game and feed the ball to Heater in an attempt to generate college scholarship attention for his star player. The record is officialy recognized by many publications. However, the record was obtained on a basketball court slightly bigger than half the size of today's court dimensions. Heater finished with 135 points, 32 rebounds and 7 assists. Heater finished 53-for-70 from the floor and 29-for-40 from the free throw line. He scored 50 points in the first half and 55 points in the last ten minutes of the game.

It was a one time event to which both Heater and Coach Stalnaker were regretful after the game. Heater averaged 27 points per game prior to his record performance and never came close to scoring 100 points in a game after his performance. Heater's parents missed the game. The originial intention was to break the state single game record of 74 points, but Heater's teammates pursuaded their coach to put Heater back in to see how many points he could get.

Several hundred people attended the game in a gym with no seating. There is no radio or film recording of the game. Newspapers in Charleston were reluctant to publish the statistics from the game considering the numbers a hoax. Heater had scored 34 points in a 94-54 win at Widen the previous week.

Ironically, Heater never got a scholarship offer. A retired West Virginia state senator paid his way to college at Richmond University, but he lasted six weeks before returning home and finding a local job. Today, Heater works as an airline ticket agent in Washington, D.C..
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Coordinates:   38°51'33"N   80°39'23"W
This article was last modified 12 years ago