California Pintos Online

Basketball History

The California High School boys started playing basketball in the 1906-1907 school year. In the early years, less than 10 games a year were played. Starting in the early 1920s, the University of Missouri hosted a "state championship" in which any school in the state could participate.

The California High School girls also started playing basketball in the 1906-07 school year. Like the boys, in the early years, less than 10 games a year were played. The 1929-30 season is the last mention found for the early version of California Girls Basketball. The 1974-75 season saw girls basketball return following the federal Title IX law passed in 1972.

High School Gymnasiums

Games were played exclusively outside until the 1914 Aurora High School was built. It was built to the south of the earlier 1870s era school building that became the elementary and junior high school.  The 1914 building included a small indoor gym where the walls were out-of-bounds and spectators watched from a balcony area.

California newspapers indicate some games were still played outside into the 1920s. At that time, there appears to have been a building boom as it reports several area schools building new facilities that included gymnasiums.

When the 1870s era elementary/junior high school building burned in January 1929, a new, larger gym was included in the "new" school building. This gym is the one many people remember as the "old gym" today and was originally planned to have a balcony area for spectators.

When this gym became too small and additional classroom space was needed, a "new" gym was built in 1963-64. This is now the Middle School gym.

With the moving of the High School to its present location on the west side of California, yet another gym was required. This gym was built in 1993 and saw its first games in January 1994.

Naming of the Pintos as mascot

The high school teams were referred to as the "California Athletic Teams," "boys basket ball team" or "girls basket ball team" until the latter part of the 1926 school year when the faculty had a contest to name the athletic teams. The name Pintos was chosen because of its strength, grace and historic ties to the native people of the Central Missouri area.

First Mention of Forming an Athletic Association

In the Moniteau County Herald dated December 23, 1920, it talks about W. I. Oliver, superintendent of schools, meeting with other schools to organize "an athletic association for Central Missouri high schools."

First Known Conference Membership

The California Pintos were a new member of the Little Ten Conference in December 1930 according to an article in the Jefferson City Post-Tribune dated December 12, 1930. This conference dissolved after the 1932-33 basketball season when Columbia and Jefferson City (the 2 largest schools) became too dominant for the smaller schools.

Formation of the Tri-County Conference

According to a 1934 Jefferson City Post-Tribune article & Mexico Intelligencer article stating the Little Ten Conference voted to disband in the fall of 1932. The Tri-County conference, according to a Tipton Times article dated October 14, 1932, was created in the fall of 1932 with schools from Moniteau, Morgan and Miller Counties including California, Clarksburg, Eldon, Tipton and Versailles as members "participating in debating, oratory, music, declamation, basket ball, track and tennis."  The conference schedule was to start on December 2nd.

. The first mention of the name Tri-County Conference found in the California or Tipton newspapers is a Tipton Times article March 10, 1933 that talks about the schools meeting to plan the conference schedule for the rest of the year.

Conference members through the years:

Blair Oaks -- 1976-Present

Boonville -- 1969/70; 2018/19 to Present

California -- 1932-Present

Camdenton -- 1959-1982

Eldon -- 1932-Present

Hallsville -- 2012-Present

Iberia -- 1966-1976

Osage -- 1934-Present

Southern Boone -- 2012-Present

** Stover from at least 1946-1966

Tipton -- 1932-1999/2000

Versailles -- 1932-2023

Warsaw -- 1984-2017/18

Windsor -- 1970-1974

** It has not been found when they joined the conference. Joined the Kaysinger conference for 1967-68 school year

Boys Highlights:

Girls Highlights:

Boys Yearly Results

Boys Results by Schools

Girls Yearly Results

Girls Results by Schools

Send email to Pintosonline with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2006- California Pintos Online, All Rights Reserved.

Last modified: July 02, 2023