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Whether
it was on the basketball court or the track,
David Rapp turned in some memorable moments
as a two-sport standout for Centralia
Township High School and Centralia Junior
College. A
1964 graduate of CTHS he played on two state
tournament teams in basketball and qualified
for the state track meet while he also
soared high as a rebounder for the CJC Blue
Devils basketball squad. Although
standing just 6'2, his jumping ability made
him a prolific rebounder and a championship
broad jumper in track. "He
was a great jumper for his size,"
Richard Rapp said of his brother, who passed
away in 2013. "He could really go
up. I was 6'5 and thought I could
jump, but I couldn't dunk behind my head and
he could." A
member of the 1963 Orphans basketball team
that took second in the state, David Rapp
moved into a starting role his senior season
and mad significant contributions centered
on rebounding and defense, often guarding
taller opponents. Offensively he
scored in double figures 15 times that year
with a season high of 23 points against
Pinckneyville. In
the sectional final versus Olney he scored
18 points to lead the Orphans. At the
super-sectional in Salem versus No. 1 and
unbeaten Collinsville he tallied 11 points
in the second half - including the go-ahead
basket on a tip-in in the fourth quarter -
that helped the Orphans rally from a
nine-point deficit and beat the Kahoks
55-50. Defensively he also helped
trigger the Centralia comeback by blocking
the shot of Roger Bohnenstiehl,
Collinsville's 6'7 All-State center. That
spring David Rapp starred in track as
well. At the Carbondale Relays and
competing against the South Seven Conference
schools as well as East St. Louis and East
St. Louis Lincoln, David Rapp went 22 feet
in the broad jump to take first place. Later
that season at the conference meet he won
the broad jump, the 220 yard dash and was on
the 880 varsity relay that took firsts
place. It was the Orphans' 20th South
7 title in the 25-year history of the meet. But
it was at the district meet - held at East
St Louis with all the large Metro-East
schools competing - where David Rapp shined
with a jump of 23-2 3/8 to break a record
set by CTHS legend Lowell Spurgeon who held
the previous mark of 22 9 1/2 set in
1932. His was the top mark statewide. He
also won the 440-yard dash in 51 seconds
with a stirring comeback against an Alton
runner down the stretch, overcoming a
deficit that was 1 yards at the final
turn. His two first accounted for all
of the Orphans' points in the meet and
qualified him for state in both events. After
graduating from CTHS David Rapp played
basketball for two years at Centralia Junior
College and helped the Blue Devils to two
Southern Illinois College Conference
championships. Averaging
10 points a game both seasons, he pulled
down 20 rebounds in a game versus Belleville
for the sectional title as a freshman with a
season high of 18 points versus Wabash
Valley. Centralia JC finished 18-9
that season and took fourth in state. As
a sophomore he had 21 points in a 110-80 win
over Springfield and overcame a knee injury
to pull down 23 rebounds in a game with
Belleville. In another memorable
effort against the unbeaten Bradley
University freshmen he had 15 points and 13
rebounds as the Blue Devils came up just
short, 97-95. Following
his career at CJC he went on to Northeast
Missouri State and earned a bachelors degree
and later a masters. David
taught elementary school for 32 years in
O'Fallon. "He
really enjoyed working with kids and they
loved him," said Richard Rapp.
"When he taught he was always in jeans
and a white shirt. On his last day
before he retired all the students wore a
white top and jeans in his honor." In
later years he was active in supporting
youth programs in his hometown community. "He
passed away too early," said Richard
Rapp. "Some people have talent
and with David, he put in plenty of hard
work too to get where he did. He had a
good heart and we miss him." list@morningsentinel.com
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