Herm Bottema

Herman Mark Bottema


Born:
April 11, 1912
Indianapolis, IN

Died:
June 6, 2002
Indianapolis, IN


Career
Arsenal Technical - Indiana (High School)
1933-34 Hilgemeier Packers - Indianapolis (Independent)
1934-35 Hilgemeier Packers - Indianapolis (Independent)
1935-36 Indianapolis Kautskys (MBC)
1935-36 Hilgemeier Packers - Indianapolis (Independent)
1936-37 Indianapolis Kautskys (MBC)
1937-38 Hilgemeier Packers - Indianapolis (Independent)
1938-39 Hilgemeier Packers - Indianapolis (Independent) 


Player is listed on some encyclopedias as Ray Bottema (1920-1980) of Indianapolis. Although Ray did play basketball for a year at Butler after World War 2, he would have only been 15 years old when he signed with the Kautskys in 1935, so I found it highly unlikely this is the correct player. (He would have been a sophomore in high school at the time, and that makes little sense.) Ray wound being a dairy farmer, and died of a heart attack in 1980.

So who is this Bottema player?

An article in the December 19, 1938, issue of the Indianapolis Star mention a basketball player named Herm Bottema playing for the Hilgemeier Packers. The article also mentions his teammates included Cy Proffitt, who also played on the MBC's Kautskys, as well as Leo Crowe, who played for the Kautskys when they joined the NBL in 1937-38. Another box score from a different game mentions Harlan Wilson, who also played for the Kautskys in the MBC. All the evidence leads to this player being Herm Bottema and not Ray Bottema.



Source:
Franklin (IN) Evening Star, March 21, 1936
Indianapolis Star, December 19, 1938
Star Press (Muncie, Indiana), February 7, 1980

Stats:
http://probasketballencyclopedia.com/player/ray-bottema/