Schuckman: Collinsville pays fitting tribute to Hummel, who loved basketball and holiday tourney as much as his alma mater

COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — Rick Hummel’s career as a Hall of Fame baseball writer didn’t afford the Quincy native many opportunities to be nothing more than a fan.

Christmas always did.

That’s when Hummel spent hours upon hours at the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic, watching some of the Metro East’s top prep basketball talent. More importantly, he cheered on his alma mater — Quincy High School.

Hummel soaked in every opportunity to watch the Blue Devils, talk about the Blue Devils and visit with the Blue Devils. Usually, he did so with a QHS baseball cap atop his head. He didn’t often stray from his trademark sweater to don other Blue Devil gear, but a blue-and-white cap always sat on the press table at his usual seat.

That cap went on when the Blue Devils played.

He was unabashedly proud of his roots, even if it led to some good-natured ribbing from the Collinsville faithful. For a majority of the past quarter century, the Blue Devils have been a Collinsville mainstay, which gave Hummel an up-close view of the talent coming through the program.

What many may not realize is Hummel got his start in the media as a spotter for the Tappe brothers, El and Mel, when they broadcasted QHS basketball games for WTAD radio in the early 1960s.

That helps explain his affinity for the sport in general. Albeit a Quincy fan deep down, Hummel was a high school hoops junkie at heart and he spent the three days of the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic watching games from morning until night.

The discussions along press row, which stretches from sideline to sideline on the balcony above the Vergil Fletcher Gym floor, were often spirited and always in-depth. His baseball knowledge surpassed his hoops IQ, but he had a good feel for the game and where players might fit at the college level.

Once, after he announced he was retiring from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch after a half-century of covering the Cardinals, I asked if he had any interest in writing a story about the Blue Devils. He politely declined. He didn’t come to Collinsville to work. He came to soak up the basketball fervor.

Hummel would have loved watching this QHS team play. Energetic, unselfish, tough and spirited, the Blue Devils arrived at the holiday tournament undefeated. So did the Kahoks, which could create an epic title game if both make it there.

The only thing missing is Hummel, who passed away in May at the age of 77.

The Collinsville administration reserved his seat along press row, placing a tribute to the “Commish” both on the table and in the program. Before Quincy’s game against Belleville Althoff in Thursday’s quarterfinals, a moment of silence was observed in Hummel’s honor and his daughter, Christy Noland, received a plaque dedicated to his memory.

Thank you, Clay Smith. Thank you, Collinsville. Thank you, basketball community

Thank you for remembering my friend. Thank you for remembering our friend. Thank you for remembering someone we loved and enjoyed spending our basketball holiday with every year.