The 1954-55 Badger Basketball team pulled off one the biggest feats in Spring Hill College Athletic history. The Badgers, led by All-American Happy Mahfouz, won the Gator Bowl Basketball Tournament in Jacksonville, Fla., by upsetting two much larger Southeastern Conference opponents. The first night, The Hill faced off against the Georgia Bulldogs before a standing room only crowd in Jacksonville. Mahfouz’s 23 points helped the Badgers to a 78-69 win over the Dawgs. It was reported that the local Jacksonville crowd was rooting highly for the Badgers. The championship game featured the Badgers against the home-state favorite Florida Gators. This time Mahfouz had help in the scoring column from New York City native Robert “Whitey” Barnes, scoring 25 and 21, respectively, to give the heavily-favored Gators their first loss of the season, 66-60. Florida and Georgia were not the only tough teams that year, Coach Gardiner’s 1954-55 Spring Hill College squad played a powerhouse schedule against the likes of Florida State, Xavier-Ohio, St. Mary’s of California, Memphis and the Georgetown Hoyas. The Badgers held their best against some of the best teams in the country and the local Mobile-area basketball fans were treated to seeing some great collegiate basketball at the Portier Center on Old Shell road.

Team members: Coach Gardiner, J. Burke, E. Tibbets, G. McGuire, R. Coyle, J. Regan, J. Drese, Coach Napolitano, D. Atkinson, J. McGuire, R. Barnes, H. Mahfouz, F. Poole, J. Hasser, C. Rodriguez