The year was 1916.

World War I raged across Europe, the Chicago Cubs played their first game at Wrigley Field, and an official tossed up a jump ball at center court in the Palmerton High School gym to begin the Bombers first ever boys basketball game.This season, Palmerton is celebrating the program's first 100 years of basketball.Spearheading the tribute to the school's storied past century is Palmerton first year coach, Ken Termini."We have many records and statistics to commemorate this anniversary," said Termini. "The school has won over 1,300 games, 20 league championships and seven district championships, to name a few."In early December, the 1956 district championship team that lost in the state finals game was honored in a special 60th anniversary ceremony."On opening night, we gave tribute to arguably the best Palmerton team ever," said Termini. 'We were able to get six members of coach Win Evans' team to come, and a few others were represented by family members who traveled from long distances."Evans' teams compiled a record of 131-41 during his seven-year tenure. One of his exceptional players was 1,000-point scorer Jim Oravec, who earned All-State honors in 1955, and later went on to play for Georgetown University.Another great player at Palmerton was Bill Mlkvy, who played for coach Joe Foran until his graduation in 1948. Mlkvy, who later starred at Temple University where he gained national recognition as the "Owl without a Vowel," honed his basketball skills as a young boy shooting at a rim without a net on Lehigh Avenue. At Palmerton, he became a 1,000-point scorer and All State selection. At Temple, Mlkvy once scored 73 points in a game against Wilkes College. He went on to play in the NBA for the Philadelphia Warriors for one season until the Army put him to work as a dentist.Nine years later, Bill's brother, Bob Mlkvy, would also earn himself a spot on the Bomber All Century team by becoming the school's all time leading scorer, tallying nearly 500 more points than his brother had. Bob Mlkvy led the 1956 team to the state finals and was selected to the All State team. He also received High School All American recognition by Parade magazine. Bob Mlkvy later captained the University of Pennsylvania team, where he became a collegiate All American.Other 1,000-point scorers in school history are Tony Choy (1970), Jerry Snyder (1982), Jason Balliet (1985), Craig Steigerwalt (2002) and Spencer Hay (2016).To honor the teams and players that have represented Palmerton High School through the years, a special commemorative program was designed.One of the driving forces behind the program was Art George."When you talk about the history of Palmerton basketball, you have to start with Art George," said Termini.George spent 34 years as a teacher at the high school and was head basketball coach from 1969 through 1979. His teams won 121 games over that span, winning the Lehigh Valley League championship in 1971. Following his retirement, George maintained Palmerton sports memorabilia and archived records from the school's beginning up to this year."The centennial season program was created largely due to the statistical contributions of George, whose passion and dedication to Palmerton athletics cannot be overstated," said Termini.In addition to the two special occassions already observed this season - honoring the 1956 team and honoring the 1,000-point scorers - upcoming events include Wall Of Fame Induction Night on Jan. 20 and Honoring Championship Teams Night on Jan. 27. On that night, any former player from the district championship teams wearing his gold medal will get free admission to the game, and will also be publicly recognized during the game.Termini is hoping the recognition being given to great players and great teams in Palmerton's past will have a positive impact on the Bombers' future.He has taken over a Bomber program that has endured 15 consecutive losing seasons, but he feels that taking small steps on the road to success begins with his current team's awareness of the rich basketball history at Palmerton."We use the history of Bomber basketball as the backbone to build a new foundation of pride in playing for our school," Termini said. "We believe we are doing the right things to build long-term success."With the spirit of its great teams setting the foundation of pride, Termini's program is in place to begin a new century of notable achievements for Palmerton basketball.*******GETTING DEFENSIVE… Through Tuesday, the surging Northwestern girls' basketball team has won six-in-a-row, dating back to Dec. 22. During that stretch, the Tigers have held four of the six opponents to 28 points or less, and their margin of victory is 26.5 points.*******IT'S BEEN A WHILE… Marian forward Brandon Mohammed exploded for 31 points during the Colts' overtime victory against Mahanoy Area last week. The last Colt to score 31 points in a game was Ryan Karnish on Jan. 10, 2013, which was 88 games ago.*******JOE KNOWS... Northern Lehigh senior Joe Egan scored a career-high 27 points during a Bulldogs' victory over Palisades on Jan. 9. Egan, a senior, now has 785 career points.*******PAT IS BACK!… Panther Valley head coach Patrick Crampsie returned to the helm of the program this week after undergoing surgery in a battle with prostate cancer, which was diagnosed a few months before the season. The Panthers' coach is now in his 15th season as leader of the PV boys' basketball program.