The Frank Spencer Holiday Classic is a nationally recognized basketball tournament held in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...

 in late December. The tournament is named after Frank Spencer, former sports editor for the Winston-Salem Journal

Winston-Salem Journal

The Winston-Salem Journal is a daily newspaper primarily serving the city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina and its county, Forsyth County, North Carolina. It also features coverage of Northwestern North Carolina and circulates as far west as Tennessee and north to Virginia.The paper is owned by...

, and is a significant fundraiser for the high schools of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools is a school district in Forsyth County, North Carolina. WS/FCS has over 75 schools in its system, and it serves over 53,300 students every year. WS/FCS was formed in 1963 by the merger of the Forsyth County School System and the Winston-Salem School System...

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History

As a result of Spencer's relentless campaign throughout the state of North Carolina, 11 high schools built gymnasiums in the 1930s and 1940s that included basketball courts. His dream come true was the formation of the Northwest (NC) Basketball Tournament which he ran from the 1920s through the early 1950s. The tournament eventually had more than 140 teams and lasted nearly four weeks. "Ripley's Believe It or Not" recognized the tournament as the world's largest sports tournament.

After a 20-year hiatus, the tournament was revived in 1974 and was formatted to a smaller three-day even held each December between Christmas and New Year's at Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum

Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum

Winston–Salem Memorial Coliseum was a multi-purpose arena in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The arena, which opened in 1955, held 8,500 people and was eventually replaced by the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in 1989...

, and upon its demolition, the newly built Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum

The Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum is a 14,407-seat multi-purpose arena, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Construction on the arena began on April 23, 1987 and it opened on August 28, 1989...

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Past Champions

2010 Lexington (Journal Bracket)

2010 Reagan (Pepsi Bracket)

2009 Reagan

2008 Mt. Tabor

2007 Mt. Tabor

2006 (National) Kathleen HS (Kathleen, Fla.)

2006 (Local) East Forsyth

2005 (National) South Laurel HS (South Laurel, Ky.)

2005 Mt. Tabor

2004 (National) Gaffney HS (Gaffney, S.C.)

2004 (Local) Parkland

2003 (Local) West Forsyth

2002 West Forsyth

2001 (Local) North Forsyth

2000 (Local) R.J. Reynolds

1999 R.J. Reynolds

1998 R.J. Reynolds

1997 Mt. Tabor

1996 (Local) Carver

1995 West Forsyth

1994 (Local) Glenn

1993 Parkland

1992 East Forsyth

1991 Carver

1990 Carver

1989 North Forsyth

1988 Eden Morehead

1987 Glenn

1986 North Forsyth

1985 North Surry

1984 North Forsyth

1983 Chapel Hill

1982 North Surry

1981 Hickory

1980 Parkland

1979 West Forsyth

1978 North Forsyth

1977 East Forsyth

1976 North Forsyth

1975 No Tournament Held

1974 R.J. Reynolds

External links

• Frank Spencer Holiday Classic
• Frank Spencer Holiday Classic 2010 Schedule