The Last Ever Gus Macker Registration Ends Monday

Somewhere around 4 pm on Sunday, May 30, the last basketball will bounce on the streets in downtown Quincy. That bounce will bring an end to 30 years of the Quincy Exchange Club’s Gus Macker Basketball Tournament in Quincy. That moment will be a sad moment for the Exchange Club who has put their heart and soul into this two day event (with 12 months of planning) since 1990. So how did this event make its way to Quincy?

The year was 1974. The city was Lowell, Michigan. The location was Scott McNeal’s driveway. The participants were 17 of his friends. Combine all that and you basically had the start of Gus Macker.  McNeal took his driveway concept nationwide from there.

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So how did it get to Quincy? Well, Exchange Club member Mike Lavery heard about Macker and went to visit a Macker Tournament in Decatur, Illinois. After witnessing it for himself, he proposed that the Exchange Club hold a Gus Macker Tournament in Quincy. That was 32 years ago and the rest is history. After a year of planning the tournament has been run annually since then with the exception of last year due to the pandemic when it was cancelled.

Four years ago, the Exchange Club announced that the 30^th year would be the last year for the event. It has been a great fund raiser for the Exchange Club ever year of its existence, but the team totals have been waning over the last several years and the Exchange Club feels that the event may has run its course. Even with that thought, Gus Macker is still a viable fundraiser. The plan to drop Gus Macker was announced four years ago so any other organization who might want to take it over would have an opportunity to do so. No organization has come forward.

Over the years the Exchange Club’s largest fundraiser has raised nearly a million dollars which has gone right back into the community. This year's Gus Macker 3 on 3 Tournament is set for Saturday and Sunday, May 29 and 30, in Quincy.

The time to sign up your 4-man team one last time is running out to be a part of the final year of Gus Macker in Quincy. The entry deadline is Monday, May 10. Perhaps you will be that last Macker player dribbling the ball one last time.  For more information, go to www.macker.com.