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participated, and by 1989 the tournament had 112 corporate sponsors. Corporate sponsorship paid for about half of the cost of the tournament, which reached $ 100,000 annually. The first year they had 10 inches of ice and snow, but still had a good crowd. Attendance was often around 6,500, with one
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would not let anyone else in," Creed stated. In the final play, Williamson blocked Kidd's last second shot attempt out-of-bounds, and
Russellville won by one point. Williamson was named MVP of the tournament, but at the podium honoring the all-tournament team, he gave his MVP medal to Jason Kidd.
243:
The King Cotton
Holiday Classic returned to the Pine Bluff Convention Center on December 27, 2018, as part of Go Forward Pine Bluff's Delta Celebration Series of Festivals and Events. The revived tournament featured eight teams and the Pine Bluff Convention Center Arena is set to undergo a half
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The King Cotton was one of the first national high school basketball tournaments, and served as a model for similar tournaments in other cities. The King Cotton was eventually discontinued due to dwindling attendance, a concern for guest safety, and
27:. The tournament was founded by Travis Creed, a bank executive from Pine Bluff, in 1982. Once considered to be the most prestigious high school tournament in the nation, the King Cotton games were played at the 7,500-seat
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room, meals, and other benefits. It had 8 teams to start and later expanded to 12 teams each year. In the early years of the tournament the King Cotton had a girls' division with teams just from
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game being a sell-out. A lot of emphasis was placed on the interaction between teams and the community. In 1983, there were two other similar tourneys in the U.S.: Big Las Vegas
Tournament in
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31:, and attracted top-ranked high school teams from around the country. The tournament hosted the first live high school basketball game aired on national television, a victory by
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195:. The King Cotton hosted an estimated 176 teams over the years in the annual four-day event. Creed owns a library of video tapes of all the games from each year.
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broadcast the King Cotton
Tournament nationally, making it the first live high school basketball event. They also aired the event for the next four years on
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The King Cotton was the first to pay the teams' expenses, thereby competing with the other two tournaments. They paid for 20 people:
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ran an article entitled "#1 High School
Holiday Tournament in the Country." Travis Creed has estimated that about 35 future
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issues. The King Cotton
Holiday Classic was named a "Local Legacy" for the state of Arkansas by State Representative
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by local businesses and 50 for the Future, a civic group. Later, Mt. Valley Water, Inc.,
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264:"Arkansas: King Cotton Holiday Classic - National High School Basketball Tournament."
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380:"Has An Arkansas David Ever Toppled a National Goliath in Prep Basketball?"
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The largest attendance was in 1991 at 7,600. This game featured the
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is something associated with Pine Bluff but outside the city limits
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115:, some of the other noteworthy players from the tournament are:
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High school basketball competitions in the United States
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Fifty For The Future, Inc. in Little Rock, Arkansas.
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954:Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1999
431:Character Driven: Life, Lessons, and Basketball.
339:, November 26, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
385:, January 18, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
284:"Sports, Recreation: Big Business in Pine Bluff
107:players were in the tournament. In addition to
749:Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas
724:Pine Bluff and Jefferson County Library System
401:, March 16, 1996. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
949:Recurring sporting events established in 1982
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518:King Cotton Classic promotional video - 1993.
492:King Cotton Classic promotional video - 1987.
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396:"Kareem in Hog Heaven, Arkansas Right Call."
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827:Randall L. Williams Correctional Facility
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482:"Local Legacies" - Library of Congress.
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47:The King Cotton Classic was initially
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779:Merchants and Planters Bank Building
696:University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
312:"Tourneys Raise Big-time Questions."
219:Decline, discontinuation and return
929:1999 disestablishments in Arkansas
412:"Corliss Williamson: Title Taker."
334:"BCC celebrates 25th anniversary."
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352:www.stuvetterbasketballcamp.com.
924:1982 establishments in Arkansas
944:Sports in Pine Bluff, Arkansas
468:. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
273:. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
64:and Big Beach Ball Classic in
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449:. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
175:, Aaron Bain, Sam Jefferson,
568:Commercial Historic District
29:Pine Bluff Convention Center
764:Jefferson County Courthouse
369:Retrieved October 23, 2014.
354:Retrieved October 24, 2014.
321:Retrieved October 15, 2014.
294:Retrieved October 23, 2014.
244:million dollar renovation.
17:King Cotton Holiday Classic
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708:Southeast Arkansas College
459:"Arkansas Local Legacies."
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844:The Pine Bluff Commercial
512:Scholastic Sports America
367:www.beachballclassic.com.
349:"About Coach Stu Vetter."
315:The Philadelphia Inquirer
292:www.arkansasbusiness.com.
236:project sponsored by the
818:(former Diagnostic Unit)
744:Arkansas Railroad Museum
589:Primary & secondary
319:www.articles.philly.com.
652:(also of Pine Bluff SD)
226:crowd (student) control
939:Basketball in Arkansas
337:www.lawdailyrecord.com
238:United States Congress
200:Russellville, Arkansas
91:On December 28, 1987,
39:on December 28, 1987.
37:Pine Bluff High School
21:high school basketball
792:Saracen Casino Resort
689:Tertiary institutions
671:(of Watson Chapel SD)
383:www.thesportsseer.com
317:, December 26, 1989.
191:, Basil Shabazz, and
680:St. Peter's Catholic
554:Pine Bluff, Arkansas
494:Features footage of
415:www.searcyliving.net
290:, December 5, 1994.
25:Pine Bluff, Arkansas
19:is a national-level
889:King Cotton Classic
675:St. Joseph Catholic
466:Library of Congress
399:New York Daily News
271:Library of Congress
202:team that included
149:Shareef Abdur-Rahim
87:National prominence
23:tournament held in
866:Pine Bluff Transit
816:Barbara Ester Unit
784:Pine Bluff Arsenal
665:(of Pine Bluff SD)
364:Beach Ball Classic
204:Corliss Williamson
137:Randolph Childress
109:Corliss Williamson
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882:Discontinued
861:Grider Field
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650:Dollarway HS
645:Dollarway SD
508:Chris Fowler
461:
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447:Google Books
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212:fire marshal
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173:Terry Dehere
165:Doug Edwards
133:Dennis Scott
129:George Lynch
117:Bobby Hurley
90:
70:
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16:
15:
759:Hotel Pines
504:Dick Vitale
189:Chris Mills
185:Kareem Reid
157:Joe Johnson
43:Early years
918:Categories
669:Coleman HS
663:Merrill HS
445:. p. 131.
443:1416580530
433:New York:
248:References
230:Jay Dickey
208:Jason Kidd
169:Eric Riley
113:Jason Kidd
97:tape delay
737:Landmarks
717:Libraries
582:Education
496:J.R. Reid
193:Neil Reed
153:Eric Snow
125:J.R. Reid
75:, 4 to a
53:Coca-Cola
49:sponsored
437:, 2009.
81:Arkansas
875:Culture
591:schools
210:. "The
57:Entergy
639:Closed
441:
62:Nevada
55:, and
836:Media
809:Units
561:Areas
510:with
77:motel
35:over
506:and
439:ISBN
286:."
111:and
93:ESPN
904:(*)
807:ADC
787:(*)
105:NBA
920::
502:,
498:,
464:-
326:^
299:^
269:-
256:^
240:.
187:,
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119:,
83:.
68:.
546:e
539:t
532:v
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282:"
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