Louis Albert Schmalfeldt

He grew up dirt poor on the southside of Indianapolis, hitch-hiked 12 miles one way as a teenager to caddy at a golf course for $2.50 a day, had his basketball career interrupted by the Korea war and worked on the shipping dock at Eli Lilly’s at the age of 23.

But Louie Schmalfeldt overcame all of life’s obstacles to raise a good family, leave his mark in Indiana sports and enjoy 93 years and 11 months of doing things his own way.

Schmalfeldt, who passed away November 2, 2024, embodied the hard-working American of the 1950s and 1960s and overcame his lack of schooling to provide a grade A life for wife Hazel and sons Larry and Scott.

Born in an area known as “Dog Patch,” he was raised along with brother Joe by his mother on welfare and they never had a car or anything resembling a bank account.

To help make ends meet, Louie began walking and hitching rides to the Highland Country Club when he was 10 to caddie. He got $1.25 for 18 holes and as he grew was able to carry two bags and double his income. Many nights he slept under a bridge nearby to make sure he got to the course early enough to secure a place in the caddie line.

By the time he reached high school, Schmalfeldt was pushing 6-foot-3 and showed skills in football, basketball and baseball. But it was hoops he excelled in and, together with teammates Dave Bertram and Jack Armstrong, they turned Southport High School into a power.

They were ranked in the Top 5 and only lost four games in his junior and seniors years. “We were the best damn team in the state but we never got out of our sectional,” he recalled back in 1988. His prowess shooting a basketball earned him All County, All Sectional and All-Hinkle Fieldhouses honors along with the nickname of “Radar Louie.” It also earned him interest from North Carolina, Duke,Western Kentucky and Butler (among others) to play his college ball.

Then the Korean war broke out and Louie spent 13 months in the Marine Corp. – dodging bullets in the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir where 10,000 Marines were surrounded by 120,000 Chinese troops for 17 days.

Upon his discharge, Schmalfeldt got a phone call and was informed Tony Hinkle wanted to talk to him so he was offered a scholarship to Butler while Hink was washing his car. He played football and basketball for a semester for the Bulldogs, but then Indiana Central coach Angus Nicoson convinced him to stay close to home on Indy’s southside.

But Radar Louie never played for the Greyhounds because he was married with baby Larry so he took a job at Eli Lilly. He didn’t make much money for a long time but always managed to put $5 in the credit union as he advanced up the ladder.

His roundball prowess was in demand after the Marines and he starred for three state AAU champions, five city champions and numerous other honors.

In order to supplement his income, Louie started refereeing high school football, basketball and baseball in 1955. He spent three decades traveling all over the state for $12.50 a game ($15 if you did the reserve game as well) and building a reputation as a fair but firm ref. He spent 30 years blowing a whistle and served as president of the Indiana Officials Association and refereed the first state finals in baseball and football and several basketball regionals.

He was a member of the IHSAA Officials Hall of Fame and also officiated the Continental Football League.

He retired from Lilly’s after 30 years and bought a nice condo in Florida where he and Hazel resided until she died in 2011. He shot his age at 73, made four hole in ones and was the only two-time winner of the Foxfire Country Club member guest.

Always looking for a bargain because of his upbringing, Louie was still clipping coupons when he was 93 and never met an early-bird buffet he didn’t like. When Larry moved back home temporarily in his early 20s, Radar charged him room and board and $1 for every Coke he drank. “I supported him for 18 years, now he’s an adult and he can pay his own way,” was the rationale at the time.

Larry Joe understood. He knew what Radar had been through to make it in this world and he was just happy his Cokes were only $1.