Herbert “Herbie” Turman The 1948 National Marble Champion

Herbert Turman, born on April 2, 1934, was known as “Herbie” growing up in South Beloit, Illinois. The son of Frank and Rosa, Herbie, like most kids, engaged in an activity that has disappeared from the landscape of playgrounds. Herbie was a “mibster,” a term for a person who plays marbles.

Screen Shot 2021-03-24 at 12.01.30 PM.png — Herbie’s father Frank moved to Beloit after serving in World War 1, where several of his siblings were living. The 1920 U. S. Census showed Frank living on Race St. with his brothers Jessie, Willie, Eugene, sisters Scottie, Florine and cousin Geneva. Like many African Americans, the Turmans were a part of the great migration North from Mississippi to Beloit for factory work. Frank worked at Fairbanks Morse for 38 years and retired in 1953. He married Rosa, a woman of white and Indian ancestry, on April 5, 1922. Together they raised twelve children, the four children from Rosa’s previous marriage and the eight they had together.

Herbie attended Riverview Elementary School in South Beloit. He was described as an excellent scholar, a leader and a good community citizen by principal Mrs. Marguerite Warren.

He began playing marbles at the age of three, according to his mother. With his sight on becoming the next United States marble champion, Herbie, with a determined mindset, worked hard at perfecting his marble game.

Beloit’s interest in marbles was resurrected by Larry Krueger, director of the city’s recreation department and Laurence Raymer, editor of the Beloit Daily News. In 1935, the two men received major support from the Beloit Daily News, city officials, school teachers, administrators and others for a marble tournament that included elementary and junior high schools in Beloit and South Beloit. The tournament interest grew from a hundred kids in 1936 to including almost 20,000 participants in 1947, with participants from forty-seven towns and eighty-five schools from all across southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

Young boys weren’t the only ones playing marbles. Many young girls participated in the game too. In the 1940’s, the National Tournament set up a separate division to crown a girl U.S. champion.

The excitement began in the spring as each school produced a marble champion. The mibsters squared off around a ten-foot square of hard clay. A ring was drawn in the clay and the marbles were arranged in the shape of a cross within the circle. The winner was the one who knocked out over half of the arranged marbles. The school champions moved on to compete in a tournament to decide who would be the Beloit City and the Greater Beloit Area champs. The tournament, in the early days, was held at Summit Avenue Park and then later at Vernon Park. LIFE magazine even covered the grand finals at the Summit Avenue park in 1940.

The marble tournaments were promoted in Beloit Daily News through numerous articles, ranging from how to shoot marbles, marble terminology and advertising that you could buy thirteen marbles for one cent at their office. They also published the date, time and location of the championships that helped make these pageantry filled tournaments a big attraction.

In the summer of 1947, record crowds turned out at Vernon Park to witness 14-year old Herbie become the Beloit City Champion. A title several of his family members held, his older brother Frankie won in 1937 and younger brother Richard won in 1952.

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Once the Beloit city and Greater Beloit area champs emerged, each prepared for the big trip to Wildwood, New Jersey. This was the spot for the National Championships and Larry Raymer of the Beloit Daily News usually accompanied them.

In 1948, the Beloit area marble tournament sent two of their own to the National Marble Tournament. Dick Woods, Beloit Champion from Brother Dutton School, and runner up Herbie Turman. The week of June 21st thru June 25th was like an all-expense paid vacation for the youngsters that advance to the nationals.

Herbie’s road to the finals of the national tournament began by winning his semi-finals over Francis Peda from Scanton, PA, Hilton King from Roanoke, VA and Bobbie Smith from Huntington, WV. He was now set for the finals against Charles Morris of Huntington, West Virginia.

On Friday June 25, 1948, an estimated crowd of more than 2,500 crammed into the bleachers to watch the championship match between Herbie and Charles. Charles won the first game, Herbie skillfully and impressively won the next four games. With the match set at four to one and Herbie in the lead, the final game was set. The championship crown would go to the first to win five of nine games. Herbie strategically won the final match earning him the title of National Marble Champion of 1948!

Herbie walked away as the National King of the Marble Ring that summer, beating out a large contingent of marble players from all over the country. The Chicago World newspaper headline on July 3, 1948 read, “National Marble Champion Welcomed Home-KING HERBIE GETS A ROYAL RECEPTION.” The news about Herbie’s championship win covered the front page and continued onto page 2 for a lengthy account of his return to Beloit as champion. The June 29, 1948 edition of the Janesville Daily Gazette read, “Big Reception for Marbles Champion.”

The picture below shows the 1948 national marble competitors in Wildwood, New Jersey. Beloit city champion Dick Woods and runner-up Herbie Turman are on the front row proudly representing the city of Beloit with their vest. (Source: Historical Museum files, Wildwood, New Jersey)

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By the mid 1950’s, Beloit’s Marble Tournaments came to an end. The Beloit Daily News, a major sponsor, felt that the tournament was just too big, took up too much time,effort and the expenses all contributed to the demise of the tournament. It took three months of the Beloit Daily News staffers time to organize and conduct the tournaments.

For three decades, a simple game of marbles generated excitement in the city of Beloit, the pomp and circumstance that surrounded these events captivated the young and old.

A special thanks to Mr. Stan Flewelling, a free-lance writer that has been researching the early story of the US National Marbles Tournament for many years. Mr. Flewelling contacted me after discovering the AAHSB website and the post on the Do Drop Inn’s owner Jessie and Annie Turman. From our correspondence, he provided me with pictures and articles to complete this story on Herbert “Herbie” Turman.

You can read Stan’s article “KINGS (AND QUEENS) OF THE RING- Early Days of the US National Marbles Tournament,” on The Museum of American Glass in West Virginia website.