e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia Online

Sign in or create a free account to bookmark this content into a collection for later!

Athlete Danny Heater, born in Braxton County, on February 27, 1942, holds the national record for most points scored in a high school basketball game. He was a resident of Burnsville, and attended Burnsville High School. The Burnsville coach wanted to attract the attention of college scouts to Heater, the son of an unemployed coal miner, so for one game he arranged for the other players to get the ball to Heater as much as possible. In a game against Widen on January 26, 1960, Heater scored 135 points. Heater went on to receive an academic scholarship to attend the University of Richmond, where unfortunately he was never a starting player. Nevertheless, his record has stood for decades, and his feat is still a focus of community pride in the town of Burnsville. Heater lives in Martinsburg.

— Authored by Alan J. DeYoung

Related Articles

Cite This Article

DeYoung, Alan J. "Danny Heater." e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia. 08 February 2024. Web. Accessed: 20 September 2024.

08 Feb 2024