Judge was transformed with the addition of the third building on campus, a new gym that was completed in 1954. Up until then, basketball games were played in the old gym, which is the current dance studio.

Duane Garceau, JM ’53, remembers what an upgrade the new gym was from the old one.

“On the one end when you went in for a layup, you ran into a brick wall,” Garceau said. “On the other end you ran into the stage.”

Not only was the current dance studio used as a gym for basketball games, but it was also used for assemblies and even performing arts productions.

“Our great production of the ‘Mikado’ was held in the gym,” Judith Clute, JM ’55, said. “My girlfriend Cathy Bannon and I taught Pete Chiodo how to kiss there. All important productions and events happened in that gym.”

But that all changed in 1954 when the gym was built.

The gym is now named the Yerkovich Gym, after legendary Judge basketball coach Jim Yerkovich, who spent 44 years coaching the boys basketball team. In that time he won 634 games. He still holds state record for most coaching wins at one school. And according to the Utah High School Activities Association, he’s second all-time in the state in total wins.

Coach Yerkovich won three 3A state championships — 1980, 2006 and 2008, and retired in 2010. He took the Bulldogs to 38 state tournament appearances. His teams won 16 region titles and played in nine state championship games.

Yerkovich coached more than 50 players who went on play Division I college basketball at programs like Wake Forest, Stanford, Utah, Utah State, Washington State and others.

He was known for his “We” philosophy to coaching basketball, where he focused on the value of playing as a team rather than individually. That’s why the logo “We” is painted on the gym floor.

Before coaching at Judge, Yerkovich played for the Bulldogs. After his years as point guard in high school, he played basketball at the University of San Francisco.

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When the gym was first built what was the life of a Judge teen like?

Elvis Presley and the birth of Rock and Roll were probably two of the biggest cultural modifications the United States experienced. Elvis combined the best of both worlds when creating his music. He was born a white boy in a small town, but he wasn’t afraid to mix blues with country and country with gospel. Elvis took the best of two worlds, generating the first music ever to be classified as rock and roll. He quickly became a teen idol, because of his performance techniques and rebellious music.

Parents and adults didn’t approve of Elvis because of his controversial moves and partly because his music was rooted in African American culture. Blacks in America had been ignored or slighted but all of that changed when in December of ’55 a black woman by the name of Rosa Parks took a seat in the front of a bus in Alabama. Following this refusal to sit in the back of the bus, a struggle began. Today it is known as the Civil Rights Movement.

During the 1950s many scientific and political events took place. There were two wars, the Korean War, a conflict over power between North and South Korea. The other was the Cold War, a conflict between the United States and Soviet Union that lasted a long time. The two greatest scientific achievements in the fifties were first the Sputnik Satellite and second, the Polio Vaccine. The launching of the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik, on October 4, 1957 began the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States. Polio disease was one of the greatest problems in the world at this time and with the discovery of the vaccine came great relief.

Teenage life in the 1950s was very similar to teenage life in the present time. Teenagers just wanted to have fun and fit in. Life moved at a much slower pace and there was a lot more leisure time. Teens had idols, favorite singers, actors and actresses that entertained them. Some of the favorites were Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Buddy Holly, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and Grace Kelley. Elvis was a favorite because he was, well, Elvis. Frank Sinatra used his good looks and charm to win the hearts of many teenage girls. Marilyn Monroe showed the sexy but sophisticated side of women, something not very common in the Fifties. All of these entertainers are still, in their own way, legendary.

Teenagers went to school, spent time with their friends, drive-in movies were popular, and most importantly, they lived for the moment – not too different from us. The 1950s was a remarkable time. One might say that the Fifties changed a strict and conformed society to one that welcomed a world of opportunity. American culture owes a great deal to the decade that rocked the world.