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Post by hc87 on Jun 3, 2020 21:08:01 GMT -5
Just googling pics of that venue now...curious, what was the experience there like as a fan (or player) back in the day?
My Dad was more a "football guy" so I never saw a HC game there in person.
Curious of sightlines, what the atmosphere was like etc.
It's such a grand old venue....be interested on what some of our (ahem) more mature posters thought of watching HC hoop there.
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Post by hchoops on Jun 3, 2020 21:22:54 GMT -5
Very few seats where you could see the whole court, esp in the upper deck, unless you were in the Little Theater which was a few miles behind a basket Some great games and performances there. One was PC’s Jimmie Walker who had 40+. John Wendelken had many terrific games there, as did his backcourt partner, Joe Kelly. Ed Siudut had a great soph season there.
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Post by timholycross on Jun 3, 2020 21:34:47 GMT -5
It was awful as a basketball arena, simply awful.
And HC didn't practice there except when the fieldhouse was set up for something else (which was rare), which took away from the home court advantage.
At least when HC played there one could say the building was well-maintained, by the time the Bay State Bombardiers played there in the early 80s, it wasn't.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jun 3, 2020 23:06:17 GMT -5
I had four seasons as a season ticket holder there. Student attendance was very high and we always anxiously awaited the day when season tickets went on sale--so you'd get together with your buddies and get seats together. I seem to recall that tickets were maybe $4.00 per game , maybe equal to $20.00 in 2020 money. One year we had great seats maybe 10 rows up behind the visitors bench. I think we must have taken student busses to the games but it's funny that I don't remember that very well.
I have great memories of some great victories there and of several horrendous losses. First the losses e.g. Steve Dabney of BU dribbling the length of the court unimpeded as time expired to score a winning basket, the loss to the Erie Feragne New Hampshire team (losing in basketball to UNH??). Now some wins: We got pummeled by Syracuse in football 63-21 freshman year and we all thought Ben Shwartzwalder had run up the score. So when the very good Syracuse basketball team came to the Auditorium with star Greg Kohls we were delighted with the HC win and I recall one loud Crusader fan (it might have been me) making a loud comment, well-received, about where Ben was. I recall John Budris, who did not get a lot of playing time, making some key plays to beat LaSalle. I remember multiple Gene Doyle last minute shots to win games. I recall clearly King Gaskins hitting a very long jumper at the buzzer to beat URI 119-117 in what may have been the highest scoring game or maybe just the game where HC yielded the most points and still won. Some games the basketball team would come out for warmups and PG Bruce Grentz would do a Harlem Globetrotters routine at the top of the key, getting the ball and making improbable passes to teammates in the layup drill. For most games the band played the theme from Hawaii 5-0 when the team came on the court. Of course some of the best memories at the Auditorium came my senior year when, after two terrible seasons, Potter and Vicens joined the team and we surged ahead.
Bob Cousy sat in the first row across from the HC bench. I wanted his autograph but sent an attractive coed to ask him as I didn't know if he was a nice guy.
My first college game was there when, as a senior in high school, I visited my brother and saw HC play Ernie D and Providence. I had to sit in the Little Theater as no tix were available elsewhere.
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Post by Ignutz on Jun 4, 2020 5:33:11 GMT -5
I had four seasons as a season ticket holder there. Student attendance was very high and we always anxiously awaited the day when season tickets went on sale--so you'd get together with your buddies and get seats together. I seem to recall that tickets were maybe $4.00 per game , maybe equal to $20.00 in 2020 money. One year we had great seats maybe 10 rows up behind the visitors bench. I think we must have taken student busses to the games but it's funny that I don't remember that very well. I have great memories of some great victories there and of several horrendous losses. First the losses e.g. Steve Dabney of BU dribbling the length of the court unimpeded as time expired to score a winning basket, the loss to the Erie Feragne New Hampshire team (losing in basketball to UNH??). Now some wins: We got pummeled by Syracuse in football 63-21 freshman year and we all thought Ben Shwartzwalder had run up the score. So when the very good Syracuse basketball team came to the Auditorium with star Greg Kohls we were delighted with the HC win and I recall one loud Crusader fan (it might have been me) making a loud comment, well-received, about where Ben was. I recall John Budris, who did not get a lot of playing time, making some key plays to beat LaSalle. I remember multiple Gene Doyle last minute shots to win games. I recall clearly King Gaskins hitting a very long jumper at the buzzer to beat URI 119-117 in what may have been the highest scoring game or maybe just the game where HC yielded the most points and still won. Some games the basketball team would come out for warmups and PG Bruce Grentz would do a Harlem Globetrotters routine at the top of the key, getting the ball and making improbable passes to teammates in the layup drill. For most games the band played the theme from Hawaii 5-0 when the team came on the court. Of course some of the best memories at the Auditorium came my senior year when, after two terrible seasons, Potter and Vicens joined the team and we surged ahead. Bob Cousy sat in the first row across from the HC bench. I wanted his autograph but sent an attractive coed to ask him as I didn't know if he was a nice guy. My first college game was there when, as a senior in high school, I visited my brother and saw HC play Ernie D and Providence. I had to sit in the Little Theater as no tix were available elsewhere. Too early in the morning to research the details, but Potter, Vicens, etal absolutely crushed Georgetown in the ‘74-75 season. Maybe even set a record for most points in a half? (If not a record, it was certainly close.)
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Post by thecrossisback on Jun 4, 2020 5:42:24 GMT -5
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Post by thecrossisback on Jun 4, 2020 5:44:54 GMT -5
Wish I got to see a game there. Have heard stories from my great grandmother about watching the 1947 team.
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Post by thecrossisback on Jun 4, 2020 5:53:32 GMT -5
I am not sure if that bottom picture is Worcester Aud. The Worcester Auditorium always post great pictures on Instagram. Not really basketball but other events. The Worcester Historical society has a lot of pictures as well. These pictures, I mostly got from yearbooks or newspapers. I think we should roll the hoops in there for one more sendoff. 229-64 all time. Last game was an 89-73 win vs Army on March 1, 1975 I think they are turning it into an Esports arena. www.telegram.com/news/20191217/deal-to-redevelop-worcester-memorial-auditorium-takes-step-forward
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Post by thecrossisback on Jun 4, 2020 6:29:03 GMT -5
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Post by hchoops on Jun 4, 2020 7:16:05 GMT -5
I am not sure if that bottom picture is Worcester Aud. The Worcester Auditorium always post great pictures on Instagram. Not really basketball but other events. The Worcester Historical society has a lot of pictures as well. These pictures, I mostly got from yearbooks or newspapers. I think we should roll the hoops in there for one more sendoff. 229-64 all time. Last game was an 89-73 win vs Army on March 1, 1975 I think they are turning it into an Esports arena. www.telegram.com/news/20191217/deal-to-redevelop-worcester-memorial-auditorium-takes-step-forwardThe bottom photo is Richie Murphy ‘66(RIP), but definitely not the Aud He wears purple and the lower stands were not open
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Post by Crucis#1 on Jun 4, 2020 7:34:08 GMT -5
I am not sure if that bottom picture is Worcester Aud. The Worcester Auditorium always post great pictures on Instagram. Not really basketball but other events. The Worcester Historical society has a lot of pictures as well. These pictures, I mostly got from yearbooks or newspapers. I think we should roll the hoops in there for one more sendoff. 229-64 all time. Last game was an 89-73 win vs Army on March 1, 1975 I think they are turning it into an Esports arena. www.telegram.com/news/20191217/deal-to-redevelop-worcester-memorial-auditorium-takes-step-forwardThe bottom photo is Richie Murphy ‘66(RIP), but definitely not the Aud He wears purple and the lower stands were not open The last picture with Richie Murphy appears to be against Providence at Alumni Hall at PC.
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Post by newfieguy74 on Jun 4, 2020 7:42:16 GMT -5
Just googling pics of that venue now...curious, what was the experience there like as a fan (or player) back in the day? My Dad was more a "football guy" so I never saw a HC game there in person. Curious of sightlines, what the atmosphere was like etc. It's such a grand old venue....be interested on what some of our (ahem) more mature posters thought of watching HC hoop there. I was at HC in the early 70's. I only went to a handful of hoop games at the Auditorium, but I remember it was not a good place to watch a game. I also have a vague memory, which I'm starting to doubt, of seeing Johnny Winter perform there. Possibly a different venue? HC, of course, has had some memorable on-campus concerts, which I'm sure have been discussed on Crossports. One I remember, in the Fieldhouse, was Poco--a great concert.
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Post by trimster on Jun 4, 2020 7:58:17 GMT -5
Very few seats where you could see the whole court, esp in the upper deck, unless you were in the Little Theater which was a few miles behind a basket Some great games and performances there. One was PC’s Jimmie Walker who had 40+. John Wendelken had many terrific games there, as did his backcourt partner, Joe Kelly. Ed Siudut had a great soph season there. Marty Halsey hitting a foul line jumper at the buzzer to beat Providence in 1975. By the way, if you sat in the last row of the Little Theater, the curtains could prevent you from seeing the far hoop. I remember having to crunch down in my seat to see it. Walkers 48 points left a lasting memory. Running into PC announcer Chris Clark was another. The Gavitt Doesn’t Have It sign hanging over the balcony. The one scoreboard that I think measured about 3’ by 3’.
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Post by hchoops on Jun 4, 2020 7:59:21 GMT -5
Wish I got to see a game there. Have heard stories from my great grandmother about watching the 1947 team. Top photo may be Greg Hochstein 66 Middle one is Ron Texeira 69. Photo is from ‘66-67 season in the 67 yearbook
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Post by timholycross on Jun 4, 2020 10:17:40 GMT -5
Yes, HC beat Georgetown pretty good at the Aud mid-season 74-75. Turned out to be HC's last win in the series, I believe.
I do remember nearly everything else KY posted:
Grentz put on that passing show and snuck it by Jack D. (I guess because Jack stayed in the locker room until right before game time, like many coaches do), boy he was pissed about that.
Big Boo was a force against La Salle!
And the URI game, hard to say how many points would have been scored in the same game today as there were no three pointers then. Both teams were playing out the string, both had locker room strife; and neither one played defense in that game. That was a beautiful shot by King that won it, and I think there's a pretty good photo of that in our Class of 73 yearbook. I'll have to look later.
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Post by hc87 on Jun 4, 2020 11:22:00 GMT -5
Thanks all for the memories, pics etc....the Aud was such a funky, interesting basketball venue....most have been so antiseptic/bland since.
How did most people from HC get to games then? Walk, bus, drive? How was the parking? Did people hang out in that area pre-game/post-game?
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Jun 4, 2020 11:24:33 GMT -5
Just how far back from the court was Little Theater? For those familiar with AU's Bender Arena (their endline bleachers for some reason seem to start at least 15-20 feet from the endline), was Little Theater in a similar location?
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Post by rgs318 on Jun 4, 2020 12:07:07 GMT -5
IIRC the Little Theater opened onto the stage, behind the small stands under the basket - about 8-10 feet back from the front edge of the stage.
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Post by kot1972 on Jun 4, 2020 12:24:24 GMT -5
Thanks all for the memories, pics etc....the Aud was such a funky, interesting basketball venue....most have been so antiseptic/bland since. How did most people from HC get to games then? Walk, bus, drive? How was the parking? Did people hang out in that area pre-game/post-game? I loved the Aud and was there for the winters of 1968 through 1972. Buddy Venne was my roommate and captain 1971-1972 I think and that era was really special. I think we had buses to the games or cars as juniors/seniors. Here are some my favorite memories in no special order and with no research done to fact check: 1.Watching Dr. J as a freshman and junior. Stan Grayson ( a good friend) had stopped Julius to single digits in the first half of the junior year game but was called for 2 quick fouls in the first minute of the second half. Dr J went off and we lost in a close one. 2.My junior year we were loaded with Adams, Kissane, Sasso, Phelan,Grayson, Venne,Grentz, Stacom, Schnurr and Doyle. Pure excitement for every home game. 3.Freshman year wasn't bad either watching the great Ed Siudut. That year started the trend I think where we always had about 16 wins to 18 wins and needed to beat one of Providence, St. John's or BC in our last 3 games to go to the NIT. Never got there. 4. Sophomore year 68-69 starting with a couple of big wins and I went to MSG in December with my floor mates to get buried by Columbia with Jim McMillan and Howard Dotson ( I think) who stopped Buddy cold. Buddy had been the ECAC rookie if the week, the previous week. 5.4 years of watching Buddy at the Aud and have the crowd whistle( like a Pearl Harbor bomb) every time he let go of his 20 to 25 ft set shots (a lot of swishes). Heartbreak of watching him just fall short of 1,000 career points after spending most of his junior year on the bench behind Stacom. 6. Sophomore or junior year at home playing Duquesne with the Nelson twins who were huge ( 6:10 or taller), all excited as we were pretty good at that point but I think we lost. 7. Some gin mill was across the street from the Aud. Quite a few of my floor mates at Mulledy were from Westchester County ( White Plains, Scarsdale, etc) and had played HS BB with or against Artie White of Georgetown. We met him at the bar after the game , had a few beers and discussed the HC win. We were 19 or 20. It was a great time. 8.Watching Mike Pazik (New York Yankee draftee) play freshman basketball. He was Mulledy 3 guy, across the hall from me, and the best athlete in the class of 72. Easily could have been the starting football quarterback but banned from playing due to his baseball scholarship. Pro career cut short with the Twins in 75 due to car accident. All in all, it was a great time to be on campus. Jack Donohue had a good run of recruiting talent and we could play with anybody. Much like the Potter, Vicens + Perry era shortly thereafter. Just so frustrating we never got to a tournament. Fond memories. PS: one other memorable game, going to Springfield College in 69 or 70 with the guys on my floor and watching Dennis Clark light us up for 50 (truly amazing) but I think we hung on for a win in overtime. KOT 72
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Post by purplehaze on Jun 4, 2020 13:07:40 GMT -5
Why did home games start at 8:30 in those days ? (at least that's my recollection)
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Post by trimster on Jun 4, 2020 13:44:55 GMT -5
IIRC the Little Theater opened onto the stage, behind the small stands under the basket - about 8-10 feet back from the front edge of the stage. I think you remember it very well. The Little Theater had its own entrance in the rear of the building. You were a long way from the court. Think nickel seats.
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Post by trimster on Jun 4, 2020 13:47:43 GMT -5
Why did home games start at 8:30 in those days ? (at least that's my recollection) Frosh game perhaps. I think the varsity game started at 8:15. Used to listen to Bob Gamere call the games for WTAG radio on my transistor.
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Post by beaven302 on Jun 4, 2020 13:54:34 GMT -5
Nickel seats nails it for the Little Theater. I recall sitting there during the 1967 BC game and the action was rather distant to say the least. This was during Bob Cousy's tenure as BC coach and he took from some flak from the HC students.
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Post by trimster on Jun 4, 2020 13:54:43 GMT -5
Thanks all for the memories, pics etc....the Aud was such a funky, interesting basketball venue....most have been so antiseptic/bland since. How did most people from HC get to games then? Walk, bus, drive? How was the parking? Did people hang out in that area pre-game/post-game? I loved the Aud and was there for the winters of 1968 through 1972. Buddy Venne was my roommate and captain 1971-1972 I think and that era was really special. I think we had buses to the games or cars as juniors/seniors. Here are some my favorite memories in no special order and with no research done to fact check: 1.Watching Dr. J as a freshman and junior. Stan Grayson ( a good friend) had stopped Julius to single digits in the first half of the junior year game but was called for 2 quick fouls in the first minute of the second half. Dr J went off and we lost in a close one. 2.My junior year we were loaded with Adams, Kissane, Sasso, Phelan,Grayson, Venne,Grentz, Stacom, Schnurr and Doyle. Pure excitement for every home game. 3.Freshman year wasn't bad either watching the great Ed Siudut. That year started the trend I think where we always had about 16 wins to 18 wins and needed to beat one of Providence, St. John's or BC in our last 3 games to go to the NIT. Never got there. 4. Sophomore year 68-69 starting with a couple of big wins and I went to MSG in December with my floor mates to get buried by Columbia with Jim McMillan and Howard Dotson ( I think) who stopped Buddy cold. Buddy had been the ECAC rookie if the week, the previous week. 5.4 years of watching Buddy at the Aud and have the crowd whistle( like a Pearl Harbor bomb) every time he let go of his 20 to 25 ft set shots (a lot of swishes). Heartbreak of watching him just fall short of 1,000 career points after spending most of his junior year on the bench behind Stacom. 6. Sophomore or junior year at home playing Duquesne with the Nelson twins who were huge ( 6:10 or taller), all excited as we were pretty good at that point but I think we lost. 7. Some gin mill was across the street from the Aud. Quite a few of my floor mates at Mulledy were from Westchester County ( White Plains, Scarsdale, etc) and had played HS BB with or against Artie White of Georgetown. We met him at the bar after the game , had a few beers and discussed the HC win. We were 19 or 20. It was a great time. 8.Watching Mike Pazik (New York Yankee draftee) play freshman basketball. He was Mulledy 3 guy, across the hall from me, and the best athlete in the class of 72. Easily could have been the starting football quarterback but banned from playing due to his baseball scholarship. Pro career cut short with the Twins in 75 due to car accident. All in all, it was a great time to be on campus. Jack Donohue had a good run of recruiting talent and we could play with anybody. Much like the Potter, Vicens + Perry era shortly thereafter. Just so frustrating we never got to a tournament. Fond memories. PS: one other memorable game, going to Springfield College in 69 or 70 with the guys on my floor and watching Dennis Clark light us up for 50 (truly amazing) but I think we hung on for a win in overtime. KOT 72 Duquesne was ranked that year and beat the Crusaders. I remember watching the game on TV and I don’t believe it was a Saturday ECAC game of the week with Marv Albert and Bucky Waters. I think it was prior to TV 27 but perhaps it was their initial foray into broadcasting HC games. In addition to the giant Nelson twins, the Dukes had a 6’8” forward named Mickey Davis who went to a fairly long NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks.
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Post by DiMarz on Jun 4, 2020 13:59:02 GMT -5
I go back to Jack the Shot Foley watching games in the Aud...Downstairs seating was on portable bleachers, up stairs were very comfortable upholstered arm chairs...Upstairs if one sat in the first 2 rows on the side, you could see the whole court , and in the seats at the front end..The other seats, no sight line to see the sideline of the court....Little Theater was at the back end of the building (opposite end from Main street)..first row seats there were about 20 rows up from the floor..I remember the WTAG radio broadcast was done from that end of the court, a raised platform,up about 3 feet..If one sat behind it, it was basically in the way, you couldn't see the sideline and team benches.. Atmosphere was mostly good to great..I started season tickets in 74-75, the last season in the Aud. Opening game there were about 350 people there, as the season rolled on and the Saders kept winning the place filled each night. .My 2 favorite memories of the Aud, Joe Carbelera yelling at Mike Vicens "to be good" late in a game that Mike was getting more physical as the game went on. It appeared he was going to punch the guy who was guarding him!... and the 2nd, HC vs Georgetown that same season, Mike Vicens always took a "hard" foul early on the guy he guarded, usually the best player on the opposition...That night he did take a hard foul, of the offensive variety! He got the ball on the fast break with his defender guarding the hoop, and Mike put his lead foot into the defenders chest! basically knocking him to the floor and stepping on him!! The kid never went near the hoop again on D!! The Georgetown coach (John Thompson??) had to pull the kid from game,he refused to get close to Mike, and wouldn't guard him!!!!
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