nope the sparks that would fly would be cool though.
Heard some cool old stuff that I think you'd (and others) would get a kick out of. I just found out that one of my best friends and college roomates dad was an SU alum and hoops player in the 50's toward the early 60's and he has some great memories of that era that I loved hearing about. We connected after many many years in a discussion about SU memorabilia the likes of which he has a bunch of and might be selling.
One thing he has he sent was a copy of an Xmas card from the SU NC team signed by all the team, etc. ED included. He might put it on ebay some day.
Anyway, how in the hell I've never heard about all of this until now is beyond me (next time I see my good friend I'll be smacking him upside the head) as I had no idea that his dad was such a part of the SU sports history in the glory years era including the football NC in '59.
Anyway he was a full scholarship hoops player and because of similar backrounds and interests ended up being great friends and I think even rooming with a member of the football sizable seven "Jerry Skoniecki" so he was intertwined with the football guys as they also ate together back then too.
He played with and against both Jim Brown AND later Ernie Davis and recalled some great hang out time with ED. Feels that everything we've heard about him as the human being and great person is true and had he lived he always felt he would have been the first black president. He recalls one time hanging at the Varsity with his then girlfriend later wife when Ernie hung out with them as like ED himself my friends dad was known as the happy hoops player and they hit it off.
It was then he realized how caring and concerned ED was about other people and how much depth he had as a person. Later on they took a great picture together with him and ED with his roommate right after ED was named to the AA team.
Another AA Roger Davis (football and hoops player) was a big card fanatic and a bunch of them would go to the local mafia hangout in the city on salina st called Nappis bar and they'd hook Roger up with some $ while he played cards as he was a great card player too and he usually won against the wise guys who suprisingly were ok with it. They were happy to have these star athletes amongst them with respect on both sides. And in fact these and other boosters of the era (the Syracuse herald journal newspaper editor Mr. Jones for ex.) would routinely be hooking up all these athletes with checks!!
He was so close to these guys that he has the inside story on the Texas game at the Cotton Bowl and what was actually said to Ernie and it wasn't pretty. Virtually every single play one of the Texas players and then another and then another it sounded like each play would call him then N word and one or the same would then spit on him. The refs did absolutely nothing about it and Ernie just soldiered through it much like Jackie Robinson did never reacting with anger letting his play do the talking. When he ran for the long TD on that pass play he and the team beamed and it was redemption or (my words here now) good prevailing over evil. Some parts of the movie were wrong like the location of the WVU game though they did get the hotel situation right forcing a change.
Of course there were other African americans on that team with his friend Art Baker and John Brown. Art Baker who was also a great wrestler was a quiet guy and often in the shadow of Ernie but had a great moment himself, and my friends dad shared a story about a wrestling meet against #1 nationally ranked Penn St. Baker wrestled at 195 and was up one match against the Penn St. All American Heavyweight at 205+. The entire basketball and football teams were in attendance one Saturday and Baker literally picked up his opponent and slammed him to the mat pinning him much to the delight of them as the crowd went wild it sounds like. He's sending me some things from back in the day that I absolutely can't wait to get the contents of which I'll share here.
When the team got voted number one a bunch of them all headed down to Salina st. in their car and convertible and had an impromptu parade through the city all fired up. Sounds like that fall was a truly special once in a lifetime time they enjoyed. As for the hoops side of things his coach was Marc Guley and one game coach was really sauced up and he sent him in the game to replace himself telling him to go in there and replace "his name" (himself)!
He stayed close to the program until the 80's when he moved away, went on the team plane to the FF in San Diego, got to enjoy that, met John Wooden and played in the first game on the court in the dome in a reunion game I believe. Didn't know JB well but remembers him like most seem to do. As for his son the apple didn't fall too far from the tree as my roommate was a two time All-American in college having had a great college career himself and in history repeating itself I was a football player hanging with him the hoops player.
I think there's more cool tidbits to come and if there is I'll share them here (he gave me permission to share these amazing stories here).
