Back in the day -- addendum

[hplare]

A correction, a few additional facts and a question.
In the earlier post I incorrectly said that the first game played in the new gym was in 1950.

The first game wasn't played until 1952. From !947 until then, games were played at the downtown armory, the State Fair Coliseum and the War Memorial. The Syracuse Nationals came into existence in 1948 and progressed through these same venues as the University.
There is, however, a discrepancy regarding the '52 date. One site list the Jan 12th game against Duquesne as being played at home and notes it was the first game in the new gym. . Another site has the same game, same year, played at Duquesne.

I'm going with the first site, "Orange Hoops" and because I was there at the game.. I don't recall any excitement about it being the first game back on campus, but the real anticipation was Duquesne coming in undefeated and everyone hoping for an upset. Unfortunately, they were bigger and better and the 78 - 67 loss doesn't reflect how easily they won.

A few more facts. Billy Gabor, who I mentioned in the first post was known as "The bullet." He was extremely fast and could dribble end to end quicker than anyone I'd ever seen. This was in an era when you had to have your hand on the top of the ball when you dribbled. Anything, even slightly off immediately drew a whistle and a call of palming or carrying. Crossover moves were practically impossible and any of the modern day maneuvers unimaginable. The best ball handler I ever saw in those early days was Bob Cousey . He seemed to be able to dribble behind his knee without palming and was fantastic one on one.

Now what with the army, relocating to NYC, marriage and relocating again to Connecticut there's a considerable gap in my SU basketball watching. A large part of this is because college basketball in general wasn't on TV all that often. An SU football game occasionally, but I never really became a fanatic again until the 1975 NCAA tourney and our run to the Final Four.

Prior to that, however, my then six year old youngest son, all four foot of him, decided he wanted to play pee wee basketball, I signed him up, dropped him off at a few practices and finally grabbed a seat in the bleachers for the first game. A giant at five foot one controlled the tip and one of my son's opponents began to dribble. The kid was good, really skilled, but what was he doing? Without thinking I blurted out, "He's palming, ref, he's carrying." People around me looked in complete puzzlement and that's when I learned the game had changed.

So here's the question: when and how did this happen? Did it slowly evolve on the Brooklyn playgrounds? In the games in Rucker Park? Were the Harlem globetrotters an influence? Perhaps the NBA. The pros have certainly changed the game. In the early days a 6'10 George Mikan playing for the Chicago Gears was a major drawing card. Fans from other teams hated him . He pushed and shoved, but never fouled out. It would have been bad for business. The mayhem we witness down low these days definitely had it's start back then.

Thoughts?

 

[sutomcat]

A correction, a few additional facts and a question.
In the earlier post I incorrectly said that the first game played in the new gym was in 1950.

The first game wasn't played until 1952. From !947 until then, games were played at the downtown armory, the State Fair Coliseum and the War Memorial. The Syracuse Nationals came into existence in 1948 and progressed through these same venues as the University.
There is, however, a discrepancy regarding the '52 date. One site list the Jan 12th game against Duquesne as being played at home and notes it was the first game in the new gym. . Another site has the same game, same year, played at Duquesne.

I'm going with the first site, "Orange Hoops" and because I was there at the game.. I don't recall any excitement about it being the first game back on campus, but the real anticipation was Duquesne coming in undefeated and everyone hoping for an upset. Unfortunately, they were bigger and better and the 78 - 67 loss doesn't reflect how easily they won.

A few more facts. Billy Gabor, who I mentioned in the first post was known as "The bullet." He was extremely fast and could dribble end to end quicker than anyone I'd ever seen. This was in an era when you had to have your hand on the top of the ball when you dribbled. Anything, even slightly off immediately drew a whistle and a call of palming or carrying. Crossover moves were practically impossible and any of the modern day maneuvers unimaginable. The best ball handler I ever saw in those early days was Bob Cousey . He seemed to be able to dribble behind his knee without palming and was fantastic one on one.

Now what with the army, relocating to NYC, marriage and relocating again to Connecticut there's a considerable gap in my SU basketball watching. A large part of this is because college basketball in general wasn't on TV all that often. An SU football game occasionally, but I never really became a fanatic again until the 1975 NCAA tourney and our run to the Final Four.

Prior to that, however, my then six year old youngest son, all four foot of him, decided he wanted to play pee wee basketball, I signed him up, dropped him off at a few practices and finally grabbed a seat in the bleachers for the first game. A giant at five foot one controlled the tip and one of my son's opponents began to dribble. The kid was good, really skilled, but what was he doing? Without thinking I blurted out, "He's palming, ref, he's carrying." People around me looked in complete puzzlement and that's when I learned the game had changed.

So here's the question: when and how did this happen? Did it slowly evolve on the Brooklyn playgrounds? In the games in Rucker Park? Were the Harlem globetrotters an influence? Perhaps the NBA. The pros have certainly changed the game. In the early days a 6'10 George Mikan playing for the Chicago Gears was a major drawing card. Fans from other teams hated him . He pushed and shoved, but never fouled out. It would have been bad for business. The mayhem we witness down low these days definitely had it's start back then.

Thoughts?

 

[longtimefan]

That looks like Jerry West.