First memory of Manley Field House?

[cto]

My first memory of Manley is very different from most. Manley opened in September of my senior year (1962), and its first use was for class registration ... which was a real circus in those pre-computerized days. There were scores of folding tables there, each hosting one academic offering, and you had to stand in line at each table to register for a class that fit into a schedule of your already-selected classes. Needless to say, this took much time and caused much anger and frustration if a desired class (or class section) had been filled before you got to the front of the line at that table.

But frustration is not my biggest memory. It is the DUST. Manley had a dirt floor, and the basketball court had not yet been installed. As a result, several hundred people were rushing from table to table kicking up dust that was far worst than that recently caused by the Canadian wildfires. Today it probably would be shut down for an air quality violation. (Prior to construction of Manley, registration took place in Archbold Gym. It was no less chaotic, but there was no dust).

Oh yeah, I also attended the first basketball game (actually a doubleheader) at Manley that December. And, as became the custom that year, we watched the exciting freshmen team starring Dave Bing, then left for a nearby watering hole (usually TC) when the not-so-good varsity team took the floor.

 

[bigmike]

Saw Jeff Ruland battle Louie and Bouie and company, my first game as an Orange hoop fan. Ruland was a beast, but the Manley streak continued as iI recollect.

 

[RF2044]

I remember going to my first Syracuse basketball games back in the Manley days, when I was a little kid. My dad's season tickets were in the back row, and I could hang down from the safety bars at the back and jump down a few feet to the concourse below, and then run back up the stairs to where my dad was sitting. Used to drive him crazy during games.

I also have one vague memory of the last game in Archbold Stadium.

 

[UpstateSM]

My mother took me and a cousin to watch Greg Paulus and CBA play in sectionals. I can’t remember what year it was or how old I was but I remember going.

 

[sutomcat]

My first memory of Manley is vastly different from most. Manley opened in September of my senior year (1962), and its first use was for class registration ... which was a real circus in those pre-computerized days. There were scores of folding tables there, each hosting one academic offering, and you had to stand in line at each table to register for a class that fit into a schedule of your already-selected classes. Needless to say, this took much time and caused much anger and frustration if a desired class (or class section) had been filled before you got to that table.

But frustration is not my biggest memory. It is the DUST. Manley had dirt floors, and the basketball court had not yet been installed. As a result, several hundred people were rushing from table to table kicking up dust that was far worst than that recently caused by the Canadian wildfires. Today it probably would be shut down for an air quality violation. (Prior to construction of Manley, registration took place in Archbold Gym. It was no less chaotic, but there was no dust).

On yeah, I also attended the first basketball game (actually a doubleheader) at Manley that December. And, as became the custom that year, we watched the exciting freshmen team starring Dave Bing, then left for a nearby watering hole (usually TC) when the not-so-good varsity team took the floor.

I started going to games before they installed the wall mounted recessible seating for basketball that expanded capacity to 9,600 or so. So I remember the wooden bleachers and believe I got a sliver or two from them in those early games.

When I was a student, registration was at Archbold. It was a zoo but it was a clean zoo. Trying to build a schedule from the big master book of classes while taking into account conflicts with other courses you had to take and throwing in the wild card of classes getting closed out was a great challenge. You had to be there to appreciate the chaos and confusion. The add/drop forms saved me from disaster more than once.

Once they put the tartan surface down over the dirt, and installed the recessible seating, Manley was a fantastic place to watch a game. It was extremely loud, the seats were right next to the court and the sightlines were sublime.

We never had as such of a home court advantage as those days. It only lasted a couple of years unfortunately, as the team moved to the dome where many attendance records would be set and the program would reach heights no one could imagine.

It is still a shame we only used that last configuration so briefly. It was probably the second best on campus facility in the Big East for many years (to the dome).

Good times.

 

[Orangefizz]

My memory is that Manly Fieldhouse was rowdy as hell. Not so different from the zoo at the Peterson event center. The throwing of confetti at the first bucket and the swearing during player introductions left an indelible memory in my mind. And of course JB’s crazy 70s suits.

 

[LAOrange]

I saw my first game as a cheerleader on the freshmen squad. Dennis Duval did a routine similar to the Harlem Globetrotters. It was fantastic.

 

[newmexicuse]

My greatest Manley memory is actually a concert I saw there my freshman year featuring Dionne Warwick and Jay and the Americans. It was simply amazing. Probably the second best concert in my whole life after a Jethro Tull concert I saw in Hartford, but that is only because I am a huge Tull fan.

 

[im4cuse]

My freshman year, with DuVal we LOST to UConn in a close game like 52-51. Some dude named Tony Hanson had game of his life.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Went with my dad to an exhibition they played at Manley instead of the Dome. It was pretty cool. I remember walking by one of the guys I recognised from the news.

I think it was Wallace's sophomore or junior year. He made a three pointer after the other team didn't come out to him for like 5 seconds when he got the ball on the wing. I don't think he even shot one the rest of the regular season that year.

 

[Dick_in_MI]

My first game in Manley was in the Fall of 1969, my freshman year. Lots of dirt. I recall a pundit saying that the place always smelled like circus had just left town, and it wasn't far from the truth. Class registration was in Archbold gym, and as Tom says, it was crazy. I can recall getting to the front of a line and finding a class was closed out. Then I found a backup choice, finally got to the front of that line, and it too was closed out. I ended up sitting on the gym floor looking through the course catalog, hoping something would pop out at me that wasn't closed out.

Great concerts too. I can't even count the number of great acts I saw at Manley. Often the opening act was on the cusp of becoming bigger than the headliner...and the headliner was very big. As I always say, I may be old but I got to see all the good bands.

SU hoops wasn't the enormous big deal that it is now, but the atmosphere of a game in Manley has never been duplicated.

 

[Dick_in_MI]

My greatest Manley memory is actually a concert I saw there my freshman year featuring Dionne Warwick and Jay and the Americans. It was simply amazing. Probably the second best concert in my whole life after a Jethro Tull concert I saw in Hartford, but that is only because I am a huge Tull fan.

Tull was awesome in Manley too. The whole show only consisted of a small number of songs, but each one was very long. Lots of solos.

 

[stuckinbig11]

On December 2, 1967, I watched my fellow freshmen Bill Smith, Bill Finney, Bob McDaniel, and Tom Green beat George Washington; then the varsity won too.

 

[Carl]

walking through the mud from the dirt parking lot in the freezing cold to the gym. walking though the doors and down the hall into a haze of dust. sitting 8 rows up across from the home team bench with my Dad, Mel Besdin and one of his beautiful daughters. Watching (Bill Smith, Kid Kohls and) Dennis Duval warm up the crowd and the music pulsing (starting with the Theme from Shaft). laughing and joining the madness and rudeness from the zoo on the opposite baseline. Chuck - which way to the NIT- Whichman. Ross Kindle. Chris Sease climbing the invisible ladder. Bug. the Lee Brothers, Rosie, Louis, Danny...

 

[Eric15]

My first memory of Manley was our game against George Washington/Mike Jarvis, the first game of the 94-95 season, when Michael Lloyd hit a 35-foot shot to send the game to OT.

 

[LetMeIn]

My first time in Manley was the 94 sectionals when we (Bishop Grimes) played Hamilton and Adonal Foyle for in the Class D Sectional Finals.

I had a few possessions where I had to "guard" him. I'm about 6'2". He absolutely dwarfed me.

I scored 6 points and fouled out pretty quick. We lost. My basketball career ended.

But for some reason the next day I was in just about every game picture the Post-Standard published. That was a pretty nice consolation prize.

 

[Eric15]

My second favorite memory of Manley: “Midnight Madness” before the 07-08 season.

AO shatters the backboard, whole place goes nuts. Paul Harris gets so excited that he takes off his sneakers and throws them into the crowd. Boeheim sees this, angrily storms over and like a parent scolding a toddler tells him to go get his shoes back immediately. This makes me laugh to this day.

 

[Domedog84]

My first memory of Manley was our game against George Washington/Mike Jarvis, the first game of the 94-95 season, when Michael Lloyd hit a 35-foot shot to send the game to OT.

Same. That game was a wild ride.

 

[Toga]

The smell of the clay.

 

[MSOrange]

My second favorite memory of Manley: “Midnight Madness” before the 07-08 season.

AO shatters the backboard, whole place goes nuts. Paul Harris gets so excited that he takes off his sneakers and throws them into the crowd. Boeheim sees this, angrily storms over and like a parent scolding a toddler tells him to go get his shoes back immediately. This makes me laugh to this day.

 

[Dmcnabbrules]

It’s been a while but I remember sectional game featuring CNS with Mike Brown vs Henninger and Lazarus. Had to be 1991or 92.

 

[storange]

I saw my first game as a cheerleader on the freshmen squad. Dennis Duval did a routine similar to the Harlem Globetrotters. It was fantastic.

Ditto , I was about 13 , Dennis Duval did the thing. They warmed up to JJ Jackson’s “ It’s All Right” and The theme from “Shaft”. It was awesome, I loved it all . ( Not to confuse , I was a townie not a cheerleader )

 

[sutomcat]

It’s been a while but I remember sectional game featuring CNS with Mike Brown vs Henninger and Lazarus. Had to be 1991or 92.

I saw a bunch of Empire State games at Manley. Christian Laettner, Kenny Anderson, and one Pearl Washington. Pretty sure I saw Red Bruin and Sidney Green play on NYC in one of the first years. They did a great job getting the best players from all over the state to play.

Best HS game I saw there was a game featuring JD and Niagara Falls. JD was led by Brandon Triche. NF had Jonny Flynn. Both were dominant and I believe both scored over 40 points, foreshowing the great careers both would have at Syracuse.

The MD Dance Marathon (might have been called a dancethen) was a staple at Manley for years. Major fund raiser for muscular dystrophy. Raised a ton of money. Believe Syracuse led the nation in dollars raised doing this many times. I think this tradition has gone away. Unfortunate.

 

[Roger N]

I saw a bunch of Empire State games at Manley. Christian Laettner, Kenny Anderson, and one Pearl Washington. Pretty sure I saw Red Bruin and Sidney Green play on NYC in one of the first years. They did a great job getting the best players from all over the state to play.

Best HS game I saw there was a game featuring JD and Niagara Falls. JD was led by Brandon Triche. NF had Jonny Flynn. Both were dominant and I believe both scored over 40 points, foreshowing the great careers both would have at Syracuse.

The MD Dance Marathon (might have been called a dancethen) was a staple at Manley for years. Major fund raiser for muscular dystrophy. Raised a ton of money. Believe Syracuse led the nation in dollars raised doing this many times. I think this tradition has unfortunately gone away. Unfortunate.

My first memory was SU trying to get Manley built so the football team could practice before bowl games. Then in December of 1963 I was a freshman at UB and four of us drove down to see UB play SU long drive down and back.

 

[Noexcuse]

I saw a bunch of Empire State games at Manley. Christian Laettner, Kenny Anderson, and one Pearl Washington. Pretty sure I saw Red Bruin and Sidney Green play on NYC in one of the first years. They did a great job getting the best players from all over the state to play.

Best HS game I saw there was a game featuring JD and Niagara Falls. JD was led by Brandon Triche. NF had Jonny Flynn. Both were dominant and I believe both scored over 40 points, foreshowing the great careers both would have at Syracuse.

The MD Dance Marathon (might have been called a dancethen) was a staple at Manley for years. Major fund raiser for muscular dystrophy. Raised a ton of money. Believe Syracuse led the nation in dollars raised doing this many times. I think this tradition has unfortunately gone away. Unfortunate.

Just to tag on here, the National Sports Fedtival was held in Syracuse in 1982. Basketball was held at Manley. Team workouts were open to the public. I remember going and seeing the team representing the South Region going through their warmups at the north basket. Except for one guy warming up by himself at the south basket. Guy by the name of Jordan.

My first SU game attended was during the 1974-75 season. Wooden bench bleachers, the Kennel Club, and the haze. It may have been dust. Or something else. Or maybe a combination of the two. That was a fun team to watch. Rudy Hackett, Jimmy Lee, Chris Sease, Kevin King, Bug Williams, Larry Kelley, Steve Shaw, Earnie Siebert etc. Gave us a great ride to the Final Four.