COLUMN: M. Hoops loses a friend

Howard Mitchell never wore a Penn uniform as a player. He never stalked the sidelines as a coach. In fact, in his 44 years as a regular at Penn games, Doc Mitchell really had no official connection to the basketball program. The impact he had on it, however, cannot be measured. Doc Mitchell passed away last Thursday. For the first time since since Eisenhower was in office and the Ivy League was in its infancy, he will not be there to support the Quakers this season. Memories of him, though, will live on throughout this year's campaign and for many to come. To tell you the truth, I never met Doc Mitchell and until this week, I really didn't know anything about him. But after speaking to a handful of the countless people he touched, I really wish I had the opportunity to know this extraordinary man. Doc Mitchell was more than a fan of Penn basketball. He was more than a Wharton professor who loved to attend games at the Palestra. He was more -- much more. He was a mentor, a supporter and a friend. And he will be sorely missed. "I'm going to miss him very much," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "He and his wife had season tickets where he would sit above and to our left. He was always there for you. "It didn't matter if you won or you lost, he was always there." Always. Over the past 40 years, the names in the Penn basketball world have been ever-changing. Doc Mitchell was one name that remained constant. "There was no generation gap with him," Dunphy added. "He transcended all generations." And the members of all generations felt connected to him. Meeting Doc Mitchell was one of the reasons Quakers great Corky Calhoun decided to attend Penn as a recruit. The same is true for Frank Brown, who was recruited nearly 30 years after Calhoun. The names may have been different but the love and dedication to Penn basketball shown by Doc Mitchell never wavered. Corky Calhoun, Craig Littlepage, James "Boonie" Salters, Bobby Willis, Jerome Allen, Ira Bowman, Frank Brown, Michael Jordan. Different generations. Same respect for Doc Mitchell. "During my years at Penn, he was like a second father to me," Calhoun recalled. "He was a permanent fixture," Salters said. "He enjoyed basketball but we went to him for other things." And Doc was always there for those other things. Calhoun remembers that Doc Mitchell had an open-door policy at his office. Calhoun and his teammates went there to hear stories about the struggles Doc faced in the Negro Leagues when he played baseball with men like Jackie Robinson. Calhoun didn't go there to get advice on basketball or academics. He went there to visit a friend. Doc was a friend to many. When Willis was a senior at Penn, he was a few credits short of graduating. It was Doc Mitchell who pushed Willis to get his degree and Salters believes Doc is responsible for kickstarting the success Willis has had in life after Penn. In their lives since graduating from Penn, Willis and Salters -- like so many other former Quakers -- have not forgotten Doc. When asked if Doc Mitchell kept in touch with former players, Dunphy replied, "I think it was more that they kept in touch with him." Every time an old player would come back to the Palestra, he made it a point to see Doc. Calhoun even invited him to his wedding. Numerous Quakers came back to honor Doc Mitchell at the Penn basketball banquet two years ago. Many more will be there on Saturday for his memorial service. Doc Mitchell loved all sports and he was a star in basketball, baseball and football as a young man. His love for Quakers hoops, though, exceeded most other interests. Long-time Penn fan Mo Szporn, a close friend of Doc's, fondly recalls one time when Doc's Red and Blue loyalties were on clear display. Several years ago, Doc had just had his second aortal bypass surgery at HUP and Szporn went to visit him on a Saturday afternoon. The Quakers were in the middle of the Ivy season at the time. Szporn doesn't remember the opponent, the game or the details, but he remembers Doc. Several hours before tip-off, Szporn walked into Doc's hospital room. Doc, fully decked out in his Penn hoops sweatsuit, was sitting by a window facing the Palestra. Before Szporn had a chance to say hello or ask how he felt, Doc told him to get a hold of Dunphy. Why? "The other team arrived an hour and a half late for their shoot-around," Szporn recalled Doc telling him. "We have to tell coach Dunphy to go out in a zone defense because they won't be ready to shoot." Maybe Dunphy used a zone that night, maybe he didn't. But since Doc was in the hospital, that was one of the few games he missed in his long affiliation with Penn basketball. Recently, however, Doc was not able to attend many games because he had been ill. For that reason, most of the current players -- with the exception of Brown, who is in his fifth year -- did not have the relationship with Doc that older players did. While Doc might not have been as much of a mentor to the current guys, he still had an impact on them. "He was always around. Wherever we were, he was always there," Jordan said. "I wish I had the opportunity to get to know Doc Mitchell better than I did." Penn's basketball season will begin in a little over a month. Jordan will still be leading the offense, Brown will still be burying jumpers, Dunphy will still be sitting on the bench. To most observers, nothing will be different. But that seat above and to the left of the Penn bench kept warm for more than 40 years by one beloved friend will not have its usual occupant. And Doc Mitchell will be missed.

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