Penn basketball memories: Like father, like daughter

Yesterday we posted a great set of memories from college freshman (and DP writer) Allison Bart. Today her father, an alum, chimes in with his own.

Your favorite Penn basketball memory?

Since my daughter Allison has submitted her memories, what kind of father would I be if I did not do the same. Back in the day, Penn not only had a nationally ranked basketball program, but the students actually called all the games on WXPN. I was one of those lucky students from 1974-1978. I came in when Penn had a great team in '74-75 with Ron Haigler, John Engles and Bob Bigelow. While the memories of that era are great, including the tragic injury of John Engles in the LaSalle game in 1975 that may have cost the Quakers a real chance at a title, the ensuing loss at the Palestra in the first round of the NCAA's against Kansas State and Chuckie Williams.

The Quakers went through a rebuilding process for the next 2 years with Keven McDonald, Stan Greene, Tom Crowley and then the great freshman class of Tony Price, Bobby Willis, Tim Smith and Matt White, but Penn lost the Ivy title to a great Princeton team with Frank Sowinski and Barnes Hafptfuhrer (now there's a real Princeton name for you!).

By 1978, it was Penn's turn again (and Penn did win 8 of 10 titles in the '70s with the 3rd overall best record in the NCAA's) and as a senior, I got to call almost all of the road basketball games. The memory that stands out is the Great Blizzard of 1978. It began on February 6 and continued for 2 days, piling up between 3 and 5 feet of snow as you went up the Northeastern coast. Penn was scheduled to play Yale and Brown that weekend, and it was iffy, as the National Guard had closed all roads north of New York. However, on Thursday, I-95 was reopened to New Haven and we were able to drive up and park in a snow drift across from Payne Whitney. I remember having an intense game of Pixie Football in the snow with the XPN and DP contingent and then Penn won fairly easily at Yale that night.

The next night was trickier....the roads still were closed but Amtrak was running. So everyone, including the team, climbed aboard a train and went up to Providence for the next game. When we got there, the team got a ride to Marvel Gym at Brown from the National Guards, but the XPN and DP guys had to walk 2 miles up the hill in the middle of the streets. I'll never forget Loren Feldman, the DP sports writer (and later editor of Philadelphia Magazine) complaining the entire time. Then Penn destroyed Brown before about 30 people. There were no trains back until the milk train at about 2 in the morning, so the players and school media hung at the central information booth, playing poker for 3 hours---Booney Salters cleaned everyone out. Great memory and great season.

Actually, Penn had more talent in '78 than the next year, when they went to the final four, and after crushing St. Bonaventure in the first round of the NCAA's (also at the Palestra), Penn lost a heartbreaker to Gene Banks, Mike Gminski and Duke ---back in Providence---after blowing an 8 point lead with 8 minutes to go. Duke went to the final game that year and it could have been us. It was, the next year, but instead of a beatable Kentucky team that won in 1978, there were a couple of guys named Bird and Magic in the way in '79.

-Jonathan Bart, College '78