A Night To Remember: 1963-65 Bobcats Inducted Into Ohio Basketball Hall Of Fame

1963-64

1964-65

Up early enough, at 7:30, after a fun night and came down to breakfast at the Hamtpton and some of my teammates were already up.  It's a gray morning here in Columbus and rainy, not the kind of weather we would want for a trip.  I am finishing up my blog as ten of us are down already for breakfast because many have to be off to the airport for a plane ride home.

Doc, My Highs School Coach And His Wife June

Yesterday turned out to be pretty nice, some sun, a little rain and warm.  We all met for breakfast at the Hampton Inn, some of us up as early as 7:00 like me.  Slowly others meandered down and a teammate from California, Scott and Maryanne, walked in having gotten in late Friday.

Scott, Lakewood High School Rival And Bobcat Teammate

Maryann, Scott's Wife, And Vi

Coach Doc And My Teammates

Just Bobcats

Scott and I played against each other in high school, so we have been friends for quite awhile.  And my high school basketball coach and his wife stopped down.  He is also a Ohio University grad and knows all of our team.  Around 10:00, all of us went over to the vast Greater Columbus Convention Center across the street which was hosting a volleyball tournament of at least 100 girls teams.  We helped set up the tables for the banquet at the one of end of the Center, putting on tablecloths, flower pots and table numbers.  If we had not helped, Doc, the co chair of the Hall of Fame would have had to do it with Shelia, Executive Director of the OBHOF.  It took us all of a half hour and was a big help.

Setting Up For The Banquet

The Good Wives

We then agreed to meet for lunch around 12:30 and walked over to the North Market, a block away. The Market, like our hotel and the Convention Center, is set in an area of Columbus called Short North and is filled with restaurants, hotels, and shops.  The Market reminds us of Cleveland's West Side Market but it's all inside and is mostly made up of ethic food stands, just about anything you could want, along with cooking, spices, card and jewelry shops.

It was packed with locals and visitors like us and after taking a tour, we agreed to meet upstairs at a table and went our way to buy our lunch.  Evie and I shared a bowl of Vietnamese Pho soup and egg rolls, others got various kinds of sandwiches and we sat down, ate our lunch, and talked about the good old days as well as our present lives, kids and grandchildren, like the typical grandparents we all are.  We left about 2:30, deciding to go back and rest or in my case nap and ran into two more teammates who had just arrived, Jerry and Lash and their wives.  Just as we were going to leave, Joe ran into the colorful Bob Huggins, head coach of West Virginia's basketball team and introduced us and like any successful college coach, he had a couple of fun stories to tell us.

Ready For Bear

We met at 5:30 and went over to the Banquet Hall for cocktail hour, from 5:30 to 6:15.  The rest of our teammates showed up, the craziest one was also a high school friend from San Diego, Berke.

Berke And The Homecoming Queen

Charlie And Jerry, Friends Since High School, And Their Wives, Joanie and Anita 

It was a busy evening on Short North, streets and restaurants full.  Before the banquet, they had a happy hour, with close to 600 basketball aficionados milling around, waiting in line for wine.  The rest of our teammates showed up, 18 of us from the years 1963-65.  We had an average dinner first and for the next four hours, individuals were inducted into the Hall Of Fame, including two officials, and two teams.

Milt And Jean

Gary And Gloria from Naples, FL

Russ And Martha, From Huntsville, Al

Kenny, Our Trainer, Abby, and Pat

We had the joy of going last and each of us went up on stage, introduced ourselves after a brief summary of our team's successes, then our captain, Paul, gave a short speech about our team, its run to the Elite Eight back in 1964.  It was nice to have our team recognized, a surprise to all of us really, and it was amazing to see so many basketball fans, coaches, players, officials and families attend the ceremony.  We are a fortunate few.  The most fun, however, was to see  our teammates from 50 some years ago, some of whom I haven't seen since 1965.    We were each given a framed certificate from the Basketball Hall Of Fame with our name, recognizing our team.

Vi And Her Daughter, Kelly

Vi And Lloyd's Grandchildren, Kathryn and Nate

Mary And Scott, Indigo, CA

We stayed up till 12:30 at the Hampton Inn Lounge, sipping wine, eating Lays chips, and catching up on our lives.  We all commented on how we have become better friends since our basketball days. When we played, we were teammates but not necessarily good friends, the kind you would hang around with but when we started gathering as a team around ten years ago, we renewed our friendships and they have deepened over the years.  We hope to have many more gatherings ahead of us.

Nice Certificate