Don HurlburtOn February 28, 1969, Hinsdale Central senior, Don Hurlburt, scored 70 points in a 105-42 victory over Little Valley HS. That end of the regular season win left Hinsdale (N.Y.) with a 17-1 regular season record.
That phenomenal performance (no three point shot in that era) did not define Don Hurlburt, nor did his 33.7 scoring average that led the Big 30 area.
He certainly received hundreds of impartial accolades for his outstanding feat and it's true when his name was mentioned in the following years it was probably followed by, "Oh yeah, that's the kid who scored 70 points."
That is a very understandable response, but does not begin to explain the type of boy/ young man that he was before that high school game and the college and international player, coach and teacher he became after graduating from Hinsdale.
It's slightly more than 50 years since that memorable game and as this is being written, Don Hurlburt is preparing for his varsity basketball team's opening game of the 2020 campaign.
Don and his wife, Teri, live in Athens, Georgia. Their three children (Mike, Lindsay and Chris) all live in the Metro Atlanta area.
Don is beginning his fifth year as head basketball coach at Elbert County High School in Elberton, Georgia, a 60 mile daily roundtrip for the 68-year-old, who looks and sounds 15-20 years younger.
Coach Hurlburt's Elbert County teams are 74-41 during his time as coach of the Blue Devils. The team has garnered a regional championship, qualified for the state tournament three times, has two Sweet 16 appearances, one Elite Eight and one final four participation.
His team was 28-4 in his third year and four of his ex-players are currently playing college basketball and three others are college football players.
"The Inferno" is Elbert County's home court. The official seating capacity is 1,200, but 1,500 have squeezed in several times. Coach Hurlburt says, "Seriously, the loudest place I have ever been in, short of a rock concert.
The football stadium sits next to the basketball arena. The Granite Bowl can hold up to 20,000 people and has been listed as a historical landsite. One of the three or four largest high school stadiums in the state, its name comes from being made out of over 100,000 tons of blue granite.
The Granite Bowl- home field of the Blue Devils.2020 marks Don's 18th season as a head basketball coach. He led the Etowah Eagles (Woodstock, Georgia) to the state playoffs five times in 7A competition, Georgia's highest classification. The Eagles won 165 games during Don's 13 year tenure as head coach and in his second year went 24-7, the best in the history of the school.
Twenty of his players went on to play college basketball.
His coaching numbers of this century are impressive at any level or location, just as his 70 point outburst at Hinsdale can stand proudly in any era, any locale.
Many judge success and failure, especially in athletics, by numbers. Wins, losses, points, batting average, running times, the distance a shotput is thrown or how many times a weight is bench pressed. Numbers, numbers and numbers.
Don Hurlburt can certainly put his "sports' numbers" as a player and coach in an upper echelon.
But to learn who Don Hurlburt is, you need to correspond with him and the real learning experience and pleasure is to talk directly to the effervescent gentleman as I did a couple of days ago.
Pre-conversation, I thought, 'This will probably take an hour. I already have lots of information and Don can just fill between the lines and maybe, have a few items to add.'
Two and a half hours later, he's still going strong and my hand is getting sore from taking notes. One usually knows when things are going well or you're so deep in thought or participation that time moves silently, not once interrupting the interchange.
His recall from his pre-Hinsdale Central days to the late fall of 2020 is amazing. But his unmatched passion for teaching and the game of basketball and how it can truly be used to improve one's chances in living a life of compassion and helping others is truly commendable and it's crystal clear that Coach Hurlburt considers it his role in this non-fictional play.
There is nothing forced or voiced to impress anyone. It is who Don Hurlburt is.
There is an often-used phrase referring to a child's perspective, "Don't tell me what you know until you show me that you care."
Don Hurlburt cares- he always has. That trait has been reinforced by events in his life, many full of laughter and joy and an incident that left Don and a community paralyzed, questioning and reaching deep inside themselves to try and stay the course.
Those days in Hinsdale and the surrounding area of small towns in New York and Pennsylvania set the foundation for the man. A man, who for the next three months will drive miles and miles to get to his school, his team, his students and then ride a bus miles and miles to coach a road game. A game they might win or lose, but a host of 14, 15, 16, 17-year-old players will immediately or eventually be better people because of it.
Three of the Big 30's best during the late 60's, left to right- Danny Metzler (Boston College/Olean Bishop Walsh), Chuck Crist (Penn State/Salamanca) and Don Hurlburt- a year behind Metzler and Crist, but eventually on his way to Canisius College.NOTE- Chuck Crist passed away October 28, 2020. He was 69 years old. He was a standout in four sports at Salamanca, played four years of basketball for the PSU Nittany Lions and seven seasons in the National Football League with the Giants, Saints and 49ers. He shared the Big 30 Player of the Year Award in football with Metzler.
It's probably difficult for Don Hurlburt to remember a time when he wasn't playing sports.
Danny and Marilyn Fuss were Don's mother's first cousins. Don recalls going to Duke Center (Pa.) with his mom to visit them. Danny was an excellent athlete, graduating from Otto-Eldred HS in 1959.
Don said, "Danny was one of my heroes. He ALWAYS played catch with me. He inspired me. Growing up, baseball was my game."
That fondness for baseball only grew when the ten-year-old Hurlbert won an essay contest proving indeed that education and creative writing skills can lead to positive outcomes.
First prize was a dream come true for Don. He would be the batboy for the Olean Red Sox, the New York-Penn affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. The Olean team played their home games at Bradner Stadium. but for the boy from Hinsdale, "It might as well been Yankee Stadium."
Don worked two seasons for the Red Sox and recalled the young Olean players who eventually became major leaguers- a list that includes; Mike Andrews, Ed Connolly, Bob Montgomery, George Scott, Jim Hannan, Mike Ryan and Bob Guindon ("He had the most perfect swing and hit balls further than anyone-out of the stadium.")
Guindon was 18 years old when he played in Olean. He hit 37 home runs and drove in 121 runs during the '62 season. He made his debut with the Major League club in 1964 at the age of 20. Guindon earned what is commonly called, "a cup of coffee" (only eight bats with one hit), but the future appeared bright for the young slugger.
Bob Guindon never made it back to the big leagues, retiring after the 1970 season with a total of 971 games played in the minors and five in the big leagues.
Don fondly remembers taking a road trip with the club to Geneva (N.Y.), riding in a chartered bus and staying in a motel. That would be paradise for any "baseball kid," but especially for a small-town youngster.
The last home game of the season saw several players carry a huge cardboard container out to home plate before the game started.
"It was the size of a box that a new refrigerator would be transported. They put it on home plate, called me out to home plate and told me to crawl inside the big box. I did and at the bottom of the big box was a tiny box. It was a wrist watch from the "Olean Red Sox," Don said.
For the Hinsdale kid, it "set the course." At an early age, Don had already figured out something about life. He recognized and appreciated the kind acts of Danny Fuss and the professional baseball players he had the opportunity to see for two summers.
He loved sports. "I read every sports related book in our school library. EVERY book, sports fiction, biographies....., " Don said.
It was probably near his early teenage years when basketball replaced baseball as his central interest. He continued to play both (plus football), but basketball was now number one.
Carl Saglimben was the Hinsdale basketball coach from 1958-1972. He was a graduate of Dunkirk High School (N.Y.) and went on to play basketball at Saint Bonaventure University for coaches Ed Melvin and Ed Donovan in the 1950's. He led the Bonnies with 220 rebounds as a senior and was second in scoring (11.5 ppg.)
He graduated from Bonas and from 1956-1958 served in the U.S. Army. He then began teaching and coaching in Hinsdale. He coached the Bobcats for 14 years directing them to a 198-84 record, winning nine Class C League titles.
Saglimben made Hurlburt the team's manager during Don's seventh grade year. It was a wise move by the astute coach, giving an upcoming player with promising skills an opportunity to see what high school varsity basketball was like.
Don also had the opportunity as a youngster, along with other members of the basketball program, to be a part of some Saturday trips during the basketball season to the Buffalo Auditorium to see the well-attended college doubleheaders.
The Aud format usually had Canisius playing in the 9:00 second game while another member of the Little Three (St. Bonaventure or Niagara) playing in the 7:00 contest.
The first trip for Don saw Canisus play Providence in the night's finale. His eyes opened widely when he witnessed the play of Providence guard, Lenny Wilkens. It was a very astute observation and accurate evaluation as Wilkens was later inducted to both the College and NBA Hall of Fame.
Some years passed and Don was now at the edge of and eventually broke through the varsity basketball barrier. He and a teammate often went to the Olean Y to play pickup games against Olean High and Bishop Walsh players.
Terry Brennan of Olean was a regular at the weekend pick-up games and remembers Hurlburt as a "shy, country kid who was an unselfish player and a fantastic shooter-many of his points coming beyond what is now the three point line."
The "Y" games, like outside summer games, had the same unspoken rule. You stayed on the court as long as your team won. Don and his Hinsdale Central teammate who came with him did not have to leave the court very often.
The mid-late 60's in the Olean area was a spectacular time for basketball. Olean Bishop Walsh, with Ed McGuire as head coach, won the 1968 Manhattan Cup championship along with going 18-0 during the regular season.
The 1967-1968 Manhattan Cup champion Archbishop Walsh boys basketball squad. Dan Metzler is number 14 in the front row and coaching legend, Ed McGuire stands in the upper right corner. The Eagles won with a devastating full court press with John Karuch, using his outstanding quickness and speed to frustrate opposing guards. Metzler manned the middle of the court and Pete Aiello ruled underneath the basket, on the below average chance the opposition might break the stifling press.The same '67-68 college season saw the Bonnies go to the NCAA tournament, a prelude to their Final Four run during the '69-70 campaign.
It was the Bob Lanier era. Lanier scored over 2,000 points in his career and led the Bonnies to a 65-12 record during his three years of varsity play (freshmen were not allowed to participate in varsity athletics during those years)
SBU went 25-3 overall during the Final Four season and the question still remains today, "Would the Bonnies have won it all if Lanier had not been injured during the second half of the game three tournament win over Villanova?"
There is no debate among Bonnies' fans regarding the reply to that question.
The Final Four Team of 1969-1970. How many of these players can you name?
There was another area New York State school where basketball expectations were high. The coach, team and community set their sights on a possible trip to the Buffalo Auditorium, not to watch games, but to set foot on the court, now as players battling for a Sectional title.
Hinsdale Central, the school where all the grades (K-12) were in the same building. The school whose graduating class was in the low 40's and the school who had two players, Don Hurlburt and the kid who went with him to the Olean Y, Tom Oakley, had proven they could go head to head against anybody.
Coach Saglimben had an uncomplicated system that the players accepted whole-heartedly and executed flawlessly through the first half of the season.
1968-69 Hinsdale Bobcats, front row(left to right) Dave Kent, Tom Brown, Jerry Smith, Jim Welch and Steve Riley. Back row-Coach Saglimben, Don Hurlburt, Tom Oakley, Mark Kent, Terry Hurlburt, Chuck Struble, Marty Wilday, Bob Hooper and Ray Randall
He believed the players on the floor played to their strength; rebounders rebound, the best defenders played tight defense and scorers score.
"It was a dream since I was little to have our team in the playoffs at the "Aud." It seemed every game that I might have 28 points and Tommy would have 23 or I would have 30 and he would 22. We were always 1-2 in scoring," Don recalled.
Around the Big 30, through the first 9-10 games of the season, Hurlburt was number two in the area in scoring while Tommy was in the top 12 or 13. The two longtime friends and teammates brought a total of 40-45 points to nearly every game.
The Bobcats won their opening ten games and on a Friday evening, January 24, 1969 they defeated Little Valley to make their seasonal record 11-0.
Hours after the game, the residents of the small village heard the devastating news that Tom Oakley and his brother, Terry, were hit by a drunk driver. Tom was killed and Terry was seriously injured. Mary and Orrin Oakley were the boys' parents and if it was possible to add even more sadness and sorrow to the tragedy, Orrin was was chief of the Hinsdale Volunteer Fire Department and at the scene of the accident, trying to free his boys from their crushed compact car.
The news of Tommy's death was printed on the front page of the Saturday morning edition of the Olean Times Herald. Some details are noted in this sports article printed late Friday evening, noting that once again Don had scored 39 points and Tom 24.
Veteran OTH sportswriter, Mike Abdo wrote a feature about the tragedy and the reactions of family, Coach Saglimben and citizens of the small village. Mike stated, "For high school playing kids in Western New York, the Auditorium in Buffalo is the big dream. Something like how college players think of Madison Square Garden. To a vast majority of kids, it's like an Impossible Dream. This season, however, Tom Oakley, Sagie, and the rest of Hinsdale-players, students and adults-it's not impossible. Not until shortly after 11:00 Friday night."
"Here was Tom, with so much to live for," Carl Saglimben said after a shopping mission on Saturday.
"We, Donnie (Hurlburt) and I went down to the clothing store and got the blazer we'll put on Tom. His mother wanted it. It's our blue blazer with the Hinsdale emblem on it. The one he had on was completely torn and blood-soaked."
For many years, it was customary for teams to wear dress jackets and slacks to away games and on the return trip home. It was not shirt tails out or jackets tucked under the arm as they exited a building.
Some may look at that practice now as outdated or unnecessary while others see it as more than a show of unity, but a sense of togetherness. One team with the same goal, a goal they had held in their hearts and minds for a long time.
Mike Abdo wrote about some of Donnie's thoughts. "His father was so strong. Really strong as I saw him working on that car, getting at Tom. He just had to get Tom out of that car and he never once lost his head, just, so strong and working away with all his might."
"Tom Oakley wears the jacket of the Hinsdale Bobcats and Tuesday afternoon the other jacket wearers will carry the casket to the grave. The people of Hinsdale who follow the basketball's team with so much pride will be there too," Abdo writes.
Don Hurlburt, again witnessed the best of human nature as he observed so many people deeply affected by Tom's loss. But this was different than playing catch or joking with ball players This was closely watching the strength and spirit of Coach Saglimben and Tom's parents.
This incident, this horrifying event, was puzzling to Hurlburt. His grandfathers had died early in life, but this was his first experience with death. His emotions were so strong and over 50 years later, they remain partially embedded within. He wants to talk about it and he does elegantly, but he looks back to Hinsdale and wonders. Maybe this was the moment that permanently shaped his life and led him to the world he now enjoys as he dedicates himself to others.
Ellicottville was the first team that Hinsdale faced after Tom's death. Without a legitimate second scoring threat, Hurlburt was faced with a box and one defense that didn't halt him completely (he still cashed in 29 points), but the Bobcats trailed in the fourth quarter. Hurlbert went scoreless from the field in the final quarter, but used his basketball skills to find the open man and set them up for easy shots-changing his game to fit the situation. Hinsdale won their 12th in a row with a 71-66 victory.
Hinsdale ran their record to 16-0 before dropping their first game, a close loss to Franklinville. If both teams won their final game, there would be a playoff game to decide the league champion.
Coach Saglimben had remained a tower of strength during the weeks following Tom Oakley's death.
Don Hurlburt said, "Coach held the whole community together. He was a phenomenal coach."
Saglimben also had told Don that "you have to score for two people now.
The star guard stated, "I was just doing what I was asked to do."
Hurlburt was being recruited by a bevy of colleges; Saint Bonaventure, the University of Rochester, Syracuse and Canisius among others. There were always colleges coaches and/or representatives at every Hinsdale game.
Frank Swiatek (the former Canisius star), Saint Bonaventure's head coach, Larry Weise, and a Syracuse assistant were at Hinsdale's final regular season game. Ironically, it was against Little Valley, the team that Tom Oakley had played against just hours before his tragic. death.
This OTH clipping details Don Hurlburt's 70 point game versus Little Valley, the final regular season game. It left the Bobcats with a 17-1 overall record and in a tie for the conference lead with Franklinville. The two teams would face off at a neutral sight, Portville.
Donnie was 31-60 from the field and made 8-10 free throws. There is no evidence to determine how many points he might have scored with the three point shot in play. The sharp-shooting guard scored many of his points from outside the current dimensions of the three point shot.
The 70 point game also allowed Hurlburt to win the area scoring title with a 33.7 average. He was the recipient of the Gary Grassi Award, a memorial to the Bradford native who was killed in Vietnam on February 5, 1968.
NOTE: Some other players who ranked high on the scoring list and went on to play collegiately were: John Karuch (Archbishop Walsh and Niagara U.-fifth in scoring at 24.4ppg.), Finishing ninth was Otto-Eldred's John Oszustowicz who averaged 21.8 and played baseball at Mansfield University and Dave Schaub of Coudersport who averaged 21.2 ppg and finished 13th in the Big 30 and attended Rider College in New Jersey.
Terry Williams of Olean remembers, "Donnie and I hung out together for a few years in high school. He was at Hinsdale and I was at OHS. We played pickup games a few summers down at Bonas. Each Saturday morning we would check in to see how each other did the night before. I would have eight or ten points and then one day he said he had 70 versus Little Valley."
Mike Welch, a longtime baseball umpire and basketball referee remembers Donnie, " An excellent talent and attitude in both sports" (baseball and basketball)
Awards kept coming for the 6'0" senior guard. He was named to the All Western New York Basketball Team. Scanning the names of players from the 1960's who were selected to the team looks like a substantial recruiting list for the Saint Bonaventure team of that time frame.
1960-1961- George Carter (Silver Creek)
1961-1962- George Carter (again)
1962-1963- George Hicker- (Franklinville HS-went to Syracuse
1963-1964- George Hicker (again) and Bill Young of Angelica
1964-1965- Mike Kull (Timon), John Hayes (Niagara Falls) and Bill Young of Angelica (again)
1965-1966- Bob Lanier (Bennett) and Dale Tepas (St. Joe's)
1966-1967- Paul Grys (Timon) and Dale Tepas (second time)
1967-1968- Chuck Crist (Salamanca) and Dan Metzler (Olean Bishop Walsh) Crist went to Penn State and Metzler went to Boston College.
1968-1969- Don Hurlburt (Hinsdale) and on to Canisius.
NOTE: Carter, Kull, Hayes, Lanier, Tepas and Grys all played for the Bonnies.
Bill Young played his college ball at Penn State. He scored 2006 points at Angelica HS (1962-1965)
Don Hurlburt, in the middle, flanked by Frank Layden (Niagara) and Lyle Brown (Rochester) on the left and Mauro Panaggio (Brockport) and Fred Handler (Saint Bonaventure) on the right.
Don Hurlburt chose Canisius College to continue his education and basketball career. He was signed by Head Coach Bob MacKinnon, who was well-known in the western New York area, both as a player and a coach.
MacKinnon was a three sport athlete at McKinley Vocational HS in Buffalo. He later went to Canisius College where he starred in both baseball and basketball. After graduation, he signed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization.
After a short professional baseball stint, he played a season for the Syracuse Nationals of the NBA and then returned to coach basketball at Canisius High where his teams were 36-2. He was appointed to coach the freshman team at Canisius College before earning the head coaching and athletic director at his alma mater.
MacKinnon coached the Griffs from 1959-1972 before joining the Buffalo Braves organization.
A news clip from the Buffalo Courier Express. The "Hinsdale Story" was covered by many of the larger media markets in western New York.
Coach Saglimben won the 1969 Times Herald Coach of the Year Award that was named for his player, Thomas K. Oakley.
Many years later, the OTH staff received an email from Hinsdale's Jim Welch.
Welch, who lived in Florida for 40 years before returning to New York State wrote about his years as a Bobcat player, especially the 1968-69 season
"I was on that team and we were one of the best in the area. Our team was together for several years and with the guidance of our coach, Carl Saglimben, we improved every year. (As seniors) we were going through the year undefeated and our team brought the whole town together.
The gym was packed for every game, home and away, plus we had a great player, Don Hurlburt, who scored 70 points in one game. Our goal was to get through the season and play at the Buffalo Aud as we called it.
After another victory on a cold Friday night, January 24, 1969, soon to be 50 years ago, our dream of the Aud vanished. One of our key players, Tom Oakley, was tragically killed by a drunk driver. The news hit our community very hard. It was like a numbing fog came over Hinsdale. The viewing was especially hard as many area teams paid their respects with their coaches wearing their varsity jackets. It was an honor that I was a pallbearer for my classmate/teammate/friend.
I am so happy that the Boys Coach of the Year Award, is named in Tom's memory."
There was no freshman eligibility for varsity sports during Don's tenure at Canisius. He was joined by his younger brother, Ron, for his sophomore season. Ron was a walk-on candidate, made the club and ended up rooming the year with Emporium's (Pa.) star athlete and Canisius guard, Bill Leonard.
Don's collegiate career was continuing on track. He was getting some playing time, but that all changed before his senior year when Coach MacKinnon left after taking a pro position and he was replaced by a former Canisius player.
Don determined that he was not going to play during his senior year at Canisius, but his basketball career was not over. He accepted his first coaching position, leading the seventh grade team of Saint Mary's of the Sorrows.
Unfortunately, there was an on-campus incident on January 21, 1973 that made his final year at Canisius even more difficult.
Don was walking to a night class and only a couple of hundred yards from his classroom building when he was surrounded by a small group of non-students. Their stated plan was to rob him and the gun they pointed in his face emphasized that point.
Don had a ten dollar bill in his wallet, but he had already decided that these young men were not there simply to rob him. He was unaware there had been an incident on campus earlier in the day and some threats had been made. He had just walked in to the aftermath of that disturbance,
He decided to make a break and run to his designated academic building. He maneuvered through the circle of young men around him and made a dash toward the building.
Don remembers, "I bolted." He flashed to the memory of his father, a former soldier, telling him about using a zig-zag running style to make it more difficult for accurate shots to be fired.
Thankfully, there were no shots fired and Don burst through the building's door. His assailants had not followed and he felt he had made a clean escape until he felt a pain in his lower back, reached back and brought forward a bloodied hand. He had been stabbed as he broke through the bodies.
His letter jacket was now soaked and the pain was growing. He was rushed to the Buffalo General Hospital. There was an initial concern there could be damage to his kidneys. His doctor erased those thoughts and told the young man if he had to be stabbed in the back, he was fortunate the knife found a much less dangerous location than it could have.
Don spent a week in the hospital, recovering from muscle damage that had occurred during the confrontation.
Don's 1973 June graduation could not have come sooner for the young man from Hinsdale.
"That last year was a very disappointing season for me," Don said. Any bitterness could certainly be justified, but the young man had faced challenges before. He just had to figure out a game plan.
He went to Miami, Florida to begin work on a Masters Degree. Miami had dropped their collegiate basketball program in 1971 and reinstated it 14 years later. NBA Hall of Famer, Rick Barry played at Miami, leading the NCAA in scoring with a 37.4 average as a senior during the '64-'65 campaign.
Don grew tired of graduate school after a year and talked to a former teammate at Canisius who was playing in Switzerland. His friend suggested that Don contact the team, but Hurlburt quickly found the European team was looking only for big men and not 6'0" shooting guards.
He decided he would go to Europe anyway, try to at least get a tryout with the team and the worst case scenario would be the opportunity to see a different part of the world.
He worked diligently to get in the best basketball shape possible. "I had to prove I could play again. It was like a new lease on life. Basketball has given me a lot of things- education plus a ticket to see the world."
Don went to Europe and impressed the team, earning a position on the squad. His second year, Don was made a player/coach, a position he later wished he hadn't accepted (a sort of no-win situation).
He returned back to the states for a summer visit, seeing friends in both Florida and New State.
This OTH article appeared on July 23, 1976.
Don spent a total of five years, seemingly extending his list of contacts, places visited and continually boosting his coaching resume. He played in front of 14,00 people in Yugoslavia. While in Holland during 1976, he ran in to ex-Saint Bonaventure star. Matt Gantt. During his fourth season, he played with ex-Ohio State star, Luke Witte. During his fifth year he spent time in Greece.
Don Hurlburt, third from the left in the front row, with his 1977-78 American All Star team in Lugano, Swizerland.
Don also worked basketball camps in the States, including the Poconos where he met the new head coach for Army and future Duke mentor, Mike Krzyzewski. He also spent time with another ex-Army coach, Bobby Knight.
This five year period from 1974-79 that he spent internationally combined with his camp/clinic work left him well prepared to make the full-time transition from player to coach.
Don now believes he has come full circle in his career and has landed in an environment he is familiar with, an environment where he can help young people as he was helped during his Hinsdale days. His passion for coaching and his love of the game has never waivered.
He was very proud to know that his his high school coach, Carl Saglimben, was inducted in to the Big 30 Basketball Hall of Fame in March of 2017.
Coach Saglimben on the far left with Brian Stavisky (Port Allegany) and George Hicker (Franklinville) on the far right.
Coach "Sags" on his HOF selection. "It blew me away. I'm serious. Being inducted into this Hall of Fame is an honor, of course, but probably as much of an impression it's leaving on me equally or a little more so is just being remembered. I was superintendent at Hinsdale for 20 years and I never lost my interest and desire to want to get back on that floor and coach".
SOME OVERTIME NOTES:
It was mentioned earlier in the essay about Don's summer batboy position with the Olean Red Sox. There were several players named that eventually made it to the major leagues, not necessarily with the Red Sox organization, but they made it to "The Show." The baseball cards and stats of two of those players are shown below- notice their rookie season with Olean.
Jim Hannan won 17 games for Olean in 1961.
Mike Ryan did not have a great hitting year with Olean, but as stated on the back of his card, "there's no doubt of his defensive ability.
A day or two after the blog essay was published, I sent a text message to Don.
It read, " FYI- you are a "rock star." Hinsdale folks sure remember you and your HS team fondly. It's nice to see so many positive comments from good people."
Don responded, "They are good people, as you know-you're from the area as well! As far as being a "rock star"- the only time I could relate to that term was that playoff game at Portville against Franklinville.
As we approached the school on the bus, I was dumbfounded! Had never seen anything like it- an hour and a half before the game and we couldn't get in to the parking lot. The gym was absolutely SRO and the HALLWAYS were packed, making it almost impossible to get from the locker room to the gym floor. I guess that's what "rock stars" feel like. And it wasn't about me-that's what is so cool. It was about the Bobcats, about us-about Hinsdale- about Tommy- our dream. Special, special memories."
"The only other time that could even come close, was right here (Elbert County, Ga.)- March 2019 when we defeated #1 team in the state to advance to the Final Four. When we ran in to the arena at GCSU to warm up, it seemed like the whole town was there and rose in unison as their Blue Devils took the floor. Those kids will remember that for the rest of their lives!!."
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