During first semester, Bill Irwin, the physical education teacher and athletic director at the time at Framingham State, cobbled together a bunch of guys from gym, asked them if they wanted to play basketball. And if they did, they should show up for a tryout and he would coach the team.
When the 1967-68 college basketball season began, Framingham State College had no men’s team.
A few weeks later, it did.
In fact, it was the school’s first male sports team. Only women’s basketball and field hockey existed.
During first semester, Bill Irwin, the physical education teacher and athletic director at the time, cobbled together a bunch of guys from gym, asked them if they wanted to play basketball. And if they did, they should show up for a tryout and he would coach the team.
About 20 came out. Irwin arranged a schedule to be played during second semester.
Irwin was a trailblazer, but his hopes for a splashy debut season couldn’t have been much higher than the rim. “Bill didn’t want to discourage the players,” said Steve Ryder, who followed Irwin as AD.
Dick Logan was on that team. “I was NOT a basketball player,” he said. “I played hockey at Marlborough High, class of ’65. I went to Framingham State because of the low cost and they had 1,300 women and only 75 men.”
Pat Tigue graduated from Framingham South High where he did not play basketball. He decided to give it a fling at Framingham State. “We started slow, just hoping we wouldn’t get our brains blown out,” he said.
Tigue got the team’s first-ever basket. “It’s a record that can never be broken,” he said. Truth be told, “I think I overshot the ball. It went off the backboard and in.”
“Our season started when all the teams we played were in midseason form,” said Larry Houser. “There was an obvious talent gap.” At least Houser knew how to dribble and shoot. He played at Maynard High.
There were no Kentucky’s or UCLA’s on the schedule. “Our first game was on January 29 against Andover School of Business,” recalled Tigue. “We lost.”
But it was a start.
That rag-tag first men’s team helped open the door for a full-fledged men’s athletic program, far beyond Irwin’s hoops squad, and perhaps his own, dream.
In time, Framingham State’s men’s basketball program grew and thrived. It attracted coaches like Bruce Grealey, who coached at Framingham High with great success, and Togo Palazzi, a former sharpshooter for the Boston Celtics.
On Jan. 27, the men’s basketball team that got the ball rollin’ will celebrate its 50th anniversary at an on-campus luncheon. Then the guys will be honored at halftime of the game against Fitchburg State.
New kids on the block
“I was just a kid, 17, when I got to Framingham State,” said Tigue. “The basketball team was a big deal for me. I made friends, I had a lot of fun, I was a starter. I played a lot.” Not bad for a kid who hadn’t played high school ball.
Tigue recalled the team finishing 2-7 that year, but got its first win in just the second game. “I think it was against Worcester Industrial Technical Institute.” No future All-Americans were spotted on the floor.
But the new team added a spark to the campus. It played in an old barn affectionately called “The Pit.” It was small and enveloped the roar of the crowd to an ear-splitting screech. It had a major defect. “There was a big hump in the floor,” said Tigue. “It was a plumbing problem” Dribble on that spot and chances were the ball and the player would be separated. “The Pit” was also under-lit.
Opponents wondered what they were getting into. “They would look at us and think ‘Are you kidding me?’” said Tigue.
Irwin had some basketball experience before he came to Framingham State. He hoped a competitive team would rise eventually. After all, this was an attractive landing place for college-bound students. Clearly, his team’s opponents would have a huge head start, since they already had played a first semester schedule.
Irwin was held in high esteem by his players. Soft-spoken, laid back, the bespectacled Irwin was “a perfect fit for 18 and 19-year-olds,” said Tigue. “He was realistic enough to know we were going to have growing pains.”
They did, but the final game of the season produced a second victory. “We won by about 20. We were as excited as if we’d won the NBA championship,” said Tigue.
After Framingham State, Tigue went to grad school at Syracuse and began a long career in higher education. He spent 30 years as vice president of students at Springfield Tech Community College. Now retired, he lives in Medway and occasionally takes in a Framingham State game. “The Pit” is still there, but the games are now played in a new gym.
Bright lights. No humps.
Top gun
Larry Houser could play. He was the team’s top scorer in its baptismal season. “I went to Framingham State because it was $100 per semester, and some of us had to take out loans to even cover that. Keeping my head above water academically and financially were my major concerns.”
Houser never expected to be playing anything more than intramural basketball. “The half-season didn’t matter to me because I was dealing with a badly sprained ankle I got in a pickup game in November, and I needed to rest it,” said Houser. His recollection of the very first game is brief and painful. “We were down 8-0 or 9-0 before we got a shot off.”
Some nights the team hung in there. “We played a double-overtime game, I think it was against Mass Bay Community College,” said Houser. “I’m pretty sure we lost. I was really tired after that one.”
At least Framingham State College (now University) finished strong with a season-ending victory against Andover Business School, the team that had whipped ‘em in the opener. “Probably the only game when we dominated wire-to-wire,” said Houser. The highlight: Art Blaquiere, six-foot-3, dunking to finish a nice run.
“We were ready to play into May after that game, but the season was over,” said Houser.
There was a huge crowd in “The Pit” for that last game. Houser recalled that “word spread through the dorms that we were kicking [butt] at halftime.” The students came out to see if the team could finish business.
“After the game the team went to a hotel and drank enough beer to float a cruise ship,” said Houser via email.
On playing some junior colleges, Houser said the school made the right decision to start slow. And it had the right coach to ease the players through it.
“Irwin was an awesome guy,” said Houser. “We got frustrated by the losses and wanted him to be more fiery, but looking back now I realize he was perfect for the job at the time.”
Like his teammates, Houser got a chuckle how opponents reacted to “The Pit” at first sight. “They’d come in either laughing or shaking their heads.”
Houser could shoot from outside and had a couple of 20-point games without the advantage of the three-point shot, which didn’t exist. “Defensively I never had a good game, I realized at Maynard High [class of ’66] that if you don’t play too much defense you don’t get many fouls and you stay in the game.”
Houser lived in Medway for 27 years and worked at the Providence Journal & Bulletin for many years.
Logan Express
Dick Logan had played some hoops at the Marlborough Girls & Boys Club. That was about it. He was a hockey guy. Actually, neither basketball nor Framingham State was on his radar. He transferred from Worcester Junior College.
The college on the hill off Route 9 in Framingham Center would become a major part of Logan’s life, and it wasn’t necessarily about being on that first basketball team. “I met my wife of 45 years at Framingham State,” he said.
Logan’s connection to the school is vast and significant. “The best recollection for me was the formation of the Men’s Athletic Association shortly after my arrival. We spearheaded the drive to bring men’s athletics to the campus. We had a contest to select a nickname for the team – the Rams – and raised a couple hundred dollars. We created a button that simply said ‘RAM IT’. I still have mine.”
Logan retired from a 45-year career in Health Information Management. But the ties that bind to Framingham State still hold. Logan has been on the school’s board of trustees for the past six years. “I love being connected to the school and giving my time to help the students of today.”
As for his teammates on that first team, Tigue and Houser summed it up this way:
“It was a great time in my life,” said Tigue.”
“I hope being part of that first team will be in the first paragraph of my obituary,” said Houser.
Lenny Megliola can be reached at lennymegs41@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @lennymegs.