The Big 5 - 0

The Big 5 the greatest one city tradition of college hoops celebrated its 50th anniversary this weekend with a gala on Friday night and an awards ceremony at halftime of last night's Hawks - Penn game. It brought back great memories and it was fun to see such stalwarts as : Danny Kelly, Mat Goukas, Clifford Anderson, Howard Porter, Chris Ford, Roland "Fatty" Taylor, Stan Pawlak, Johnny Baum, and Hal Lear. Not to mention the coaches, among them : Dr. Jack Ramsey, Jack McKinney, Paul Westhead, Jimmy Lynam, Jack Kraft, Don Casey, Chuck Daley, Dick Harter, Bob Weinhauer, and Rollie Massimino.

Al Meltzer, the emcee for the event said it best when he stated that the happiest times in his life were when he was broadcasting Big 5 doubleheaders on Channel 17. I agree, as I was glued to the TV to watch these Wednesday and Saturday night clashes. The best was when the first game would feature a Big 5 team against a ranked national opponent followed by a City Series game in the night cap. The atmosphere at the Palestra was electric. Here's to 50 more !