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Post by efsboca on Dec 24, 2022 12:34:50 GMT -5
Actually - if you enter the main corridor to the RC along the north side of the arena - there is a display case which holds a photo of the Babe, and possibly Father Tom Plassman, Bonas President, standing on the landing of De La Roche Hall, looking out over the crowd assembled in the area between then Alumni Hall and the Friedsam Memorial Library. Also in that case are photos of Giants Manager John McGraw and Orioles Manage Hugh Jennings, both Bona grads, outstanding MLB players and managers and Baseball Hall of Fame members. The OTH may have had only a limited article on this event, but the BV covered it extensively. Yes the BV has been in existence that long - long may it live. Much to be proud of here. In Schmidt We Trust In 1998, 99, or. 2000, I hosted an alumni event in Boca Raton. I met an alum named William Smyth and he was about 80, probably deceased now. We talked Bonas and baseball, and scheduled a lunch for the next week to continue. When he came by my office for lunch, he brought in with him 2 of many photo albums he had. Turns out, one of his father’s best friends and hunting buddies was Babe Ruth. He had hundreds of photos with him as a baby and child with the Babe holding him as a baby, playing catch with him as a child, and with him on the field at the stadium playing with “the guys”. It was awesome listening to his childhood memories. He was looking to sell the collection, but lost track of him and never knew what happened to his childhood albums. |
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Post by gregmitch70 on Dec 24, 2022 14:42:52 GMT -5
Actually - if you enter the main corridor to the RC along the north side of the arena - there is a display case which holds a photo of the Babe, and possibly Father Tom Plassman, Bonas President, standing on the landing of De La Roche Hall, looking out over the crowd assembled in the area between then Alumni Hall and the Friedsam Memorial Library. Also in that case are photos of Giants Manager John McGraw and Orioles Manage Hugh Jennings, both Bona grads, outstanding MLB players and managers and Baseball Hall of Fame members. The OTH may have had only a limited article on this event, but the BV covered it extensively. Yes the BV has been in existence that long - long may it live. Much to be proud of here. In Schmidt We Trust In 1998, 99, or. 2000, I hosted an alumni event in Boca Raton. I met an alum named William Smyth and he was about 80, probably deceased now. We talked Bonas and baseball, and scheduled a lunch for the next week to continue. When he came by my office for lunch, he brought in with him 2 of many photo albums he had. Turns out, one of his father’s best friends and hunting buddies was Babe Ruth. He had hundreds of photos with him as a baby and child with the Babe holding him as a baby, playing catch with him as a child, and with him on the field at the stadium playing with “the guys”. It was awesome listening to his childhood memories. He was looking to sell the collection, but lost track of him and never knew what happened to his childhood albums. |
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Post by Chuck on Mar 31, 2023 13:42:53 GMT -5
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Post by DemBonnies on Mar 31, 2023 13:52:16 GMT -5
Speaking of local coaches...Chuck...whatever happened to Pat Clarke was an asst to Baron at SBU and then URI...did he go with JB to Canisius and where is he now |
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Post by derhut on Mar 31, 2023 14:24:44 GMT -5
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Post by DemBonnies on Apr 3, 2023 6:03:07 GMT -5
Thks DerHut....another Labatts 50 pls and put it on Barry's tab. |
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Post by skeller6 on Apr 3, 2023 6:13:29 GMT -5
Thks DerHut....another Labatts 50 pls and put it on Barry's tab. Pat Clarke is one of the really good guys, served with Jim Baron for many years!!!!!!! |
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Post by Chuck on May 25, 2023 10:01:08 GMT -5
Attached Chuck Pollock's 2 part series on Jim O'Brien. Here is part 1 "This is the way Jim O’Brien got to St. Bona." O’Briens’s first exposure to coaching was as a player with ABA’s San Diego Conquistadors. Being an older player on the team O’Brien remembered, “When Wilt wasn’t getting his money, he started skipping practices, so when he didn’t come, I would just kind of assume some responsibility.” After “a job selling computer paper. I did that for 14 months and hated every minute of it.” O’Brien thought, maybe I should think about getting back into basketball somehow. I got the job (as an assistant) at UConn without ever having coached a day in my life at any level. Coaching wasn’t even on my radar.” Five years later, O’Brien felt he was ready to be a Division I head coach, and that launches him into one of his favorite stories." O’Brien share story of being assigned to scout Bona. “It was mid-December, there’s no students and there’s a blizzard snowstorm. It took me forever to get to Olean. I get stuck in the storm, there was nobody at the game, it was a horrendous trip." When asked about his scouting trip “‘Boy, oh boy, I don’t know how those coaches get anybody to go to that school … there was nobody at the game, the weather was pathetic and it takes forever to get there from Buffalo. What a really hard job that must be." That was December O’Brien said. “The (Bona) job opens in April and I am begging for it.” Bona needed a new coach after Satalin left for Duquesne. “Jim Baron a 28-year old, fast-track aide to Digger Phelps at Notre Dame. Was a no-brainer hire.” This was true “except, of course, to Fr. James Toal, St. Bonaventure’s executive vice president.” As Jim O’Brien recalled of his pre-high school days, “Back then, I knew him then as Friar Fabian. He was athletic moderator at Bishop Ford, so we had a history together.” As Engelhardt noted, “A lot of new jobs are in the gutter, but Jimmy Satalin left a pretty good team with Mark Jones as the leader. Jimmy O’Brien won 20 games and made the most with it. He made the NIT and did a great job coaching. “In fact, he and Jimmy Satalin (in his initial campaign at Duquesne) were co-coaches of the year that first season.” www.oleantimesherald.com/sbu/sports/this-is-the-way-jim-o-brien-got-to-st-bona/article_3b69e26e-2e7d-51ea-bce2-50a97021b995.html |
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Post by Chuck on May 25, 2023 10:18:19 GMT -5
Attached is Chuck Pollock's part 2 "O’Brien made mark coaching at Bonaventure." "Norman Clarke, now a 62-year-old elementary school physical education teacher in Toronto, admitted the transition from coach Jim Satalin to Jim O’Brien was tough. Coach O’Brien was different because he sat down and talked to you about what the plan was individually,” the former Bonnie guard said. "It was a different feel and it took awhile to adjust and accept him as head coach. After having the coach that recruited you and such a good relationship with him, it was strange.” But Clarke conceded, he grew to really like O’Brien and the real problem was the players he brought in. “Part of the issue was his recruits were very much AAU-type players as opposed to the consummate team players (at Bona) and that had an effect on the outlook of the team,” he admitted. “The team was not as connected or as close-knit as we were prior to (O’Brien’s) arrival. We had young guys coming in from New York City who were all about themselves rather than the team and making sure the Bona basketball program had success. There was a selfishness and I think that hurt the program for a bit.” But O’Brien admitted that was the "product of different recruiting approaches." Pete Dougherty, who covered the Bonnies for the Times Herald during O’Brien’s four-year tenure, stated “Jim couldn’t believe they didn’t have any recruiting files at Bona … he basically created a recruiting system,” Recruiting files were a big deal to him and he was really organized it that area.” The other thing he remembered was O’Brien’s frustration at the Bona fan base’s preoccupation with the school’s live skein of consecutive non-losing seasons that ended at 28 with the 1984-85 season (14-15). Ask him about his key memory of coaching the Bonnies and the answer comes quickly. “The passion and the importance of St. Bonaventure in that town,” he said of his four years at SBU. “Not a lot of people totally understand the level of interest that the people of Olean and those in other parts of Western New York have in that school. I certainly didn’t know it until I got there and I really appreciated people coming to the games … they supported the program.” He concluded, “I still follow their scores, pay attention to what they’re doing … I have great affection for that school.” www.oleantimesherald.com/sbu/sports/o-brien-made-mark-coaching-at-bonaventure/article_007d8ae3-6da7-5e0a-8747-214749d2c8d8.html |
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Post by towniegrad on May 25, 2023 10:51:01 GMT -5
Chuck Pollock -.. Better columnist than anyone on the Th editorial page.
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Post by bonaforeva on May 25, 2023 10:57:00 GMT -5
You’d think he would write about something a little more relevant though, than a 2 part series on a coach who was briefly here 35 years ago
Lots of changes at the Reilly Center, why not a 2 part series on the new NIL collective? Or the new assistant coach and his big additions? Or the new women’s coach and his plans?
Odd story choice
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Post by agoo on May 25, 2023 11:12:54 GMT -5
You’d think he would write about something a little more relevant though, than a 2 part series on a coach who was briefly here 35 years ago Lots of changes at the Reilly Center, why not a 2 part series on the new NIL collective? Or the new assistant coach and his big additions? Or the new women’s coach and his plans? Odd story choice Perhaps he plans to write more than one article this summer? |
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Post by bonaforeva on May 25, 2023 11:13:44 GMT -5
You’d think he would write about something a little more relevant though, than a 2 part series on a coach who was briefly here 35 years ago Lots of changes at the Reilly Center, why not a 2 part series on the new NIL collective? Or the new assistant coach and his big additions? Or the new women’s coach and his plans? Odd story choice Perhaps he plans to write more than one article this summer? Maybe... we'll see |
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Post by Chuck on May 25, 2023 11:16:28 GMT -5
I have mix feelings about Jim O’Brien. O’Brien followed Satalin with consecutive 14 win teams. In his first year O’Brien leads Satalin’s players to a 20-10 season and a bid to NIT. As Satalin’s players start graduating, O’Brien sees his wins decline to 20, 18, 14 and 15. I wonder how much role Norman Clark’s “lack of close knit team” had in DeCarli’s disastrous 5-23 season. As shown above O’Brien's win total decline from 20 to 15 wins. DeCarli inherits this “lack of close-knit team" to 5-23. Next season he leads Bona to 13 wins. DeCarli’s 13 wins is very similar to O’Brien’s last 2 seasons. Strongly believe Baron who was considered at the time as “no-brainer hire” should have been selected instead of O’Brien. www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/st-bonaventure/men/ |
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Post by Chuck on May 25, 2023 11:22:05 GMT -5
You’d think he would write about something a little more relevant though, than a 2 part series on a coach who was briefly here 35 years ago (EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of a two-part piece about former St. Bonaventure basketball coach Jim O’Brien. It was written three years ago for a booklet celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Bonnies’ appearance in the 1970 NCAA Final Four. However, due to an unexpected response from advertisers, there was no room for this story in that publication and was never printed.) |
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