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How long have you been following Billiken basketball?


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If my memory serves me right, Parks was about 6'9" 250 and Moore about 6'8" 230. Parks was more of a pure center while Moore could also play the power forward. They were 2 tough dudes. The MVC was a big time conference back then; Cincinnati had just won back to back national titles in 61 and 62

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Early 60's. My family was friends with the Benningtons, so my brother even got to be ball boy for a season. Gary Garrison (CBC) was my idol, but Rich Naes, Gil Beckmeier, John Smith were all huge to a little kid. Old Kiel really used to rock in those days...a ton of students attended every game, which really made it fun. I had saved all my old "Tip-Off" magazines until a few years ago. Now I wish I would have kept them.

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My sophomore season of 76-77. Hung out with Carl Johnson, Lew McKinney, Jimmy Glass and others from Clemens. Mark Rohde and Bob Mueller from 6G or was it 5G?

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I think Bennington left the year before I came to St. Louis. Buddy Brehmer was in his 1st year as head coach in 65. They hired him away from Rockhurst. I initially liked Brehmer but the program slid during his watch. You are right about Kiel Auditorium in those days. It really rocked. The MVC was big time then.

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Same here. I vaguely remember that place. I know it use to get real loud. One of the best memories is when the kids got to meet the players and get their autographs. I still have the team photo, cant think of the year, with AB and MD autographs on it. I still remember the dunks those two would have.

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i came to slu in 1978. prior to that couldnt care less about the billikens. however always a sports nut, either playing or watching sports at every opportunity.

when the college season came around, and there was a game at the arena i went because i assumed it was a college student's responsibility to be at every home game and be prepared to cheer my guts out and make a scene.

apparently only me and about 5 other guys got that memo though.

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My first Billiken game was as at the old Kiel Auditorium in 1978 (1977-78 season), a Metro Conference win over Tulane. I was a high school Senior from Quincy, IL (Quincy Notre Dame HS) visiting SLU.

After that, I was a regular (the few, the proud) at SLU games at the then Checkerdome (Arena) during my undergraduate years (1978-1982) and at old Kiel Auditorium during the law school years (1982-1985). Before the 1981-82 season, my roommate from 6G (Cellblock 6) and I sat in Ekker's office and basically refused to take no for an answer until he let us restore the Billiken mascot. The Billiken reappeared at that year's Bronze Boot soccer game at Busch Stadium II. We dressed that Billiken in an old SLU home (white with light blue trim) hockey jersey. We kept the Billiken head in our dorm room in 6G that year and dressed the Billiken in a tuxedo for the basketball games. Then STL Post-Dispatch basketball writer, Dave Door, wrote a story about the return of the Billiken "head" (which had a small crack in it).

I moved to California after graduating from the SLU School of Law in 1985. But I have continued to follow the team. The Billikens of Coach Rich Grawer turned the corner and finished 18-12 during my first year out here on the Left Coast.

The Billikens will always be my team.

And I am very excited about the future under Coach Rick Majerus. I just hope I can get into games at the new Arena during my annual visits back to the Great Midwest. I think tickets will be scarce, which means that the Billikens will be enjoying great success.

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bay we had to have met. there were so few of us sitting behind that basket at the arena.

i just hope you arent the madman student that rushed the endline screaming like a banshee with a chair over his head as wiley no thumb brown of louisville shot his free throw. that student scared me. wiley shot an airball. probably the most positive moment billikenwise of that entire game.

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Since 1956, I believe. I was 11 years old. We had a radio on top of the refrigerator and during that 56-57 season, I would watch my dad get excited,agitated,worried- all while listening to "the Bills".Harry Caray did the play -by play(That's the truth!!)I've lived and died with them since.We didn't have a car;but when I turned 14 ,my parents would let me and a friend or two take the Cherokee bus down to the Kiel and back for games!!My favorite era was from 1956 'til Bennington left.(1965 ?) Joe Todd,Harold Alcorn,Jack Mimlitz, Bob Ferry, Pete McCaffrey(who always guarded Oscar Robertson and did it well),Cal Burnett, George Latinovitch, Tom Kieffer, Glen Mankowski -a real exciting time in SLU basketball.We, If memory serves correctly, were quite good usually-winning between 16 to 20 games in a .26 game schedule.The Bob Polk years are up there also. Good teams (the 71-72 team beat Memphis St. 70-56 the memphis team that went to the NCAA Finals that year)That SLU team was 19-7 and did'nt even get an NIT bid.which is when the NIT died as far as I was concerned-But I digress. Harry Rogers ,Carlos Martinez, 6-4center Bill Paradoski,Mark Frailey and Jesse Leonard are players I remember

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Roy,

Thank goodness that was not me, but I halfway remember that incident. I probably know that guy. Did he wear a big Billiken cowboy hat at the games?

I do remember one incident in which an exasperated ref claimed that the SLU students were "acting like a bunch of immature children." Hey, whatever it takes, Mr. Zebra, whatever it takes.

I'm sure we've met. I was in charge of the SLU Crew my Senior year (1981-82), which was Ekker's last year. We always sat behind the basket next to the opposition's bench. We literally talked to the opponents during the game. We implored Louisville Coach Denny Crum to put Marty Pulliam into the game. Crum was more interested in keeping on the full court press when U of L was up by 20.

I still remember Tulane Coach Roy Danforth during a timeout telling his troops to "watch that Miscarriage guy (my college friend, Dick Missavage); he can shoot," (which he could if Ekker would have ever given him a chance).

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