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13otto Masters Student Posts 779 
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12-05-20 02:46 PM - Post#317597
This marks the 50th anniversary of the 1970-71 basketball season where we started 28-0 and finished #3 in the national polls. Penn intended honoring that team at the Palestra this season with a video tribute, but the Covid-19 pandemic put an end to that. In light of this, Penn decided to run an “On this Date†series throughout the winter for the 1970-71 Penn Men’s Basketball season on social media. Here are links to the promo, season opener vs. Rutgers and the Navy game, which was played 50 years ago today.
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SteveChop PhD Student Posts 1154 |
12-05-20 03:36 PM - Post#317598
Thanks Otto! My senior year team - somewhere (?) I still have my "On to Houston" button where the Final Four was played, unfortunately without Penn after the WORST day of my more than fifty years of watching Penn basketball. Hope they leave THAT game out of this series. Of course, Penn did wind up 28-0*, the only team to go through an entire season without losing a game yet not the NCAA champion. |
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OldBig5 Masters Student Posts 639 |
12-05-20 04:06 PM - Post#317600
Thanks Otto. Have enjoyed your tapes over the years. Those were the days for sure. |
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13otto Masters Student Posts 779
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12-05-20 04:22 PM - Post#317602
Steve, that day you referenced was also the worst of my 50+ years of watching Penn basketball. But it remains as much a part of Penn's basketball history as any other game, even if for the wrong reason, so it's likely to be included. Especially since the full game tape exists, as does the NBC-TV audio (Jim Simpson & Pat Hernon).
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Streamers Professor Posts 8254 
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12-05-20 05:54 PM - Post#317603
Listen to the voice of God on that Rutgers clip. |
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13otto Masters Student Posts 779
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12-05-20 06:30 PM - Post#317604
I have a feeling that John Facenda's voice will be heard narrating a number of the upcoming 1970-71 clips. He came to the WXPN studio in 1971 for the taping of "The Perfect Season".
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Former coach Freshman Posts 57 |
12-05-20 07:24 PM - Post#317605
1970-‘71 also saw the men’s swimming team win the Ivy and Eastern titles. The only Ivy Swimming Championship ever won (in modern times) by Penn Men. |
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13otto Masters Student Posts 779
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12-12-20 06:01 PM - Post#317977
50 years ago today, #8 Penn went into Columbus and knocked off Ohio State, 71-64, scoring the game's final 10 points. The Buckeyes would subsequently win the Big 10 championship, finish the season ranked in the nation's top 10, and knock off unbeaten Marquette (#2 in the final polls) in the NCAA Mideast Regional semifinals. Corky Calhoun talks about that game.
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SteveChop PhD Student Posts 1154 |
12-12-20 06:52 PM - Post#317982
I recall that one of the Penn players (he will remain nameless) told me that Steve Honzo was one of the two refs for that game and "helped" out the Quakers when the other ref started to give OSU some "home cooking" calls. |
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13otto Masters Student Posts 779
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12-19-20 05:10 PM - Post#318132
50 years ago today, #6 Penn (5-0) set the program record for points in a Big 5 game with a 107-88 rout of La Salle. The Explorers, led by All-American Ken Durrett, were a very good team, spending 7 weeks in the top 20, peaking at #10 on February 1.
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73Quaker Freshman Posts 61 |
12-25-20 03:41 PM - Post#318261
Sorry I'm late adding my two-cents, but I believe the Western Kentucky coach who was in the house to scout LaSalle that night voted Penn #1 in the coaches' poll the following week. Steve Honzo did referee the OSU game in Columbus but was paired with his usual partner, Hal Grossman. I grew up in Honzo's hometown,Palmerton, PA, and the following summer, Steve told me Harter only agreed to play at OSU if he could select the referee team. Also claimed the OSU coach told him and Grossman before the game started that he didn't want to see the game turn on "charging calls". The Grossman/Honzo team were one of the first referees to call offensive fouls quite frequently. |
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SteveChop PhD Student Posts 1154 |
12-25-20 03:47 PM - Post#318262
The most interesting thing to me about your comment is that in those days, Penn had the ability to get involved and negotiate that IT could select the referees. Unfortunately now, when Penn plays "guarantee" or other road games, we don't have that negotiating leverage and we are typically hosed by "homer" referees. |
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13otto Masters Student Posts 779
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12-27-20 12:29 AM - Post#318271
50 years ago today, #5 Penn opened the Quaker City Tournament with an 85-77 overtime win over Syracuse. The win advanced the Quakers to the semifinals on Monday against Utah, featuring future NBA player Mike Newlin. Bob Morse, who led Penn with 30 points and 17 rebounds, talks about the game and the tournament.
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13otto Masters Student Posts 779
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12-31-20 06:42 PM - Post#318377
50 years ago this week, #5 Penn defeated Utah, 86-78, and Temple, 76-55, to win the 10th annual Quaker City Tournament. Bob Morse, who scored 68 points in the three games, was named Tournament MVP. Dave Wohl, who scored a game-high 25 points in the championship game, talks about a little extra practice he got in ahead of that game.
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Kwaequer Postdoc Posts 3084 |
01-01-21 12:07 PM - Post#318395
Fifty years from now they’ll be remembering the lost season. |
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13otto Masters Student Posts 779
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01-09-21 02:44 PM - Post#318896
50 years ago this week, #5 Penn went on the road and swept Princeton, Harvard and Dartmouth, the top 3 Ivy contenders to dethrone the Quakers. Since Penn-Dartmouth was the ECAC Game of the Week, played on Saturday afternoon and televised regionally by NBC, Penn-Harvard was a rare Thursday night Ivy league game.
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OldBig5 Masters Student Posts 639 |
01-10-21 09:37 AM - Post#318934
50 years ago this week, #5 Penn went on the road and swept Princeton, Harvard and Dartmouth, the top 3 Ivy contenders to dethrone the Quakers. Since Penn-Dartmouth was the ECAC Game of the Week, played on Saturday afternoon and televised regionally by NBC, Penn-Harvard was a rare Thursday night Ivy league game. Impressive week. If I recall correctly Dartmouth's best player was James Brown. And Harvard's best player was James Brown. The latter going on to TV announcing fame. |
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borschtbelt Freshman Posts 60 |
01-10-21 11:11 AM - Post#318938
Correct. In fact the next year we split with Princeton, but Princeton lost at Dartmouth with James Brown. That was a Harvard team playing will below its ability--Brown and Lewis were heavily recruited by Maryland--Lefty taking out ads asking Lewis and Brown to please stay home. Also showing up was a Duke transfer Fitzimmons as well as Dave Newmark's brother Brian and Elliot Wolfe's brother Kenny. |
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13otto Masters Student Posts 779
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01-16-21 06:42 PM - Post#319382
50 years ago this week Penn, who moved up to #4 in the national polls, survived a close call against St. Joseph's, 62-58, and defeated Manhattan, 91-68, to improve to 13-0 on the season.
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13otto Masters Student Posts 779
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01-21-21 12:28 AM - Post#319569
50 years ago today, #4 Penn improved to 14-0, 3-0 in the Big 5 with a 62-48 win over Temple. The win set the stage for the upcoming showdown against #14 Villanova.
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Streamers Professor Posts 8254
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01-21-21 10:06 AM - Post#319583
Got this in the email yesterday: Save the Dates! In order to celebrate the Penn Men's and Basketball Ivy League Championship Anniversary teams this year, we will be showcasing a game from each anniversary team on the Penn Sports Network YouTube page throughout the winter through our Penn Virtual Basketball Season. Despite not having live games at the Palestra, we have put together an all-star lineup of noteworthy games from different championship teams in Penn Basketball history. We hope you enjoy these playbacks and are able to reminisce about some of the best days of Penn Basketball! 5th Anniversary of the 2015-16 Women’s Basketball Ivy League Champions 62-60 win at Princeton on 3/8/16 Thursday, January 28th at 7pm ET 15th Anniversary of 2005-06 Men’s Basketball Ivy League Champions 57-55 win at Yale on 3/3/06 Thursday, February 4th at 7pm ET 20th Anniversary of 2000-01 Women’s Basketball Ivy League Champions 73-70 win vs. Yale on 3/3/01 Thursday, February 11th at 7pm ET 25th Anniversary of 1995-96 Men’s Basketball Ivy League Co-Champions 63-49 win vs. Princeton on 3/5/96 Thursday, February 18th at 7pm ET 40th Anniversary of 1980-81 Men’s Basketball Ivy League & Big Five Co-Champions 67-62 vs. La Salle on 2/17/81 Thursday, February 25th at 7pm ET 50th Anniversary of the 1970-71 Men’s Basketball Ivy League & Big Five Champions “The Perfect Season Documentary†Thursday, March 4th at 7pm ET |
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13otto Masters Student Posts 779
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01-23-21 02:56 PM - Post#319683
50 years ago today, #4 Penn clinched the Big championship when it defeated #14 Villanova, 78-70, for its 15th straight win. Dave Wohl talked about the game and the rivalry. The second half of the WPHL-17 TV broadcast (color) has been posted on YouTube.
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final479 Freshman Posts 49 |
01-24-21 02:24 PM - Post#319709
This was a treat to watch. Very, very talented Penn team. |
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OldBig5 Masters Student Posts 639 |
01-24-21 07:56 PM - Post#319721
Greatly enjoyed watching that. Thanks Otto. Al Meltzer and Charlie Swift on the call. Several future pros out there on both teams. |
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Kwaequer Postdoc Posts 3084 |
01-25-21 06:18 AM - Post#319732
The game got a lot better when they put in the shot clock. |
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palestra38 Professor Posts 32833 |
01-25-21 06:28 AM - Post#319734
Agreed---in particular, the end game before the shot clock was horrible. But for what ever reason, we did not go 4 Corners when we had an 8 point lead against Duke with 8 minutes to go in '78, and strategy called for it. |
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weinhauers_ghost Postdoc Posts 2139 |
01-25-21 04:03 PM - Post#319748
Agreed---in particular, the end game before the shot clock was horrible. But for what ever reason, we did not go 4 Corners when we had an 8 point lead against Duke with 8 minutes to go in '78, and strategy called for it. Remember what a slog it was to play our mortal adversaries up in Central Jersey before the advent of the shot clock? |
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palestra38 Professor Posts 32833 |
01-25-21 05:20 PM - Post#319752
I think I lost much of my tooth enamel grinding my teeth during those games. |
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weinhauers_ghost Postdoc Posts 2139 |
01-26-21 08:18 AM - Post#319753
I think I lost much of my tooth enamel grinding my teeth during those games. The way I always described their offense to people who were unfamiliar with college basketball in that era is that they would run the offense for two or three days, waiting for a defender to either fall asleep, lapse into a coma or die, then they'd score. |
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final479 Freshman Posts 49 |
01-26-21 11:26 AM - Post#319772
Entirely different game without the shot clock and three pointer. It emphasized different skill sets and strategies. |
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Kwaequer Postdoc Posts 3084 |
01-26-21 11:33 AM - Post#319773
Was it 1985 when they brought it to college ball? I do recall how excruciatingly painful it was to watch Princeton’s weave. |
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SteveChop PhD Student Posts 1154 |
01-26-21 12:05 PM - Post#319775
I believe the 3 point shot was introduced in Winter 1985-86, i.e. the year after 'Nova won their first title in 1985. There was DEFINITELY no shot clock then. |
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palestra38 Professor Posts 32833 |
01-26-21 12:24 PM - Post#319777
Yes, less skill and strategy that was tough to watch, especially in end game. The only reasonable argument concerns the length of the shot clock, not whether it should exist |
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final479 Freshman Posts 49 |
01-26-21 01:55 PM - Post#319780
I don't recall the timing, but I think the NCAA was trying to achieve a balance between the shot clock (being pushed by the power conferences) and the three pointer (which was thought to benefit the small schools - who were now disadvantaged by not being able to go into slowdown - and would have a weapon to stay competitive). Also the shock clock came in phases - it was 45 seconds originally and they turned it off in the last few minutes before the halves. Of course this was before the advent of analytics. Now the three pointer is the focal point of most offenses. |
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13otto Masters Student Posts 779
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01-29-21 03:56 PM - Post#319933
50 years ago this week, #4 Penn survived its closest scare of the season, against Princeton at the Palestra, winning 66-62 in overtime. Trailing 56-49 with 2:19 remaining in regulation, the Quakers rallied to tie the game, thanks to a Corky Calhoun 22-foot buzzer-beater. Only a few seconds of film footage exists from that game, but here is a link to the original WXPN audio for the final 0:32 of regulation, plus a Corky Calhoun interview, merged with some still photos and newspaper clippings. The .mpg file might take a half minute or so to load. Corky recently talked about that game-winning shot, as well.
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OldBig5 Masters Student Posts 639 |
01-31-21 09:44 AM - Post#319997
The shot clock was good for the game but I still loved Bilsky and Wohl dribbling away the end of those games. |
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13otto Masters Student Posts 779
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02-07-21 10:57 AM - Post#320376
50 years ago this weekend, #4 Penn improved to 18-0 when it swept Cornell and Columbia. The Lions came into the Palestra tied for first place at 5-0, having upset Princeton, 53-50 at Jadwin, the night before. Senior center Jim Wolf scored a season-high 18 points against Columbia.
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Lefteroo Senior Posts 398 |
02-07-21 12:49 PM - Post#320389
Steve, as I recall, the key call in the OSU game turned out to be a block/charge involving Corky. It went in our favor and was ironically called by the Big Ten official, not Steve Honzo. I recall the ref's name being Roger Parrymore, but certainly can't swear to it. I did have a great seat for the game, right in front of my radio. |
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LyleGold PhD Student Posts 1712 |
02-08-21 09:22 PM - Post#320461
Amazing. Here’s the guy: https://www.thepilot.com/news/features/making- the-... |
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SteveChop PhD Student Posts 1154 |
02-08-21 11:04 PM - Post#320462
If Lyle has the right guy, he couldn't have officiated our game vs. Ohio State in 1971. He would have been EIGHTEEN years old. Also, the article that Lyle attached says he did not reach the Big Ten until he was 27 years old (which would have been 41 years ago). That would have been in 1980 so I think that Gary's recollection is not correct. I tried looking for a box score of the game but couldn't find one. In another thread, I believe someone said that Hal Grossman was the other referee - part of the deal was that Penn could name both referees. Gary - seems to me that this is a good question for our Q/A forum on March 23. |
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13otto Masters Student Posts 779
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02-09-21 12:05 AM - Post#320463
I have the box score from The Philadelphia Inquirer. Lefteroo's recollection (but not his spelling) is correct. Roger Parramore, not Hal Grossman, refereed the 1970-71 Penn-Ohio State game with Steve Honzo. Any chance that article Lyle posted was from 2009?
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SteveChop PhD Student Posts 1154 |
02-09-21 11:25 AM - Post#320471
Thanks Otto. |
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LyleGold PhD Student Posts 1712 |
02-09-21 03:26 PM - Post#320485
Indeed it was. Nov 8, 2009 |
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Lefteroo Senior Posts 398 |
02-10-21 11:13 AM - Post#320535
Is it a sign of mental illness that I remembered the ref's name? And yet, I still can't find wallet or my car keys most days. I am convinced that it was Parramore (yep, I couldn't quite remember the spelling last time), not Honzo, who made that call in Corky's favor. |
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13otto Masters Student Posts 779
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02-21-21 07:13 PM - Post#321079
50 years ago this weekend, #4 Penn improved to 22-0, (10-0 in the Ivy league) when it swept Harvard, 103-72, and Dartmouth, 102-75, at the Palestra. It was the first time that a Penn team reached the century mark in back-to-back games. This past Friday, The Pennsylvania Gazette did a piece on the Harvard game.
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13otto Masters Student Posts 779
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03-05-21 05:15 PM - Post#321457
50 years ago this week, the NCAA Tournament pairings were announced. Yes, back in 1971, the pairings were announced before the end of the regular season. Penn (24-0, 12-0), which clinched the Ivy title the previous weekend but dropped one spot to #5 in the AP poll, drew #11 Duquesne (20-3) in the opening round, at Morgantown, W. Va. (just 75 miles from the Dukes' campus). The winner would face the ACC tournament champion, which had yet to be decided. Last night, the Penn Sports Network wrapped up their Virtual Basketball Season celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the 1970-71 men's basketball season by showing The Perfect Season video.
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OldBig5 Masters Student Posts 639 |
03-08-21 04:31 PM - Post#321617
Thanks much Otto for posting The Perfect Season video. First time I had seen that. Hearing John Facenda is always great. I have to admit that I fast forwarded through some near the end for obvious reasons. It also made me think about Phil Hankinson and sad about how he died. Sounded like he had a tortured life before his death. When were the newer player interviews done? They seemed recent. Bilsky's absence seemed notable! |
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13otto Masters Student Posts 779
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03-10-21 07:23 PM - Post#321729
The newer player interviews were done throughout the 2020-21 basketball season, and posted on the Penn Twitter page throughout the season. Corky Calhoun's interview was featured during the 12/12 Ohio State game, Bob Morse's during the late December Quaker City Tournament, Dave Wohl's during the Quaker City Tourney and during the 1/23 Villanova game, etc., While Steve Bilsky may not have done an interview, he definitely was at the Virtual 1970-71 Basketball Season celebration, as were all the starters plus a few other players from that team.
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13otto Masters Student Posts 779
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03-13-21 06:44 PM - Post#321919
50 years ago today, #4 Penn (27-0) defeated #11 Duquesne, 70-65, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, in front of a hostile crowd at the brand new WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, W. Va. The crowd of 13,861 was at the time the largest ever to see a single NCAA Tournament game. In the unbelievable finish to the ACC Tournament final at Raleigh, #6 South Carolina stunned North Carolina, 52-51, on a buzzer-beater when the Gamecocks' 6'3" guard, Kevin Joyce, out-jumped the Tar Heels' 6'10" Lee Dedmon with just 5 seconds remaining. This set up a Penn-South Carolina match-up 5 days later in an East Regional semifinal game. The other semifinal would feature Villanova, a 93-75 winner over St. Joseph's at the Palestra, and #10 Fordham (coached by former Penn assistant/freshman coach Digger Phelps), a 105-74 winner over Furman, at St. John's.
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OldBig5 Masters Student Posts 639 |
03-13-21 06:55 PM - Post#321921
I attended the Villanova/St. Joe's game at the Palestra. All the time wondering how Penn was doing. |
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caughtinasnare Senior Posts 362 |
03-14-21 01:12 AM - Post#321933
My father was a sophomore at Fordham at the time. He and a bunch of his friends drove down there to see Fordham play Villanova, and as a result also attended the Penn game against South Carolina. I'm not sure if driving that far as a bunch of 19-year-olds in the cars of that era (my dad's '62 Mercedes had no seatbelts...) was more or less crazy than me flying out to Wichita 3 years ago by myself to watch a 16-seed go up against a hometown 1-seed as a 29-year-old business school student... |
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palestra38 Professor Posts 32833 |
03-14-21 09:12 AM - Post#321953
It's much less crazy. We all drove with friends to NCAA games back in the day. I still have a photo somewhere of my friend's Jeep with a banner reading PENN-ACC CHAMPS in Greensboro after the 1979 Eastern Regional. Flying out by yourself to watch the Kansas game is crazy, but presumably, you had the money, so why not? |
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LyleGold PhD Student Posts 1712 |
03-18-21 10:02 PM - Post#322294
Is there a recording of the virtual 70-71 celebration? I’d love to see it. |
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LyleGold PhD Student Posts 1712 |
03-18-21 10:08 PM - Post#322295
In more recent times, I drove through 4 ft. of snow from Philly to Syracuse for the ‘93 NCAA game against UMass. P38 and a couple others were no help at all because I was the only one who could drive a manual transmission. If only Maloney could have hit a stinkin’ shot! (It seems like we said that a few times in NCAA games.) |
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13otto Masters Student Posts 779
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03-19-21 12:01 AM - Post#322296
50 years ago today, #3 Penn (28-0) defeated #6 South Carolina, 79-64, to advance to the Elite Eight. Bob Morse led the Quakers with 28 points, while Dave Wohl added 20 and Corky Calhoun shut down All-American John Roche in the second half. Penn's opponent in the Eastern Regional Final would be #18 Villanova, an 85-75 winner over #9 Fordham. Penn was now the lone undefeated team remaining because, in the Mideast Regional, #2 Marquette, the other unbeaten team entering the Sweet 16, was upset by #10 Ohio State, 60-59. The Buckeyes would face #7 Western Kentucky in the regional final. #4 Kansas and #19 Drake advanced to the Midwest Regional Final, while #1 UCLA and #16 Long Beach State would meet in the West Regional Final.
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LyleGold PhD Student Posts 1712 |
02-15-22 09:50 PM - Post#336546
Of course, Penn did wind up 28-0*, the only team to go through an entire season without losing a game yet not the NCAA champion. Ahh, so the asterisk is on the official record. Today’s 28-0-1 was a bit of a concession to reality. By the way, NC State was undefeated in 1973, but ended its season by defeating Maryland in the ACC tournament. Norm Sloan sent an assistant coach to play illegal pick up games with David Thompson, which resulted in the Wolfpack’s NCAA suspension. Didn’t Amaker do something similar when he first took the Harvard job sending Kenny Blakeney to illegally scrimmage with Keith Wright? NC State and Maryland would have an epic rematch in the ‘74 ACC Final, won by the Pack in OT, 103-100 - a game many consider the greatest in college basketball history. It also led to the end of the one team per conference rule in the NCAAs as MD was ranked #2, NC St #4, and UNC #6. State went in to win it all, beating Bill Walton and UCLA in OT in the national semifinals and Marquette in the final. |
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OldBig5 Masters Student Posts 639 |
02-16-22 12:39 AM - Post#336560
Of course, Penn did wind up 28-0*, the only team to go through an entire season without losing a game yet not the NCAA champion. NC State and Maryland would have an epic rematch in the ‘74 ACC Final, won by the Pack in OT, 103-100 - a game many consider the greatest in college basketball history. It also led to the end of the one team per conference rule in the NCAAs as MD was ranked #2, NC St #4, and UNC #6. State went in to win it all, beating Bill Walton and UCLA in OT in the national semifinals and Marquette in the final. I remember watching that NC State/Maryland game--probably on one of the UHF stations. It was a great game. |
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