Basketball question... pre- Carolina Coliseum Carolina Fieldhouse

[gamecockox]

I was born the last year that the Fieldhouse hosted its last basketball game and burned down. Is there anyone on the board that attended a game there. I was wondering what it was like. I have looked on the web for interior pictures and found nothing. I have found three or four exterior pictures but little else.

 

[mattbarber]

check with Mike Safran and Safran's Gamecock Shop. I know he has old pictures at his store in Columbia

 

[nikolas22]

For most games, we would stand in line for hours to get tickets. The football team sat behind the opposing team. They heckled them the entire night. The noise level was awesome. It was like you were on the court with the players. Sometimes security had to settle the football players down.

 

[pepsicock]

I was at the Duke game when when we upset them. I think Duke was #1. I was about 6 years old . That place was small but tough on the visiting team .

 

[winloseortie]

Was at the last game in the old field house vs NC ST. Place was a band box, you were right on top of everything and crammed in together.
Student section massive in proportion to the whole field house, arrived early. Cheered wildly for the freshman game(Roche, Owens, Ribock, Walsh just killed the Wolf pups)
You could dunk in warm ups and Gary Gregor and Skip Harlicki always put on a show.
Part of the pregame ritual, every game was to chant "Beat Duke, Beat Duke, beat the hell out of Duke!"

 

[hplatts]

I was born the last year that the Fieldhouse hosted its last basketball game and burned down. Is there anyone on the board that attended a game there. I was wondering what it was like. I have looked on the web for interior pictures and found nothing. I have found three or four exterior pictures but little else.

I attended basketball games there from 1957 until the new Coliseum was built around 1968. We beat Auburn by one point in the first game n the new facility. You could not get tickets to the game during the last few years in the old Fieldhouse - students in many of the seats. . It was no problem with getting seats during my days in college - we did not win many games. I was lucky to have a trustee who like basketball and we went to many of McGuire"s games in the old Fieldhouse. We had reserved seats on the first row which was floor level It was a typical large high school gym with seats on all four sides. probably 14 - 20 rows high.

 

[chucktowncock]

 

[Golden Cock]

Yeah I was in the group sitting behind Vic Bubas, Duke coach. Of course being teenagers we gave him hell. I don't remember how we got tickets, I just remember that we were really bunched together I that Field house. Dang it was crowded.

Back then our players would just stand there and hold the ball to keep it from the other team. Only took our shot when we were wide open.

I was there in the Field House before the Roach and Owens years. I think Frank Standard was another of our go to guys back then.

Lotsa noise in there.

 

[uscbeckham]

 

[pepsicock]

Thanks Beck. What street was that on ?

 

[uscbeckham]

Thanks Beck. What street was that on ?

On the block bordered by Sumter, Greene, and Main. It is now occupied by Jones PSC, Coker LS, and Sumwalt, some of the ugliest buildings on campus.

 

[gamecockox]

Those are the pictures I have found of the exterior. I have not found any of the interior.

 

[stevestrat2]

Thanks- I didnt realize that was the location. I can see the old Honeycombs in the background! I lived there my first couple of years at Carolina.

 

[uscbeckham]

Those are the pictures I have found of the exterior. I have not found any of the interior.

Took a while, but this is what you're looking for @gamecockox

 

[pepsicock]

Took a while, but this is what you're looking for @gamecockox

Awesome pic. Which game is this ?

 

[uscbeckham]

Awesome pic. Which game is this ?

1957. Carolina 70 - Georgia Tech 64

 

[cockn'fyr]

Those are good pics guys, I went to a few games there, but was so young don't remember much more than it seemed like a big high school gym! Seems like they had an NBA exhibition in there that I went to Suns/Hawks maybe? Remember Harlika and Corky Carnivalle helped out over at Trenholm Park Rec. Center a little bit!

 

[gamecockox]

Took a while, but this is what you're looking for @gamecockox

Thanks Beckham, you're awesome!

 

[permacock70]

I was born the last year that the Fieldhouse hosted its last basketball game and burned down. Is there anyone on the board that attended a game there. I was wondering what it was like. I have looked on the web for interior pictures and found nothing. I have found three or four exterior pictures but little else.

Get a copy of ROUNDBALL CULTURE if you can find one. A great read for any Gamecock!!!!

 

[king ward]

I never saw a college game there but did attend state high school championships when they were conducted in the fieldhouse. It was a smaller version of the old Palestra in Philadelphia, a virtual basketball barn.

The stands were the same height all the way around, no box seats anywhere. The teams actually sat on the bottom row of the bleachers on either side of the scorer's table.

The glass backboards each had an approximately 10-inch wide white panel across the bottom where the basket was attached so that less of the total surface was glass than is what is standard today.

The floor was a darker than usual hardwood and appeared to be positively lacquered, and I believe there was a Gamecock in the center circle (not the current version). In the eyes of the lad that I was at the time, the court gleamed. It was a beautiful sight.

 

[67gamecock]

Standard . . . Frank Standard . . . his flying, reverse dunk would send the place into mass hysteria.

He was a fearsome player. Rarely smiled. I don't recall any opposing player getting rough with Frank Standard. The guy had a look that would frighten the Godfather!

Most Gamecock fans today don't know how much McGuire's teams were hated by the other ACC schools, but even more amazing was how much they were feared! In several ways!

 

[USCRBCOCK]

I graduated from Carolina in 82 and these are the first pictures of the old Field house I've ever seen. What an iconic building! I know it's not in the budget, but I wish we could somehow work this design into the remodeling of the exterior facades of the current indoor facility. Even with the re-do currently planned, it's an big ugly box.

 

[cockn'fyr]

Standard . . . Frank Standard . . . his flying, reverse dunk would send the place into mass hysteria.

He was a fearsome player. Rarely smiled. I don't recall any opposing player getting rough with Frank Standard. The guy had a look that would frighten the Godfather!

Most Gamecock fans today don't know how much McGuire's teams were hated by the other ACC schools, but even more amazing was how much they were feared! In several ways!

Yeah, but the UNC fans have managed not to forget it!

 

[king ward]

Thanks Beckham, you're awesome!

Thanks, indeed. Notice how dark and shiny that floor is and how much white area is on the bottom of the backboards. That's just how I remember those details.

 

[uscbeckham]

Thanks Beckham, you're awesome!

No problem.

 

[chucktowncock]

Standard . . . Frank Standard . . . his flying, reverse dunk would send the place into mass hysteria.

He was a fearsome player. Rarely smiled. I don't recall any opposing player getting rough with Frank Standard. The guy had a look that would frighten the Godfather!

Most Gamecock fans today don't know how much McGuire's teams were hated by the other ACC schools, but even more amazing was how much they were feared! In several ways!

dunking was banned in the NCAA from 1967 to 1976

Standard led the ACC in rebounding at 6'4"

teammates said opponents feared that he had a switchblade in his sock

he was a quiet no nonsense street fighter

you had to be there

 

[chucktowncock]

1967-68 final team stats:

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/south-carolina/1968.html

 

[cockn'fyr]

Amazing how close most of those games were! Thanks ctc

 

[chucktowncock]

Cocks had back to back wins against #8 Duke and #3 UNC on the road in February of 1968.

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/south-carolina/1968-schedule.html

 

[hplatts]

Yeah, but the UNC fans have managed not to forget it!

The NC State fans were terrible when we played in Raleigh in the playoffs in their old gym. I took a verbal beating when I attended the USC Maryland game outside DC just after graduating and working in Dahlgen Virginia - probably less than 100 USC fans in the stands and we did not have a good team in those days - 1963..

 

[ansoncock]

When I lived in Columbia during my high school years, just prior to the field house burning, Coach Buck Freeman used to leave one of the doors of the field house unlocked so that high school kids could sneak in to play pickup games during the weekends. At that time there were no community centers in the city or surrounding suburbs. He was a really nice guy and very sympathetic. We really appreciated Coach Freeman's thoughtfulness. We brought our basketballs, and would play for a couple of hours. What a thrill!

I only saw a couple of field house games during the pre Roach-Owens era, but listened to all on the radio and watched home games on tv. Gary Gregor, Mr. Basketball WV, was some player! Frank Standard was Mr. cool!

 

[gamecockox]

I never saw a college game there but did attend state high school championships when they were conducted in the fieldhouse. It was a smaller version of the old Palestra in Philadelphia, a virtual basketball barn.

The stands were the same height all the way around, no box seats anywhere. The teams actually sat on the bottom row of the bleachers on either side of the scorer's table.

The glass backboards each had an approximately 10-inch wide white panel across the bottom where the basket was attached so that less of the total surface was glass than is what is standard today.

The floor was a darker than usual hardwood and appeared to be positively lacquered, and I believe there was a Gamecock in the center circle (not the current version). In the eyes of the lad that I was at the time, the court gleamed. It was a beautiful sight.

Here is a picture of the center court logo !

 

[8590Grad]

View embedded media

Thanks for the video link. My thoughts and prayers are with Drew and family as he battles his second round with brain cancer.

 

[king ward]

Here is a picture of the center court logo !

I'm amazed at what I can remember from my youth but what happened a couple of years go, or more recently than that, escapes me.

 

[king ward]

When I lived in Columbia during my high school years, just prior to the field house burning, Coach Buck Freeman used to leave one of the doors of the field house unlocked so that high school kids could sneak in to play pickup games during the weekends. At that time there were no community centers in the city or surrounding suburbs. He was a really nice guy and very sympathetic. We really appreciated Coach Freeman's thoughtfulness. We brought our basketballs, and would play for a couple of hours. What a thrill!

I only saw a couple of field house games during the pre Roach-Owens era, but listened to all on the radio and watched home games on tv. Gary Gregor, Mr. Basketball WV, was some player! Frank Standard was Mr. cool!

Al Salvadori. "And Big Al hits again from the corner" - Bob Fulton, in his prime.

 

[sandlapper59]

When I lived in Columbia during my high school years, just prior to the field house burning, Coach Buck Freeman used to leave one of the doors of the field house unlocked so that high school kids could sneak in to play pickup games during the weekends. At that time there were no community centers in the city or surrounding suburbs. He was a really nice guy and very sympathetic. We really appreciated Coach Freeman's thoughtfulness. We brought our basketballs, and would play for a couple of hours. What a thrill!

I only saw a couple of field house games during the pre Roach-Owens era, but listened to all on the radio and watched home games on tv. Gary Gregor, Mr. Basketball WV, was some player! Frank Standard was Mr. cool!

Now that is a trigger for old memories. We lived in the next block from the Field House, on Greene street. Got to be waterboy for some visiting teams in the1940's, also played basketball and some sneak boxing in the Field House when the mat and gloves were left out. Yes, USC had a boxing team then. Knew all the secret entrances and caretakers who let us swim and play for helping with cleaning the swimming pool and gym in the Parthenon. Pool guy liked to play checkers and we were good fodder for his skill. Did not have our own basketball but did know how to get one.

Field House was one noisy box when at USC in the 1950's when most seats were filled with students. Most memorable moment for me was when Grady Wallace set one of his team records and ref Lou Bello (sp) stopped play, handed Grady the ball and shook his hand. I remember Bello because he was an entertaining ref and a good one. Grady had a flat arch outside shot that almost always went in the basket. He was national leading scorer one year at about 30 points.

 

[Orangetown]

Now that is a trigger for old memories. We lived in the next block from the Field House, on Greene street. Got to be waterboy for some visiting teams in the1940's, also played basketball and some sneak boxing in the Field House when the mat and gloves were left out. Yes, USC had a boxing team then. Knew all the secret entrances and caretakers who let us swim and play for helping with cleaning the swimming pool and gym in the Parthenon. Pool guy liked to play checkers and we were good fodder for his skill. Did not have our own basketball but did know how to get one.

Field House was one noisy box when at USC in the 1950's when most seats were filled with students. Most memorable moment for me was when Grady Wallace set one of his team records and ref Lou Bello (sp) stopped play, handed Grady the ball and shook his hand. I remember Bello because he was an entertaining ref and a good one. Grady had a flat arch outside shot that almost always went in the basket. He was national leading scorer one year at about 30 points.

I played there for state BB championships as well as attended several SC games. Seating were tiers, not bleachers or individual seats. The flooring under both baskets was damaged...planks were crushed and lower than other flooring. A sorry facility as was Clemson's Fike at that time.

 

[76gintcock]

I went to some games at the field house with my dad. I have no memories of the first one, which must have been in the late fifties, because I was really little. But after the game was over a State-Record photographer took a close-up of my dad helping me put on my winter coat. It was in the paper the next day. I have a copy of it somewhere.

I do remember one game. We played N.C. State. I think it was in 1968, the last year in the fieldhouse. I would have been 14. This was end of the Harlicka, Thompson, Gregor, Standard, Burkholder, etc. years. N.C. State was hated with great gusto. State had a player named Eddie Biedenbach who was good, but not loved by the Gamecock crowd. He was playing with a broken nose and a rubber nose guard. The game was rough. Very rough. My most vivid memory was of Harlicka coming around a screen set by Biedenbach and executing some kind of lightning-quick ninja move that resulted in the back of his hand landing with some force on the nose guard. Biedenbach was not amused, but nothing was called.

I just looked it up. We lost that game by one point.

 

[CockswilCrow]

Now that is a trigger for old memories. We lived in the next block from the Field House, on Greene street. Got to be waterboy for some visiting teams in the1940's, also played basketball and some sneak boxing in the Field House when the mat and gloves were left out. Yes, USC had a boxing team then. Knew all the secret entrances and caretakers who let us swim and play for helping with cleaning the swimming pool and gym in the Parthenon. Pool guy liked to play checkers and we were good fodder for his skill. Did not have our own basketball but did know how to get one.

Field House was one noisy box when at USC in the 1950's when most seats were filled with students. Most memorable moment for me was when Grady Wallace set one of his team records and ref Lou Bello (sp) stopped play, handed Grady the ball and shook his hand. I remember Bello because he was an entertaining ref and a good one. Grady had a flat arch outside shot that almost always went in the basket. He was national leading scorer one year at about 30 points.

Great memories. Grady Wallace was a whale of a shooter, my first game was to see him play. The boxing team was disbanded in the early 50's I believe in 52 or 53.

 

[king ward]

Ronnie Collins needs some props also.