The year was 1963 and the village was abuzz about the hugely talented basketball team at LHS. Lead by LeRoy Hall of Famer Tim McCilley, the team won 21 straight games that season, making it to the Section 5 Class A finals before falling to Waterloo by a 58-51 tally. McCulley (who once scored 47 points in a contest - a LeRoy record to this day) was given several reels from that championship season by then coach Rudman. I digitized the reels and they were in pretty decent shape considering their age. The 63 Knights also featured such star personnel such as Benny Wright, Rod Gillmor, Iggie Vinci, Gary Roth, and Dick Scott. I had the distinct pleasure of living below Mr. Scott as he rented my parents upstairs apartment when I was a tyke with his wife Connie. Mr. Scott would always encourage me to work on fundamentals, using the backboard, and being able to dribble and shoot with both your left and right hand. He pushed for solid and clean defense and expected good sportsmanship as well. How lucky was I to have this template of success in talent and temperament in my own back yard as a kid? The footage here is of LeRoys resounding 73-37 win over Batavia at home on Trigon Park. Word had it that if you did not purchase a ticket to watch the 63 LHS hoopsters well in advance, you were going to be out of luck to snag a Friday night seat. What is even more impressive is that LeRoys opposition in the early 60s were much larger Rochester area schools such as Pittsford, Rush-Henrietta, Spencerport, Hilton, Batavia, Honeoye Falls, and others. Check out the old high school gymnasium on Trigon Park that many of us grew up in. See how fervent the crowd was as they hoisted Coach Rudman on their shoulders and out of the gym after the resounding win over rival Batavia.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Nov 2014 22:04:25 +0000
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