Page 6 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, April 1, 2022 Malden Today, Tomorrow and Yesterday: ‘YMCA Basketball Glory Days’ (the abbreviated history redux) B By Peter F. Levine Law Offices of Terrence W. Kennedy 512 Broadway, Everett • Criminal Defense • Personal Injury • Medical Malpractice Tel: (617) 387-9809 Cell: (617) 308-8178 twkennedylaw@gmail.com y far the most requested article over the years was my 2011 homage to that round-ball haven, the old YMCA, and that bandbox of a gym we played so much ball in. I call it “The Malden YMCA’s Basketball Glory Days: An Abbreviated History.” I’ve cleaned it up a bit, included an additional name or two, and added a postscript. So here it is once again for your reading pleasure in honor of all those who competed on that hardwood fl oor – during that period, after that period and, of course, before that period. The games began in the late 1970s and continued in some form or another until the mid2000s. They took place at the old Malden YMCA, formerly a magnifi cent brick structure on Pleasant Street (built sometime during the Middle Ages) where today sits a public parking lot shadowed by the nondescript D.O.E. building. It was the very same court your father and your grandfather would have played on if they played basketball in Malden within the last 100 years or so. The ceiling was very high, the lights were very dim and the court was very small and surrounded by paneled walls – some with padding, much without – which to the savvy Y player often used to his advantage. The games were “four on four� due to the tiny dimensions of the court. In the summer it was sweltering hot. In the winter it was frigidly cold. But we showed up night after night, week after week, three, sometimes four, times a week to get our workout in (our hoop fi x) and to fi ll out our social schedule for the week. YMCA Three on Three Tournament Champions (year unknown): Warren Walcott, John Preziosa and Paul Rogers. (Courtesy Photo) Weekday games (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) started at 5 p.m. (Saturdays at 2). If you were not in the gym at 5 exactly, you were not included in the team-making process, which meant you waited possibly an hour or more for the next round of teams to be picked, which really ticked a lot of people off ! On any given night, there were 2535 guys deep against the wall. You would rush home from work or school and bounce into the Y. Through the lobby, down the stairs, snake the locker room, then up another set of stairs. You would throw your gym gear on in the locker room (or maybe be suited up already), but if your timing was slightly off , the wait for the next round was very painful. That was how intense hoop was in those days. I personally saw a young man put a hole in the hardwood wall after he stepped into the gym and realized he’d missed the fi rst cattle call by minutes. The players came in all shapes and sizes, the talented and the not-so-talented. All were welcome, of course, but if you were of the not-so-talented category, it was best if you knew the social “pecking” order on your team lest you incur the wrath of the more talented or less forgiving members. Woe be it to the man who took an ill-conceived shot or let his guy score, thus preventing said team from continuing to “keep the court.” Often “talent” was a relative term at the Y. A good full-court (“fi ve on fi ve�) player did not necessarily equate to a good Y player (“four on four”) and vice versa. It was a diff erent game at the Y. “Gym rats'' like Johnny Novak, Kenny Mieczkowski, Eric Dannenberg, Mike Morelli, Franny Barthelmes, Richie Gianatassio and Jon and Keith Brickman could hold their own against the more talented cats in the gym because they knew every dead spot on the fl oor; they knew exactly where to hit the backboard for a soft bank shot (nobody dunked in those days); and they knew enough not to get caught in the corners where you often got mugged – nowhere to turn with a balcony two feet above your head. But in the end, it was hoop skills that kept you on the court, and the team with the most gifted players usually dominated for the night – unless, of course, you were (the late, great) Paul Abare. “Tall Paul” would take one outstanding player, like Melrose guy and 1960s UMass Hoop standout (former teammate of Julius “Dr. J” Irving) Billy Greeley, along with a couple of not so outstanding players, like Mario Cantone and Frank Liqure, and still dominate all night. Paul (and Greels) were that good! We had outstanding college players like John Furlong (Salem State), Danny Meyers (Merrimack), Bill Dacey (also Merrimack), Sam Azkenasey (UNH), Cliff Cioffi (Curry), Mike Philpot and Rod “Puggy” Forbes (both Boston State). Malden High School standout hoopsters like Dave, Norman and Mark Pashoian, Arthur Carbone, former MHS Principal Dana MALDEN: TODAY| SEE PAGE 8
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