I did not attend any high school basketball games until after I graduated (1972). I finally went to a game during the 73-74 season and quickly became hooked on East High basketball. The fast and furious pace was fun to watch as were the expressions and animations of Coach Eathorne. The cheer leaders were pretty good too.
Our family lived on East 29th street from 1963 to 1967. The Eathornes’s and the Torseth’s lived in the same block. My brothers and I played Army and “on the street” Baseball with Mark Eathorne and Rick Torseth. That made the basketball team all the more interesting to me.
The playoff game vs. Cleveland was the most memorable. Those guys looked so much taller than the East team. I was worried “This might be it.” But the scrappy East High team held their own. Watching my brother Rick go up for a defensive rebound carrying three or four Cleveland players with him and coming out of it with the ball is forever imprinted in my mind. At one point in the game he recovered a rebound and uncharacteristically did not pass it off to a teammate. He ran the full court for the lay-up with the deceptively slow looking glide Les Eathorne has referred to.
I wonder if that game was recorded on film?
I also wonder if Coach Danubio still has my “Handy”. The “Handy” was a requirement in his Woodshop class. It had to be made from wood and the main requirement was that it felt good to hold in your hand.
Robert Walker
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