The Old Field House

[king conn]

The pep band never sounded better than in the old Field House

The stripes on their warm up pants when the team entered the court from the locker room

How it was always packed whatever game I went to.

For a little kid it felt big time

 

[Huskygrad88]

Playing racquetball.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

I used to play basketball virtually every night i could from like 6 to 11 pm, for pick up games. When I left college back in 08', it was depressing not to find that type of access easily available. I came up from Fairfield county a few times to meet friends there just to play basketball back when the 08' recession hit and i wasnt working.

 

[cohenzone]

I think the intramural championships take place in Gampel, but when I played all of our games were in the gym or field house.

Soccer gets to play in Shenkman which was awesome

Yeah, all of our games were in the gym except the final in the Field House.

 

[Waquoit]

How it was always packed whatever game I went to.
For a little kid it felt big time

I went to one FH game when I was a kid. We were late and the game was SRO so we stood 2-3 deep all game in a corner. That was over 4,600 people in 1973 for a game against Yale. That's more than AAC games at Gampel.

 

[HCCForever]

As a student in the late 70's my memories were of pickup basketball and our dorm's intramural teams. Our men's team was not too good but plenty of fun. We also had a coed team which I believe had 3 men and 3 women on the floor at the time. The women got more points per basket than the men. We had a big gal on our team named Peggy who enjoyed the physical play and could score so the team did okay. I also took a lacrosse phys-ed class from there as well.

One of my last memories was the Dream Season. In one of the last games before Gampel opened, I was at a urinal standing next to Nadav. The facilities have certainly improved since then.

 

[Waquoit]

In the last week...

Grad student?

 

[Brett95]

Lifting weights in the Cage

 

[alphasigko]

Seeing Calvin Murphy in the state playoffs..............at least I think I did. There was a 5'9" kid, besides Murphy, who could dunk like he was 6'6" that was really fun to watch.

Saw Calvin play at Danbury HS when they held him to below 40 points! That was the only victory the Hatters had that evening!

 

[EASTFLA]

Watching Tony Hansen working magic on the baseline

Watching Lee Otis Wilson knocking down ill advised shots from beyond the hash mark.

 

[HooperScooper]

Questions stimulate dialogue and cause people to think.

Both in my college and professional training, I was taught by many instructors via the Q&A format. Of course, people can just give a comment without it being in response to a question. And, a professor can just be a lecturer, but if the information imparted is beneficial, I respect the instructor and what he has to offer.

Personally, I find the answers on the BY very instructive and help me to understand the thinking of those commenting, many of whom seem to be in my age range. Their views have broadened my knowledge base, and I very much appreciate them.

I hope this answers your question.

If you have a posting with a question or with many questions, and I have some knowledge of the subject, or have experienced in life what you are inquiring about, I would be more than glad to respond to your post.

Fair enough?

Cool. Was just wondering.

 

[HooperScooper]

You’re tough Hooper man, he’s just trying to keep things alive. What got into you? LOL

No malice. I was just wondering. Where was I harsh?

 

[uchusky32]

Ray Broxton's, RIP, missed dunk. Almost broke his back. Forget who it was against.

 

[huskiesouth]

Senior year at Hillhouse, we beat Wilbur Cross in state championship game at buzzer, Jimmy Brown banked in a short jumper, FH was packed and hysterical, couldn't hear yourself think, was on bench, played for about 90 seconds in 2nd quarter, almost pissed my pants, could barely hear ref's whistles, Coach Bender (and Coach Verderame) were yelling instructions, players on court never heard them, controlled (barely) pandemonium, unbelievable and unforgettable experience.

 

[mauconnfan]

No malice. I was just wondering. Where was I harsh?

I’m busting balls! Hence the “lol” and wink.

 

[king conn]

I went to one FH game when I was a kid. We were late and the game was SRO so we stood 2-3 deep all game in a corner. That was over 4,600 people in 1973 for a game against Yale. That's more than AAC games at Gampel.

Yep that's how I remember it. Vermont, UNH, Maine it didn't matter the place was electric. I remember thinking it doesn't get better than this.

I did see them take a loss when Rutgers was actually decent and before Sellers. They had some guy named Smogyi hit bomb after bomb from it looked like between mid court and top of the key. Nobody would guard him because the % were low that he would make the next, plus it was only 2 pts. Except he never missed. The only time I heard that place quiet.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

It use to have netting/curtains that could surround the basketball court while the track was being used. I remember while playing on the court a gun shot went off and everybody went down on their stomachs only to be told it was just a starters pistol.

 

[Improviser]

Senior year at Hillhouse, we beat Wilbur Cross in state championship game at buzzer, Jimmy Brown banked in a short jumper, FH was packed and hysterical, couldn't hear yourself think, was on bench, played for about 90 seconds in 2nd quarter, almost pissed my pants, could barely hear ref's whistles, Coach Bender (and Coach Verderame) were yelling instructions, players on court never heard them, controlled (barely) pandemonium, unbelievable and unforgettable experience.

Sounds like this was 1963 when you played as a senior?

Hillhouse, I think .won the championships in 1964 and 1965 or at least one of those years, with some of the players in 1964 including Billy Gray and Tom Chapman, Billy Evans( BC and then Nets for one year), Walt Esdaile, and others. I think Gray and Chapman graduated in 1964, replaced by Tony Barone and Cliff Bush. The other starter was Russell Joyner in 1965.

Was quite a rivalry.

Bender and Verderame was an old rivalry. He was called "Red." Sam coached afterwards for a semi-pro New Haven team.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

When I was a sophomore in h.s., I went to visit my bro and played pick-up hoops with him and his friends one afternoon. A couple of the '89-90 players showed up and I ended up guarding Chris Smith one game. He wasn't going hard but man it was eye opening seeing the level they played on even at half speed.

 

[huskiesouth]

Sounds like this was 1963 when you played as a senior?

Hillhouse, I think .won the championships in 1964 and 1965 or at least one of those years, with some of the players in 1964 including Billy Gray and Tom Chapman, Billy Evans( BC and then Nets for one year), Walt Esdaile, and others. I think Gray and Chapman graduated in 1964, replaced by Tony Barone and Cliff Bush. The other starter was Russell Joyner in 1965.

Was quite a rivalry.

Bender and Verderame was an old rivalry. He was called "Red." Sam coached afterwards for a semi-pro New Haven team.

'63 is correct, rivalry with Wilbur Cross was always great, games were played on neutral sites such as the NH Arena or Payne Whitney, remember when I was in junior high Dave Hicks ruled the roost for WC, we had Cliff Branch, a great player, but Hicks was at another level, he had been in the Hillhouse district, Verderame moved his family during the 9th grade, Bender went nuts to no avail.

 

[wheelerdog]

Dunking during warmups of an intramural game.

 

[dvegas]

Also the guy's who used to hand you a roll with a towel, shorts, shirt, and a jock all seemed to be cut from exactly the same cloth. As I remember it, they were all older, somewhat muscular and wore white.

Earl Kelley tried to cut me in line once to get a "roll". I was ready to fight him. Seeing how his UConn career ended, glad I didn't. And for the record, the cage people took care of me before him

 

[husky8273]

Playing racquetball.

on squash courts

 

[husky8273]

the universal gym in the corner behind the bleachers. They should put an old photo at the new rec center.

 

[CL82]

What got into you?

What business is it of yours?

It’s been talked about here a bunch of times, but when the crowd really got going on the noise would shake down desk from the rafters and create a cloud over the court. I always thought that was pretty cool.

Someone mentioned seeing a game from under the curved rafters or in the standing room only corners, that place used to be packed. You get there in the stands would fill up everybody squeezing in tight on the bench seats. Once the benches were filled then everyone would fill in the aisle in between them. Once those were filled, then people would say one or two deep on the floor in front of the bleachers. Any other place was standing room only if you could squeeze in you were in. The place was packed with loud enthusiastic fans. The home court advantage was incredible.