Does anyon remember these old gyms?

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Rumorman78
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Does anyon remember these old gyms?

Post by Rumorman78 »

I played HS basketball in the late 50s and very early 60s 1961. Do any older posters remember any of these gyms? 1. The pit at Gallitzin, where you could not shoot from corners, due to over hang' 2. Willamsburg HS old gym so small, jump circle intersected foul circle, still had jump balls. 3. Shanksville , Gym long and narrow , only place for visiting team to sit was on edge of stage that covered one side of gym. 4. Forbes Road small gym .what made it unique it had a wooden cathedral ceiling, almost felt like playing in a church. All these gyms had their own mystique, just like in the movie Hoosers.
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Re: Does anyon remember these old gyms?

Post by Manfred »

Rumorman78 wrote: March 10th, 2022, 2:56 am I played HS basketball in the late 50s and very early 60s 1961. Do any older posters remember any of these gyms? 1. The pit at Gallitzin, where you could not shoot from corners, due to over hang' 2. Willamsburg HS old gym so small, jump circle intersected foul circle, still had jump balls. 3. Shanksville , Gym long and narrow , only place for visiting team to sit was on edge of stage that covered one side of gym. 4. Forbes Road small gym .what made it unique it had a wooden cathedral ceiling, almost felt like playing in a church. All these gyms had their own mystique, just like in the movie Hoosers.
You have to throw these in with this topic- the old Blacklick gym on the 2nd floor of a building near the center town redlight. The old CV-Franklin gym that was like entering a cavern/ dungeon, Ferndale, goes without saying.
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davesandstorm
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Re: Does anyon remember these old gyms?

Post by davesandstorm »

The unique ones I remember from playing basketball in school: Fannett-Metal had barely any room between three-point line and the sideline and doubled/tripled as the cafeteria/auditorium. Claysburg-Kimmel's old/JH gym with the warped floor and changing in the boiler room. As mentioned before the Forbes Road wooden cathedral. Juniata Valley with the HVAC unit above the one rim that high arching shots would hit. Williamsburg was unique with its seating on one side and for some reason I remember walking 25 miles to/from locker rooms at Williamsburg too.
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Re: Does anyon remember these old gyms?

Post by dadw/2sons »

Fannett-Metal still has the same gym. No improvements from the description given previously.
El-Moldo
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Re: Does anyon remember these old gyms?

Post by El-Moldo »

The gym at East Conemaugh had a balcony above the out of bounds lines. When you were done playing, your sneakers were red from the dust spewing out of Bethlehem Steel's open hearth furnaces. Miner's Hall in Nanty-Glo was upstairs. Small and cramped. Locker rooms were in the basement. I think we hung our clothes on a nail. Hot steam was coming out of some pipes near the shower room. We still got our half-an-orange at halftime. NO water allowed.
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Re: Does anyon remember these old gyms?

Post by OutOfTheLoop »

El-Moldo wrote: March 10th, 2022, 1:04 pm The gym at East Conemaugh had a balcony above the out of bounds lines. When you were done playing, your sneakers were red from the dust spewing out of Bethlehem Steel's open hearth furnaces. Miner's Hall in Nanty-Glo was upstairs. Small and cramped. Locker rooms were in the basement. I think we hung our clothes on a nail. Hot steam was coming out of some pipes near the shower room. We still got our half-an-orange at halftime. NO water allowed.
Wow. I'd heard that before but thought it was hyperbole. Interesting!
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Re: Does anyon remember these old gyms?

Post by HSD6FAN »

Forbes Road’s old gym with the small court and high ceilings. I remember going there once and they only used it in the winter for basketball after building their new school.

Because the heat was recently turned on, there were bees in the ceiling that were dormant due to being cold. When the heat made it warmer, there were bees flying around down by the court. Not many times I can remember basketball players needing to be concerned about bee stings during a game.


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costanza
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Re: Does anyon remember these old gyms?

Post by costanza »

"The Stage" at the old Saltsburg High School, which is close to the downtown area in Saltsburg.....Very unique, and definitely a home-court advantage for the Trojans!
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Re: Does anyon remember these old gyms?

Post by Manfred »

The Jaffa Mosque. One basket against the stage. Saw future ABA star Barry Parkhill and Lock Haven play there back in the day.
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Re: Does anyon remember these old gyms?

Post by Rumorman78 »

The last poster mentioned the Jaffa Mosque in Altoona. I loved going there to watch some great basketball . St Francis played their home games at the Jaffa from 1952-1970. As a 12 year old I had a chance to see Stokes play. and on a St. FRANCIS Sat. night home game, the 3200 seat capacity was S.R.O. Also a great success were the Christmas Basketball Tournaments held there. During the 60s some of the best teams in the eastern U.S played there to a packed house. I can remember Power Memorial , Rice boys school from Harlem NYC. and the top Pittsburgh City Schools . A large group of these players went on to have great college and NBA careers. Also as a side note; in late 50s,early 60s the Christmas Tournament held at the War MEMORIAL IN Johnstown had some great teams play there also. I wish some of the younger generation would have had a chance to see the support of the fans as there was than. I know everyone has all this new tech., and most say their are to busy. As for me I would go back to white wall tires. fender skirts , dial phones and typewriters, oh but I forgot we still have typewriters, only they are very small ---texting.
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