Marquette-South Carolina 1972

[groove]

Nice article in SI from 1972 about Marquette's victory over South Carolina, a game that featured a nice fight

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1085704/index.htm

"the game had grown extremely physical, until three minutes into the second half the muscling got out of hand. As Marquette's Bob Lackey and the Gamecocks' Tom Riker struggled for the ball, the guns went off. Lackey elbowed Riker in the neck; Riker flashed a left cross on Lackey's side-whiskers. Within moments several brawls had broken out—one featuring Chones against heavyweight Danny Traylor. "Let's stay out of this," Traylor said to Chones. "Can't do it," said Chones. "My man's in trouble." Then Chones opened a nasty cut under Traylor's eye.

Frank McGuire was in the middle of the floor, bodies whizzing past him, but Al McGuire remained on his bench with his reserve players. "A waltz," he was to say later. "A bar-hall bouncer wouldn't take his coat off for this one."

After a good three minutes of heavy punching on both sides, order was restored; immediately a hefty South Carolina state trooper charged the Marquette bench and went after Lackey. The Warriors' Larry McNeill grabbed a chair, but he and everybody else were finally restrained. Lackey and Riker were removed from the contest.

"The dude sucker-punched me," said Lackey. "Then they throw me out. If I'm leavin', I want some action."



Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1085704/1/index.htm#ixzz1CIlxJRqx

[77ncaachamps]

How appropriate...

The Black Swan...from "The Pacific"

--------------------------------------

They came together on the streets of the big city, at St. John's in 1947, Frank off a Greenwich Village block around the corner from Gene Tunney's house, Al from the beaches of Rockaway. It was Frank's first college coaching job and Al was a freshman player. When the youngest McGuire  reached the varsity the following year, his brother Dick was already there, and the three McGuires combined to produce a strong team flavored by Dick's passing and Al's flair for lunacy. In the three years Al played for Frank, the Redmen went to three NITs, one NCAA  and, contrary to belief, not one mental institution.

Frank McGuire's glory years were to come after he and Al parted ways. The year following Al's graduation, Frank coached St. John's to the NCAA finals, losing to Kansas in a game that Al listened to while on the road as a pro with the New York Knicks. Five years later Al was working in a sewer in Long Island City when the national finals came around again. This time Frank, then at North Carolina, defeated Kansas in triple overtime for the championship.

Within months Al was in North Carolina, too—at little Belmont Abbey College outside Charlotte where Frank had recommended him to the Benedictine monks. For the next few years, while Frank was rampaging through the ACC, Al withstood the perils of Belmont Abbey. "I thought he would leave me there forever to die in a monastery," Al said. But Frank bailed him out again, this time to Marquette, whose Jesuit fathers had offered him their coaching job.

So in 1964 Marquette got Al, the same year that South Carolina got Frank. Which is why it all came down to the flesh-and-blood confrontation last week in Columbia.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1085704/2/index.htm#ixzz1CIrHy2FS

AMAZING...

[ecompt]

I remember that game as if it was yesterday.

[groove]

in today's world of tight restrictions on foul play, how many suspensions would have been added out after that game?

Also, at the time, wasn't South Carolina one of the schools that played on a tartan surface court. I think Dayton's court was a tartan court also.

[Goose]

That is one game that I will never forget. It was much more than a basketball fight. That happened today it would lead to massive suspensions and more. It was out of control.

[groove]

Found a photo of lackey and riker fighting, love the cheerleader gasping on the baseline. Marquette was ranked #2 behind UCLA at the time.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=y3sfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NVMEAAAAIBAJ&dq=marquette&pg=7236%2C3738920

[GGGG]

I never knew about this game.  Thanks for posting this though.  I miss those days of SI when I would wait all week to have it come in the mail and read it cover to cover in about two hours.

[groove]

That is one game that I will never forget. It was much more than a basketball fight. That happened today it would lead to massive suspensions and more. It was out of control.

Plus it was on a Sunday and nationally televised

[BrewCity83]

Looks from the picture like the Warriors were wearing their light blue uni's that inspired the current ones!

[groove]

Looks from the picture like the Warriors were wearing their light blue uni's that inspired the current ones!

yup 1971-72 road jersey

http://wiki.muscoop.com/lib/exe/detail.php/the_marquette_jersey_project/7174road.jpg?id=the_marquette_jersey_project%3Astart

[77fan88warrior]

Found a photo of lackey and riker fighting, love the cheerleader gasping on the baseline. Marquette was ranked #2 behind UCLA at the time.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=y3sfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NVMEAAAAIBAJ&dq=marquette&pg=7236%2C3738920

Check out the Russ Franke article in which there is a tidbit about Notre Dame players pressing mustard packets into MU players hands during post game hand shakes. They felt MU players were overdoing handshakes during the course of a 64 game home winning streak.

[4everwarriors]

I remember that game as if it was yesterday.

'member the Gamecocks band playing the National Anthem during the fight to settle down the crowd?

[4everwarriors]

Check out the Russ Franke article in which there is a tidbit about Notre Dame players pressing mustard packets into MU players hands during post game hand shakes. They felt MU players were overdoing handshakes during the course of a 64 game home winning streak.

Yep, Johnny Dee thought Brell and Co. were hotdogging it.

[Nukem2]

I remember that game as if it was yesterday.

+1

[77ncaachamps]

Found a photo of lackey and riker fighting, love the cheerleader gasping on the baseline. Marquette was ranked #2 behind UCLA at the time.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=y3sfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NVMEAAAAIBAJ&dq=marquette&pg=7236%2C3738920

Riker with his hands out like a girl.

Is that Chones running in?

[willie warrior]

The Black Swan was awesome!

[groove]

No that is Marcus Washington. Although according to the SI story Chones got involved with another player

>Within moments several brawls had broken out—one featuring Chones against heavyweight Danny Traylor. "Let's stay out of this," Traylor said to Chones. "Can't do it," said Chones. "My man's in trouble." Then Chones opened a nasty cut under Traylor's eye.>

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1085704/1/index.htm#ixzz1CMoa2fYw

[Goose]

When they played the national anthem it actually freaked me. I never have seen or heard national anthem played a second time at a game.

[groove]

At the time was Marquette looked at as a thug type of program by the rest of the country. Obviously south of the mason-dixon line there was the obvious racism going on, as shown whenever Marquette played Kentucky in the late 60s. But what about the rest of the country.

[tower912]

Can you imagine the internet message boards and sports talk radio if something like this happened today?

[DoggyDaddy]

This was one of the first nationally televised games for MU with one of their finest teams. 7' Jim Chones, 6'9 Larry MacNeil, and 6'6'' all muscle Bob Lackey were the front line. Lackey was much like Jae Crowder, muscular with a nice shooting touch. He looked tough with long black sideburns. We loved the Black Swan. The Warriors broke out brand-new uniforms no one saw before. They were a stunning irridescent teal, not baby blue.  SC was an all white team as were most of the ACC teams back then. SC had just left the ACC the previous year and Frank asked Al for game to compensate the loss of North Carolina on the schedule. 
The fight was amazing, it just kept going. They never played each other again. A shame.         

[groove]

Can you imagine the internet message boards and sports talk radio if something like this happened today?

Yeah. Sunday afternoon, nationally televised game, 2nd ranked team in the nation, 18 minute brawl. one point game. ESPN would have wall to wall coverage and replays for the next 24 hours. Dickie V and the talking heads would be calling for NCAA action of some type.

I'm assuming the teams on the remainder of Marquette's schedule were a tad intimidated.

[groove]

wow, just found a great article in the Milwaukee Journal from a few days after the game. MU had won 50 of their last 51 games with that win. I didn't know South Carolina was fourth ranked. Lackey had stitches, Riker got a chip fracture in his hand. Marcus Washington was floored three times in two minutes.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SXYfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lCgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1476%2C507498

damn, wish someone had video.

[MU86NC]

For all you losers crying about poor, poor pitiful me "we're 4 and 4", "we need a new coach" take a step back and enjoy this great Marquette moment in 1972!  I hope all you whiney f*cks within 100 miles of Milwaukee are at the game supporting your team tomorrow - because as a fan thats all you can do to influence the game!  Go Warriors...

[texaswarrior74]

Yep, Johnny Dee thought Brell and Co. were hotdogging it.

I was at MU at the time and was at the game; I remember it very very differently. Gary (Goose) Brell had a nervous condition that caused him to move around during the National Anthem and Johnny Dee, not knowing this, openly criticized Brell calling him a hot dog with no respect...it was written up in both the Journal and Sentinel.

The next time that MU played ND  no one but Al and Brell knew that Al had given him a mustard packet for the player introductions...(remember as the players were being introduced Al had them shake hands with the opposing coach before going to the floor to shake hands with their opposing player) ...anyhow...when Brell was introduced he ran over and palmed a mustard packet into Dee's hand and said something like "how about some mustard from your hotdog"...Dee reacted strangely and everyone in the Arena wondered what had gone on.....only to find out the next day in the game article.....in the meantime Brell went out and had a big game.

This was a home game but Al was the master of all coaches at trying to take away another team's home court advantage....he just used it at the arena that nite....