(http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/sports/mu/img/aug07/pat0803.jpg)
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=642419
Board chairman
Undersized center was equal to the tall task
By MIKE HART
mhart@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 3, 2007
Although Pat Smith stood just 6 feet 3 inches tall, he was a giant on the basketball court.
A tenacious defender and fierce rebounder in what was becoming a tall man's game, Smith was one of Al McGuire's first prize recruits out of the New York playgrounds in the mid-1960s.
Smith, whose rebounding mark still stands at Marquette University, died unexpectedly of a heart attack early Friday morning in a Baltimore suburb. He was 60.
"He had a bad heart but was given a clean bill of health," said former Marquette great George Thompson, a close friend who grew up with Smith and later became his teammate at MU. "He was on a treadmill when he suffered the attack. He never regained consciousness."
Smith was a rags-to-riches story. The center . . . yes, he played center at Marquette from 1966-'69 . . . grew up in poverty. But he caught McGuire's eye and earned a scholarship at Marquette.
"I never met Pat and Al sent me to Chicago to pick him up," recalled Hank Raymonds, McGuire's longtime assistant coach. "It was the first time Pat had three meals in a day. He got sick the next day. He came from a lot of poverty. But he worked hard. He was Al's pet. Al really liked him a lot and was proud of what he accomplished."
Although Smith was not an accomplished shooter, he made one attempt that became part of MU lore.
During a 1968 game against DePaul at venerable Alumni Hall in Chicago, Smith was ejected for fighting with Bob Zoretich of the Blue Demons shortly after the opening tip. The 6-7 Zoretich was DePaul's second-leading scorer and rebounder.
Afterward, Blue Demons coach Ray Meyer was upset about losing one of his best players while the then-Warriors, he said, lost a guy "who couldn't throw a ball in the ocean if he were standing on the beach."
McGuire was determined to prove Meyer wrong. He arranged for a photographer to go on a little field trip with him and Smith to Lake Michigan.
"Al had Pat throw the ball into Lake Michigan," Raymonds said.
For the record, Smith's shot went in.
A fan favorite for his hustle and grit, Smith still holds the MU record for rebounds in one game with 28 against Loyola on Feb. 8, 1967.
"He was 6-3, but he played at the 6-10 level," Thompson said. "I remember that game clearly.
"He cleaned up like a Hoover vacuum. He cleaned up all the loose change. When we saw the stat sheet afterward, no one was surprised.
"Fear and intimidation were not in his vocabulary."
Thompson said Smith retired around three or four years ago. He worked for the Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commission.
Funeral services are pending.
Does anyone else remember this? Though 30 plus years may have conflated and expanded the memory, I have this recollection of the 1969 NCAA game against Kentucky where Smith, near the end of the game blocked Issel's shot so hard that it bounced off Issel's forehead. Issel made a move in the lane and took a little hook that Pat just creamed. Anyone else remember? That game was such a huge victory coming after the prior year's loss.
Yes it was! Adolph Rupp is probably turning in his grave over that game!
I just missed Smith's career. My dad is an alum and we had season tickets (I was a kid) and my first recollections of MU games included Dean The Dream Meminger, Ric Cobb, Jeff Sewell, Gary Brell, Joe Thomas, etc - around 1970, 1971
Absolutely delightful photograph. The relationship of Al and Coach Ray was fantastic. What a couple of great characters.
(http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/sports/mu/img/aug07/pat0803.jpg)
I'm also proud of MU for giving guys like Pat Smith a chance. I'm sorry to hear of his death.
Reflecting upon Coach Raymonds's words, I think Al saw a little of himself in Pat Smith. I'm sure he saw a kid who had fire and just wanted an opportunity to better his life. To even fathom that he eat three square meals for the first time that late in his life is unbelievable.
I remember it well..., as I do most of the early days of Al's tenure here. I used to follow the warriors to Chicago to alumni hall at DePaul for the games. (they had a little balcony that hung right behind the visitors backboard in the second half, and their band would sit there and taunt the free-throw shooter). the whole place probably held 4,500 people. I remember Al requiring the players to wear 'travel uniforms' when on the road. It was more so that the guys who couldn't afford nice clothes didn't have to be embarassed when they travelled. they had 2 choices; one sport coat, tie, nice slacks... two sweater, nice slacks, 'newsboy' cap. He actually got into trouble w/ NCAA over this as a violation- proved to be a 'tempest in a teapot'.
The best of all was the NCAA regionals at the field house in Madison- there were terrible ice storms and driving back to Milwaukee after the win over Kentucky was tedious- especially when I wanted to explode w/ excitement. but to see the look on the Kentucky fans faces- all at courtside- waving rebel flags at the Warriors- yelling insults and racial slurs at us, moreso when we became victorious- seeing Rupp humiliated. Ah, the good old days.
Quote from: augoman on August 04, 2007, 06:04:00 PM
The best of all was the NCAA regionals at the field house in Madison- there were terrible ice storms and driving back to Milwaukee after the win over Kentucky was tedious- especially when I wanted to explode w/ excitement. but to see the look on the Kentucky fans faces- all at courtside- waving rebel flags at the Warriors- yelling insults and racial slurs at us, moreso when we became victorious- seeing Rupp humiliated. Ah, the good old days.
Great post, augoman. Us "young" guys love the stories like this. What year was this? I'm also curious as to the reception of the southerners in Madison by the university students there. Was there a backlash against them?
this was in '69, and we should have come out of the regional, but suffered an overtime loss (by two points) in our next game to purdue, due to their long-range sharpshooter Rick Mount?.
I can't speak to the reception the Kentucky fans received on uw's campus, but this was when uw had a poor bball team, and little fan support for same. Also, the reception couldn't be as bad as the one given MU fans when we're up there.
Beating UK in Madison (don't we always beat the Wildcats in the tournament?) was one of the great memories of my MU days, and probably until 1977 the most satisfying of Al's career. Rupp had run up the score the preceding year against us, so Al had a score to settle. Rumor is, Rupp was so pissed that we kicked his ass that he shifted MU out of the Mideast bracket the following year, which changed the course of history.
After that UK game, we played Purdue and had a chance to win the final seconds, but Ric Cobb, a notoriously poor free-throw shooter, could hit only one of two, sending the game into OT, where Mount beat us with a jumper from the corner.
I saw Pat Smith play in the NITs in 1967 when we lost to Walt Frazier and Southern Illinois in the finals. He was a tiger on the boards. Rest in peace.
Ecompt, I too remember his tenacious rebounding, and seem to recall he had terrible eyesight- occaisionally cross-eyed and poor vision. Part of the reason he was so aggressive- he basically rebounded by braille.
seeing Willie Wampum do his tomahawk dance to the sound of "Cherokee" during the first time-out of the second half. The Warrior fan section went crazy and you could stick a fork in Rupp and the rest of the Kentucky team. Sweet, sweet, memories.