Big 5 coaches and fans share their favorite Palestra memories

THE MAGIC of the Palestra is much more than just jump shots and free throws. It is to Philadelphia what Fenway Park is to Boston, what the old Forum used to be to Montreal.

Officially, it is where Penn plays its home games. But really, it is the region's homecourt. There aren't nearly as many games played there as before, but it remains one of the most hallowed facilities in the land. And so many of us have our own unique piece of it.

Phil Martelli still can hear the "ding" of the bell from the Septa trolley he and his Finnegan Playground mates used to take from Southwest Philly.

There was the monumental birthday party teenager Fran Dunphy snuck away from, the spirits with whom Jerome Allen now sits, and the solace Jay Wright found when his heart was broken.

ESPN will give the rest of the country a glimpse of the old building when it brings the "College GameDay" crew in for Saturday's noon tilt between Temple and La Salle. Saint Joseph's and Penn play at 7 p.m. Call it a 21st century Big 5 doubleheader.

In anticipation of Saturday, the Daily News cast a wide net and got a wider range of personal Palestra memories. Here they are, in no particular order:

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MY MOM wasn't real happy that I skipped out on a 100th birthday celebration for my great-grandmom. But my dad brokered a deal and I was able to go. St. Joe's was playing Davidson, which was led by a guy named Fred Hetzel. (See below.)

As a player (at La Salle), we beat Villanova, which was a Top-10 team, in my junior year (1968-69). That was a special experience.

As a coach, there were many Big 5 games and some games that we won to get to the NCAA Tournament. But it was the 1999 game against Princeton when we were up 27 with 15 minutes to go and lost, 50-49. I would have sold my soul to get two more points and the win.

But that team overcame that devastating loss and we went to Princeton (3 weeks later) and won by 25 to win the Ivy League championship. I couldn't have been prouder.

- Fran Dunphy, played at La Salle, 1967-70; head coach at Penn, 1989-2006; head coach at Temple since 2006

Editor's note: The game the 16-year-old Dunphy snuck away for was Dec. 5, 1964 when third-ranked Davidson was upset by St. Joe's, 77-64. Hetzel, who played in the NBA for six seasons, had 31 points and 16 rebounds. Billy Oakes led St. Joe's with 22 points. Cliff Anderson had 21 rebounds.

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I WAS a junior in high school (at Council Rock) and we had just lost a tiebreaker game for the conference championship to Pennsbury and Jack Pepper, Dalton's dad. Me and (teammate) Buff Radick and two girls went to the St. Joe's-Villanova game that night. We were way up (in the bleachers) with our backs against the wall of the last row. That's how we cried our night away.

I wasn't recruited by any of the Big 5 schools. The only reason I (attended) Bucknell was because I wanted to play against them. That was when Bucknell was in the same league (East Coast Conference) as La Salle, St. Joe's and Temple.

If I could, I would have gone to any Big 5 school.

- Jay Wright, Villanova coach since 2001

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ONE OF my favorite memories was when Georgetown came in to play Penn (in 1979). That team had Sleepy Floyd, Craig Shelton and John Duren; Penn had Tony Price. But what I remember was seeing John Thompson.

It was the first time I had seen a black coach at the Division I level. I don't know if it made me think that coaching was something I could do, but it is one of my fondest memories.

I used to love the double, doubleheaders. They'd have games that started at 1 & 3 and then at 7 & 9. You'd go out, get a bite to eat between games and come right back in.

We've tried to get the CAA to hold the conference tournament here, but many of the people in the South just don't understand the Palestra. And you can't explain it until they've seen it. There is no better place to play a game than that building. It's just an unbelievable place.

- Bruiser Flint, Saint Joseph's player, 1983-87; Drexel coach since 2001

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SINCE I Got my first Palestra season-ticket as a Penn undergraduate, I estimate that I've seen about 400 games in the old gym. In addition to the hundreds of Penn games, including awesome Big 5 doubleheaders, I've been there for women's games, boys' and girls' public and Catholic tournaments, PIAAs, summer camps, practices, rock concerts and to help work on the exhibits that line the Palestra halls.

Sometimes I like to sit in the bleachers when it's empty, just listening to the squeak of sneakers and a ball bouncing.

I've screamed myself hoarse at the Palestra, gotten lightheaded when I leapt out of my seat for a great play or bad call and still hear the voice of John McAdams rattle around in my brain once in a while.

One of my favorite Palestra memories - there are too many Penn ones - is when the Atlantic 10 Tournament would play a quadrupleheader in the Big House. Two afternoon games, two night games - usually Temple, La Salle and St. Joe's all going on the same day. It was nonstop noise for eight bleary-eyed hours of hoops. If only they could have sandwiched in a Penn-Princeton game in between.

- Howard Gensler, Daily News Tattle columnist, Penn alum, co-author "Pride of the Palestra"

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Editor's note: La Salle coach John Giannini recalled a 2008 contest in which his club held a tenuous, 90-89 lead with one second left and star guard Rodney Green was shooting the second of two free throws.

AS ROD started, he heard a whistle and stopped in the middle of his shot. We all heard it, but the referees didn't and called him for a violation. St. Joe's threw a 90-foot baseball pass and got a decent shot (but barely after the buzzer). It was a vintage Palestra/Big 5 game and it was a turning point for our program.

It was an important win to the alumni, our fans and our players in getting us re-established.

As an outsider (from Chicago), I am distinctly aware that there is nothing like the Palestra and the Big 5 anywhere. You just don't find this sort of history and tradition anywhere in the country.

It feels different when we play there. It's unlike anything else you experience all season. I'm really looking forward to it.

- John Giannini, coach at La Salle since 2004

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IN 1968, North Catholic's junior varsity, filling in for the 12-man varsity (the guys took way too long to return to school after being given permission to eat breakfast at a nearby diner; they were suspended by coach Jack Friel, also the school's disciplinarian), earned national headlines by rolling to a 77-60 win over Bishop McDevitt in a Catholic League quarterfinal.

North's JV hadn't played in 8 days. The starters were Mike Kaiser (20 points), Iggy Brodzinski (19), Jim Boylan (14), Joe Evanosich (13) and Billy Dever (nine). Kaiser, Boylan and Brodzinski had 20, 17 and 15 rebounds, respectively.

While riding the El to the Palestra, one JV player said to another, "People will read about this in the comic strips, not the sports section."

Things were crazy during warmups. The JV kids were booed by North's own fans and hit with chants of, "We want the varsity!"

McDevitt led just once, 2-0, but stormed within six points with 2:45 left. No sweat. North scored the last 11. This is one of the most amazing games that has been played anywhere, let alone the fabled Palestra.

- Ted Silary, junior at Penn Charter in 1968, Philadelphia sports writer since 1971

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WE TOOK the trolley from Southwest Philly and even if we only had a dollar in our pocket, we would find a way to get in. We wandered the hallways, and even if we didn't understand the game, we understood the noise and the pageantry. It's what hooked me on basketball.

I remember during our 2003-04 season (when St. Joe's went to the Elite 8), we played La Salle and Temple at the Palestra. There were no aisles. In other words, the place was so packed that people were sitting in the aisles. I thought to myself that I don't think it could get any bigger than this. It's a place of joy. Even when you're alone and walk in for a practice. You come down that ramp and you swear you can still hear the noise.

I still get chills when I'm on the sideline because I always think that somewhere in the stands is a 10-year-old kid from South Jersey or Southwest Philly who could be me.

- Phil Martelli, Saint Joseph's coach since 1995; won the Catholic League high school championship at the Palestra in 1971 while at St. Joe's Prep; played a few games there while at Widener

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I REMEMBER everything about the first game I played at the Palestra (1991). I remember how many minutes I played (17), how the game ended (Penn missed a late shot and lost by four) and I remember everybody who played on both teams (Penn: Paul Chambers, Vince Curran, Barry Pierce, etc. Temple: Eddie Jones, Aaron McKie, Mik Kilgore, etc.). Everything that I heard about that building came to life.

But my first experience as a coach was the total opposite. It was before a practice and the building was empty. I sat down on the bench where so many coaching legends had sat. Then I stood up and looked out on the floor like I was watching the action. I was truly in awe.

Even today, I look at the stands and still get that same feeling. This is a special place and I feel blessed every time I come here.

- Jerome Allen, played at Penn, 1991-95; Quakers coach since 2009

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WHEN I was asked to write this piece, so many memories swirled through my head. I've been going to the Palestra for over 50 years and have seen many breathtaking games in what is, without a doubt, the nation's most hallowed basketball arena.

It's hard to pick one, but if I had to, it would be the Penn vs. Princeton game during the 1970-71 season. That was the year that Penn went 29-0 and was ranked third in the country before losing in the NCAA (regional) final to Villanova by the incredible score of 90-47.

Penn always had trouble with Princeton, regardless of whether the game was at the Palestra or Jadwin Gym. On that night in 1971, Princeton played almost flawless basketball and stunned everyone by taking a seven-point lead with less than 2 minutes and 20 seconds to go. Somehow Penn whittled down the lead to two points with literally seconds remaining. Penn rushed to get a final shot in an attempt to tie the game. Corky Calhoun threw up a prayer - a 30-footer that went through the net as the final horn sounded, tying the game (the three-point rule had yet to be adopted so the shot only produced a tie). Penn went on to win in overtime, 66-62.

When I look back at the game, I remember I was so nervous about the possibility of us losing our unbeaten record, our national ranking and our prestige that during the timeout before the last desperation shot, I went down the runway, through the hall of the Palestra and came back just in time to see Calhoun's incredible shot. It's a memory that I will never forget and one of many in the great Palestra.

- Ed Rendell, Daily News contributor, Penn class of 1965

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I WAS new in town and had just started dating Gloria Honickman, winter of 1959. I brought her to a doubleheader at the Palestra, even though I was working that night. She had a ticket and went through the regular turnstiles. I had my press pass and walked through the press gate.

I was so focused on the matchups and what I might wind up writing, that I forgot she was with me. Halfway to the press section, I remembered and sprinted back to find her and apologize. We have been married 53 years, so I guess she forgave me.

- Stan Hochman, Philadelphia sports writer since 1959

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I HAVE so many memories of that place, no question.

I used to go there with Guy Rodgers and Al Lewis. The guy on the door would let us in, when there was no activity going on, and we'd play with half a light on. He didn't want anybody to know we were in there. I used to walk from (my home at) 17th and Ellsworth. That's a long walk. But we had no money. We'd walk through gang areas.

The trolley that used to run over there, we'd hop on the back of that sometimes. Or we'd (get it to) stop, and when the (driver) walked around the side we'd slip on and sit in the back. We were bad.

The Palestra was special because people appreciated both teams being on the floor. It was a family affair, more than anything else. It was so heated. The kids were familiar with each other, because many of them came from the same areas. Years later, when a lot were from elsewhere, it took away a great deal of that parochial kind of feeling. They can't afford to have doubleheaders now, because it's a situation where it's strictly about money in every aspect.

The thing that I liked most, whether I parked my car or came on the bus or walked, is that just outside I could get a bag of peanuts and pretzels. Man, I would get that mustard all over me. Put it on my finger, too. All over my hand, licking it. And I'd sit up there in the corner, as you come up on the left, way in the back, eating peanuts and putting them all on the floor. Man, what a great feeling that was, to be part of it all.

- John Chaney, Philadelphia native; Temple coach, 1982-2006; basketball Hall of Fame inductee, 2001