Steph Curry's three-point feat brings back memories
The Warrior's 77 straight treys in practice is reminiscent of a Palestra moment by Bill Bradley.
ONCE, AT A basketball camp at Conestoga High, Herb Magee slowly silenced a gym full of raucous youngsters by sinking free throw after free throw after free throw.
When he got to 50 or so, the Philadelphia University coach turned, faced the pin-drop quiet crowd and said, "Now that I've got your attention . . . "
On Tuesday, Warriors point guard Steph Curry made 77 consecutive three-pointers in front of his teammates at practice. Overall, he attempted 100 treys total and made 94.
That not only got everyone's attention, it got longtime Big 5 fan and Daily News sports staffer Bob Vetrone Jr. - who also produces the BoopStats blog on Philly.com - reminiscing about the time Princeton's Bill Bradley put on a similar show.
The year: 1965. The place: The Palestra.
There was no three-pointer back then, but Bradley started to knock down shots in front of a large pregame crowd. Eventually, the fans started to counting along, "22 . . . 23 . . . 24."
You had to be there, and long-time Associated Press writer Jack Scheuer was.
Scheuer recalled the scene for Ivy50.com in May of 2007: "We were all watching him from the press area," Scheuer said. "And this number goes up and down every year but I think it was 26 straight jumpers that he made. He moved all around the court. We just watched in awe."
Nowadays, of course fans don't have to be there. Athletes routinely make shots - sometimes 77 of them - that are seen and heard around the world.
It's a shame there was no social media in Bradley's day.
Being able to see and hear that Palestra crowd count in unison as he knocked down those shots would be just as awesome today as it was then.
Love at first sight
Today is the anniversary of something everyone now takes for granted. On this date in 1940, WGN-TV televised the first baseball game, an exhibition between the Cubs and White Sox.