January 25, 2006
St. Francis honors hoops history
School recognizes 1931 and 1966 basketball teams at special ceremony
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Honoring their history, players, fans and family members of the Traverse City St. Francis High School basketball team honored players from a bygone era Friday night between the varsity and junior varsity games.
Julius "Jud" Verreau represented the 1931 winning regional Class D basketball team, the only survivor of the 11-member team. Eight members of the 1966 winning regional Class C team were also on hand: Dan Burden, John Raymond, Greg Martin, Earl Martineau, Wally Green, Randy Rasmussen, Pat Corcoran and Bill Rasmussen. Players who did not attend the ceremony were Dick Clous, Mike Bee, Jeff Lyon and Bob Doriot.
Coach Jim Rossi, who in 1966 coached and taught his first year in Traverse City, helped organize the 40th anniversary celebration of the 1966 winning team.
"The basketball coach and athletic director of the school have been trying to work toward developing a connection to the past," said Rossi, who coached Gladiators basketball for 11 years. "A year ago, they had the players in who had played when the gym opened 50 years ago."
Elaine Kozlowski, a former teacher at St. Francis, suggested that the evening include Verreau, who lived near the school. Prior to the winning 1966 team, Verreau and his teammates had been the most successful basketball team at St. Francis in 35 years.
Kozlowski also noted that the athletes from the Great Depression and World War II eras strongly supported future teams.
"The key thing is that all of the athletes of the 20s, 30s and 40s, they were so supportive of the younger athletes: they wanted to make sure these kids had the opportunities," said Kozlowski. "Sports were so important to them."
Five of the six cheerleaders from 1966 also were on hand to celebrate a trophy they won that year during the district tournament. These included Kathy (Riley) Nadai, Diane (McNeil) Carroll, Kathy (Vezina) Lunnen, Noreen (Denny) Chapin and Sue (Foster) Smith. Not attending was Donna (Babel) Hackett.
The cheerleaders received the trophy during the district game that sent St. Francis to the regional competition.
"We were just thrilled to win it because we had the crowd control and the precision," recalled Nadai. "We were the first cheerleaders to win a trophy at a tournament and that was because of the families and other cheering behind us."
Dan Burden, a member of the 1966 team, was following in his father's footsteps as Pat Burden played on the winning 1931 team.
"He loved basketball," said Marsha Burden, one of three siblings who turned out to honor their father and cheer on their brother, Dan.
Dan Burden, a resident of Shelby Township who just retired from the automotive industry, noted that his father helped him perfect his game over the years.
"Dad worked with me, he played guard and he played forward," said Burden.
He also believes that the 1966 team's closeness was one of the reasons for their success.
"Three of us had played together since eighth grade," he said of the team's co-captains: himself, Greg Martin and Earl Martineau. "Because we'd played together so long we knew each other real well and that really helped in my mind."
Getting together with old friends, some of whom he had not seen for two decades, was a thrill for Burden on Friday night.
"It was exciting," he said, adding of the few minutes at center court: "It was really good, I hadn't been on the court in almost 40 years."