Soon it will be tournament time at the Charleston Civic Center. For years, the yearly run of the WVIAC/MEC tournament, the girls state high school tournament and the boys state high school tournament have produced many memorable memories in our city.
One of the most overlooked memories happened in the boys state tournament in 1996 and involved the Class A Burch Bulldogs.
Under coach Mike Smith, Burch was on a good run in the 90's. The Bulldogs won state championships in 1989, 1991 and 1993 and were runner-ups in 1994. In the 1995-96 season the Bulldogs had a young team, a challenging schedule and they struggled to a 4 win season. They caught fire in the post-season and won the sectional and regional.
In the 1996 state tournament, coach Smith experienced an embarrassing yet humorous moment.
"Because of our record, no one gave us much of a chance in the state tournament," recalls Smith. "In Class A Ceredo-Kenova had Joda Burgess and Wheeling Central had Skip Prosser's son Mark. They were the teams to beat. In the quarter-finals we beat East Hardy and we played Wheeling Central in the semi-finals.
The game was close the whole way and, as usual, I was up and down. I had a habit of sitting in a crouch and bouncing up and down on my toes. At some point, I split the seat out of my pants. I did not hear it happen, but I remember feeling a breeze back there. I initially took my sport coat and wrapped it around my waist to try and cover it up, but it did not do the job.
Then, I sent a manager back to the locker room and he brought me out a pair of our warm-up pants. It is funny now, but embarrassing then. I am happy that I had followed my mother's advice and I was wearing a good pair of underwear.
I made a unique fashion statement with a dress shirt, tie and sweat pants, but I was covered. It was a classic game and we lost 81-77 in double overtime. One of our players, George Swain, scored 33 points. Interestingly enough the fans in our community remember that game and that team almost as much as our state championship teams."
The college and high school tournaments are great pieces of Americana. Next month more stories will unfold and memories will be made. I am not sure any story can top the one of Burch, Mike Smith and day a coach split his pants in the heat of battle.
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It has been a tough and sad week for the Marshall athletic family. One of the most beloved coaches in school history is the long-time former baseball coach Jack Cook. By now, many are aware that Cook lost his only son, Chip this week. Chip passed away suddenly at the age of 54. Like his father, Chip was an outstanding player in Huntington. Both Jack and Chip are in the school's athletic Hall of Fame. They are the only father-son combination in the Hall.
As word spread of Chip's passing, many of coach Cook's former players began to send condolences. Even on short notice, those players who could get there came in person to comfort their former coach.
Jack Cook coached at Marshall in parts of four decades. During that time he did not make a lot of money, never had an assistant coach, a courtesy car or a stadium. But, he was loved by all who knew him. We all grieve with him over the loss of his son.