Dec 28, 2024
Dunkirk High School varsity basketball coach Al Stuhlmiller reacted forcefully when his team played a pregame prank on him.
Sometimes, not often, the pregame is more entertaining than the game itself.
One such instance memorably happened in the late 1960s or early 1970s when Dunkirk High and crosstown-rival Cardinal Mindszenty played a varsity boys basketball game in the old DHS gym.
I was seated at the scorer’s table, covering the game for the then-EVENING OBSERVER. I was a student at Fredonia State and working part-time for the newspaper.
The junior varsity game had ended and the varsity teams were still in their respective locker rooms.
That’s when a DHS team manager leaned in close and whispered, “Watch the layup drill.”
Bill Hammond
He then laughed and quickly returned to his pregame duties before I could ask him what he meant.
Soon the visiting Monarchs streamed onto the court and began their warmups.
Coach Bob Muscato’s club was the underdog that night. They always were in the DHS gym, packed with their enthusiastic fans.
Meanwhile, loyal Mindszenty followers were limited to one section of the bleachers.
Soon the Marauders raced out of their locker room to rabid cheers. Veteran coach and athletic director Al Stuhlmiller’s team circled the crowded court before settling into their well-practiced rebounding routine.
The lead player tossed the ball off the backboard and the next Marauder in line grabbed it and repeated the toss. It was a standard rebounding drill used by many high school teams.
Coach Stuhlmiller stood at midcourt watching the proceedings with pride. His 15-year tenure as basketball coach was nearing an end.
He would soon be succeeded as varsity coach by Mike Tramuta so he could focus more on his athletic director duties and remarkable career as varsity baseball coach.
Coach Stuhlmiller was a beloved figure at the school, winning multiple league and sectional basketball and baseball championships.
He was held in high esteem by his players, who never failed to respond to his hugely successful coaching methods and techniques.
See MEMORIES, Page C2
He was especially good at firing up his troops pregame and during timeouts. He was an exceptional motivator of young minds and bodies.
His highly partisan enthusiasm would sometimes swell into rage, a trait his players strangely relished, perhaps a bit too much.
They sometimes delighted in deliberately triggering Coach “Stu” at practice. His outbursts could be legendary, but his bark was always far worse than his bite. He loved his players and they knew it.
Armed with that knowledge, some of his players plotted to incite their coach during warmups.
The layup drill always followed the rebounding drill. The Marauders split into two groups and began driving hard to the basket, dribbling with their right hands.
The first player appeared to misjudge his approach to the basket and missed his layup try. Badly. So did the next.
And on and on it went. The shots were almost comical in their ineptitude. Some missed the basket entirely, others slammed into the bottom of the rim and careened back at the players, forcing them to duck for cover.
The spectacle was not lost on their coach, who looked on first in disappointment, then concern and finally anger. It was agonizing and confusing to watch. Not a single basketball found its way to the bottom of the net.
Each player, there were probably a dozen on the roster, missed two layup tries apiece before switching to the left side of the court where it only got worse.
Eventually the crowd began to notice the futility of the drill and a few fans began to laugh. Chances are they were dressed in CMHS purple and gold.
That was more than enough for Stu, who had come to the bitter realization that his players were missing their shots on purpose. And not just that, they were doing it to prompt an angry reaction from him. It succeeded spectacularly.
He was in full rage mode when he ordered them off the court and back into the locker room.
I wager most people in the gym could hear the subsequent screaming that took place for the next few minutes.
It was epic. And well deserved.
Stu really let them have it. Not one to dabble in profanity, he chastised his young would-be comedians. He especially focused his wrath on those he identified as the likely masterminds of the scheme. He took it personally.
Disappointed and still enraged, he promised, not just threatened, retribution. Future practices were going to be hell on earth.
He then ordered his thoroughly chastised team back onto the court to repeat the layup drill correctly. They obeyed with a noticeable intensity that immediately carried over to the game at hand.
Mindszenty never had a chance after that. The final score wasn’t close. It was all DHS that night.
Stu had forcefully delivered the last and loudest word. He always did. And his occasionally misguided players loved him for it.
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Bill Hammond is a former EVENING OBSERVER sports editor.
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