I hope this hasn't been posted before.
I like the videos this guy makes. You can tell he does some research and puts thought into them.
I like the videos this guy makes. You can tell he does some research and puts thought into them.
College Basketball Arenas: Illinois State (Horton Field House)
- Thread starter ISUBird
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Great story. One year, I won the Dick Versace look a like competition. My buddies and I were also part of the tent brigade that year. We needed and secured 24 seats for our group. The DePaul game was an absolute screw job. It wasn't just the shot, which was clearly inside the arc, but the out of bounds call that went against us. That was a great time to be a Redbird fan. I loved my time at ISU and ISU basketball figured prominently into that experience.
GO YOU REDBIRDS!!
I was seated right in that corner when that call was made ... Horrendous call and the ref was looking right at it. Not even close and , man, did he disappear from the court quickly.
Redbird222
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Shameless plug: Tom Lamonica went into that game and post game with the referees during our podcast with him
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That was great .... remembering those games they discussed... thanks for posting.
crazzymark
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Why not keep mens basketball in Horton and the bigger attendance draw woman's sports in the former Red Bird arena?
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It's outdated and makes us look like a d2 or d3 school. Even if it were to be renovated we'd still be playing in a field house.
TBS_20
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Well, you know what fixes that.
Interesting history segment of Horton. My group in the Fall of 1982 was in tent #8 for student season tickets. Our tent was there 8 days. We have 125 in our group - you had to have one person per 50 tickets. That included the student ID and the money. The tents were checked periodically. We had a schedule for the 8 days - 24 hours a day - to make sure there was 3 people in the tent at all times.
We ended up in Section B - Rows 10-12 - right at halfcourt. Just fabulous seats.
Last December for the return game - I took my wife, kids, and friends - we sat near those seats for the game. Brought back a lot of Great Memories.
One last item - mentioned Donewald chasing out students. Well, he did not like the baseball team practicing in the North end of Horton during Basketball practice. Coach Bass would send players to run stairs - Donewald would scream at the baseball players running the stairs during his practice. Needless to say, one day, an errant throw from warming up - went over the Donewald curtain and hit Raynard Malaine in the head. I have no idea why anyone was concerned about Raynard - I was concerned the baseball now had a flat spot - ha, ha, ha.
We ended up in Section B - Rows 10-12 - right at halfcourt. Just fabulous seats.
Last December for the return game - I took my wife, kids, and friends - we sat near those seats for the game. Brought back a lot of Great Memories.
One last item - mentioned Donewald chasing out students. Well, he did not like the baseball team practicing in the North end of Horton during Basketball practice. Coach Bass would send players to run stairs - Donewald would scream at the baseball players running the stairs during his practice. Needless to say, one day, an errant throw from warming up - went over the Donewald curtain and hit Raynard Malaine in the head. I have no idea why anyone was concerned about Raynard - I was concerned the baseball now had a flat spot - ha, ha, ha.
crazzymark
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Well our mbb is a d2 team
BAM! Loved this post.
CaliRdBrd
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Going down memory lane for a second as well…
After class sometimes, I used to go to Horton and shoot hoops.
One time I ran into Donewald and, in passing, I said something like “coach, I live on the 5th floor of Wright, let me know if you need a scorer” (I’m 6’1”). His reply…grow another foot and come see me.
i loved Donewald. I also loved that students had access to a place like Horton.
After class sometimes, I used to go to Horton and shoot hoops.
One time I ran into Donewald and, in passing, I said something like “coach, I live on the 5th floor of Wright, let me know if you need a scorer” (I’m 6’1”). His reply…grow another foot and come see me.
i loved Donewald. I also loved that students had access to a place like Horton.
6th Floor Wright is where the action was.....
CaliRdBrd
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Ha!
Redbird222
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Lived there ... 4 elevators that stopped every 5 th floor. Freight elevators that were tested daily as you always tried to squeeze just one more on the elevator. Elevators worked about 50% of the time. It was lovely when all 4 were out or only 1 working. Made the hike up to Van Buren fun and reminded you how much more you were out of shape since arriving to ISU
I believe the elevator situation changed in the 90s and they added elevators that stopped on every floor but not sure
FriscoBird90
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Lived for one year on a co-ed floor in Manchester. Jingled the chains a few times during pick-up basketball games on the Manchester courts. Those were the days.
I played pickup at least 100 times outside of Manchester...where I also lived for 2 yrs. If you nailed a pure shot those metal chains sounded pretty sweet! I loved those courts so much I even played with a cast on my non-shooting arm. Those most definitely were the days.
Saw Pemberton and the boys down there a time or two before their senior season.