"The festive event was all St. Joe's."

"The festive event was all St. Joe's. After Ramsay and St. Joseph's president,
the Rev. Timothy R. Lannon, SJ cut the ribbon, a five-man Dixieland band of Jesuits played "When the Hawks Go Flying In." Just as it does at basketball games, the Hawk mascot flapped its wings through the entire ceremony, and those in attendance toured the new building."

"A dream for us comes true on Hawk Hill," Father Lannon said.

I couldn't be there yesterday, but quotes like the one above still get me. While I've vacillated on whether to renew my season tickets -- for the first time in 19 years -- this just made up my mind.

I am whom I am, and I am a Hawk.

You had to laugh at Dr. Jack's comments about how different Hawk Hill was back when he played, having to catch a bus to 17th and Styles to practice at the Prep. No flat screens back then... just shared lockers.

Dick's article mentions the "chance meeting" with Bill Ferguson. He didn't mention that Fergie coached part-time, and was a VP at Beneficial Savings Bank by day. Another chance meeting was between Dr. Jack and Joseph Geib, SJ, the athletic director at St. Joe's, during a game at Connie Mack Stadium. The Hawk head coaching position had opened up and Fr. Geib bumped into Ramsay and asked if he was interested... he was, despite the pay cut he would have to take :-) I always wonder "what if" Dr. Jack hadn't gone to that Phillies game in Swampoodle that day. How different would our basketball tradition had been on Hawk Hill. Would we have had any?

Jameer's comments were refreshing, as he is a bit of an anachronism in today's age. But he understands most prospects today aren't like him. They want the bling, and we just got bling... named after a legend - our legend -- Dr. John T. Ramsay, SJC '49.

Enjoy the articles by Dick and Ray, and Greg Carroccio pictures, courtesy of Sideline Photos, LLC. The next best thing to being there.

A big thank you to Messrs. Maguire, Wynne, Duperreault, Post and Hagan for making it happen!

THE HAWK WILL NEVER DIE!

44

Philadelphia Daily New ~ Saint Joseph's dedicates new Ramsay Basketball Center

By DICK JERARDI

Philadelphia Daily News
jerardd@phillynews.com

Dr. Jack Ramsay is a basketball lifer whose life has been about all those people whose lives he impacted along the way, his beloved alma mater and the family that he so obviously cherishes.
As the Ramsay Basketball Center was dedicated in an outdoor ceremony at Saint Joseph's late yesterday afternoon and so many had so much to say about the man who graduated from St. Joe's 60 years ago, Ramsay began by saying: "I am honored beyond words as to what has happened here today."

Ramsay went back over his life on Hawk Hill, how a "chance meeting" as a 17-year-old with then St. Joe's coach Bill Ferguson led him there, how he learned so much he applied to his life. He said St. Joe's is "connected to every good thing that has happened to me in my lifetime."

As St. Joe's athletic director Don DiJulia said, there is nobody in basketball history with a resumé quite like Dr. Jack's - legendary college coach, NBA general manager, NBA championship coach, more than 1,000 wins, his continuing analysis of NBA games, all those lives affected.

Ramsay recited the names of his entire roster from his first St. Joe's team. Players from all of St. Joe's modern era were there yesterday - including Joe Spratt, who arrived when Ramsay came back as head coach in the mid-1950s, Jack McKinney, Jim Lynam, the point guard from Ramsay's 1961 Final Four team, Tom Wynne, the great Cliff Anderson, Steve Courtin, Jim O'Brien (Ramsay's son-in-law), John Griffin, Geoff Arnold, Rap Curry, Bill Phillips, Chet Stachitas, Pat Carroll and, on the stage next to Ramsay, the 2004 national Player of the Year, Jameer Nelson.

Ramsay seemingly could have reeled off every name of every player who suited up for St. Joe's, and the men who coached them. Of his players, he said: "These guys gave you their heart."
Now, the school that Ramsay has loved so much has named its new basketball center for him. It was his teams that won so often when they were not supposed to, when the other team had better players. That is much harder to do these days when talent wins almost all the time.
But his teams did it. And, now that his name is on the building, there is no chance anybody will ever forget it.





Philadelphia Inquirer ~ Ramsay helps St. Joe's dedicate new center

By Ray Parrillo
Inquirer Staff Writer

Jack Ramsay seemed surprised by the question.

Standing in front of St. Joseph's University's expanded and renovated basketball complex that bears his name and officially was dedicated yesterday, the Hall of Fame coach was asked what the facilities were like during his playing days on Hawk Hill. "Oh, we had nothing here," said the 84-year-old legend, who graduated from St. Joe's in 1949, a year before Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse opened. "We practiced at Kenney Gym at St. Joe's Prep. So every day after class we'd go to 17th and Stiles and went up to the second floor, where the gym was. There was a locker room. The kids would clear out their stuff so we could bring ours in.

"Up against the wall at both ends there were big pads to protect you if you drove to the basket. I broke my collarbone doing that."

Nodding toward the beautiful two-story, 20,000-square-foot and expansion to the Fieldhouse named the Jack Ramsay Center, he said: "It's a wonderful facility and a great asset for the university. It's an incredible honor for me. But this building represents all the coaches and players who have their imprint on what happened over the years at St. Joseph's."

Ramsay coached the Hawks for 11 seasons, from 1955 to 1966, and reached 10 postseason tourneys, including the Final Four in 1961. His teams went 234-72 and his winning percentage of .765 remains the best in school history. He then coached 20 seasons in the NBA and guided the Portland Trail Blazers to the championship in 1977.

Ramsay led a list of St. Joe's basketball royalty that included Jameer Nelson, who was among the benefactors for the $35 million project. The new locker room is named in honor of the guard from Chester, who was the consensus national player of the year in 2004 and is an all-star for the Orlando Magic. The men's basketball lounge is named after Delonte West, who teamed with Nelson in the backcourt to lead the Hawks to a 27-0 regular-season record and No. 1 ranking, a remarkable feat for a small Jesuit school in an era dominated by Division I football universities.
Obviously, Nelson was not attracted to St. Joseph's because of the facilities, but he said that most recruits are, and that the improvements should be a boost to the program.

"Maybe my mind-set is a little different," Nelson said. "I just wanted to play and have coaches who would make me better and people who would be there for me academically. But to some young guys, certain things matter more to them than they did to me. Guys want nice facilities. I do believe St. Joe's has the best fans, and with the addition to the gym and everything else, it will really help out."

The festive event was all St. Joe's. After Ramsay and St. Joseph's president, the Rev. Timothy R. Lannon, cut the ribbon, a five-man Dixieland band of Jesuits played "When the Hawks Go Flying In." Just as it does at basketball games, the Hawk mascot flapped its wings through the entire ceremony, and those in attendance toured the new building.

"A dream for us comes true on Hawk Hill," Father Lannon said.