Big 5 Hall inducts old-timers

The new inductees were honored yesterday at a ceremony at the Palestra. In a year when the Philadelphia Big 5 returned to the full round robin format, five players that competed before the unofficial league's formation were honored with induction into the City Series' Hall of Fame. Yesterday at the Palestra, Ernie Beck (Penn), Paul Arizin (Villanova), Tom Gola (La Salle), Bill Mlkvy (Temple) and George Senesky (St. Joseph's) joined the Hall of Fame, although none of them ever played in an official Big 5 game. Two recent women's players, St. Joseph's Robyne Bostick and Temple's Margarete Rougier, were also honored with induction. Approximately 200 people gathered for lunch on the Palestra floor to honor the former players. Special guests included the current Big 5 coaches, Philadelphia basketball legend Sonny Hill and former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier. Penn men's coach Fran Dunphy addressed the crowd about Coaches Versus Cancer, a charity supported by the Big 5 and Drexel, and Philadelphia Women's Basketball 2000 Executive Director Cathy Andruzzi spoke of the upcoming women's NCAA Final Four, which Penn and St. Joe's will co-host. Big 5 Executive Director Paul Rubincam also acknowledged the current athletic directors for returning the men's Big 5 to the full round robin. But the focus for the day was on the inductees, the men whose basketball success in Philadelphia led to the creation of the City Series. Although all members of this year's men's class played before doubleheaders at the Palestra and crosstown rivalries defined Philadelphia college basketball, they represent perhaps the most talented group to ever enter the Big 5 Hall of Fame. Beck, Arizin and Gola were all teammates on the 1956 Philadelphia Warriors NBA championship team, coached by Senesky. Mlkvy also played for the Warriors, but stopped in 1953. "Winning the world championship in 1956 is my greatest moment in basketball," Arizin said yesterday. Arizin certainly has had more than his fair share of great moments on the court. A walk-on player as a sophomore at 'Nova, he went on to earn All-America honors as a senior and to set a school record with 85 points in one game. After graduation, he led the NBA in scoring twice and was named one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all-time. He is also a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Another member of this year's Big 5 class, Gola, is also enshrined in Springfield, Mass. Gola led the Explorers to the NIT title in 1952 and the NCAA championship in 1954, and his 2,201 career rebounds are still an NCAA record. Gola is already in the Big 5 Hall of Fame as the coach of the 1969 La Salle team, which was ranked second in the nation. Emcee and legendary Big 5 radio announcer Al Meltzer listed all of Gola's honors before introducing him. "When [Meltzer] was listing all of the hall of fames, I thought he was being a bigot," Gola joked. "I'm also in the Polish-American Hall of Fame." Another member of the '56 Warriors team, Beck, was the only Quaker honored yesterday. Beck said he felt at home on the Palestra floor. "Sometimes, I think I have shot more balls at the basket in this building than anybody ever," said Beck, who still holds the Penn records for career points (1,827), season points (673) and career rebounds (1,557). He also earned first team All-America honors in 1952-53. The coach of those '56 Warriors, Senesky, was named National Player of the Year and led the nation in scoring in 1943. The only men's honoree not on the '56 Warriors was Mlkvy. Known as the "Owl Without a Vowel," Mlkvy was a first team All-American in 1950-51, averaging 29.2 points per game. The inductees will also be honored at halftime of tonight's Temple-St. Joe's game at the Palestra.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.