Titans Basketball Radio & TV Memories
Mar 5, 2022 0:27:21 GMT -5
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Post by Rogobob77 on Mar 5, 2022 0:27:21 GMT -5
As a kid growing up on the east side of Detroit in the 1960s, I can’t say the University of Detroit was much on my sports radar. Pretty much my interest in sports back then began and ended with the Detroit Tigers baseball team. My earliest Detroit Titans related memory? I have a specific recollection of Mr. Taylor, my Farwell Junior High gym teacher, having a big talk with us 8th grade guys about how neighborhood legend (I lived near Pershing High School) Spencer Haywood had “messed up.” He was upset that U-D’s Haywood had thrown a punch at a referee the previous night at Toledo, a mistake that resulted in a two game suspension.
During my high school years at DeLaSalle (1969-73), I recall going to the Memorial Building once for a science fair and a few times for Catholic League championship playoff games, but I never had the inclination or opportunity to trek to the westside to catch the Jim Harding-era Titans in action on campus.
I did begin to develop more of an interest in college basketball circa 1971 when I started to regularly listen to U-D games that were carried on a local radio station. I also remember catching a few Titans games on television, and have a very specific recollection of being glued to the tube the Saturday afternoon of 2/26/72 (50 years ago!) when Detroit crushed #2 ranked Marquette, 70-49. I could be wrong but I think that was a nationally or regionally televised game and Hot Rod Hundley and Dick Enberg were the announcers.
In the Spring of 1973 I had acceptances at the three colleges I applied to (U-D, Wayne State, and Michigan State). To room and board at MSU was deemed too expensive; opting to stay home, a factor in deciding on U-D over WSU (besides a nice financial aid package) was that I already had a budding affinity for Titans basketball from following the team on radio and TV.
I guess the purpose of this long thread intro is to express the thought that in many respects my initial interest in Titan basketball came through radio and television exposure. The first U-D game I actually attended was not until 1973 as a college freshman (my four years of undergrad coinciding with the Dick Vitale era, my two years of grad school with Smoky Gaines’ tenure).
Over the past 49 years I have generally attended as many home games as I can, but have relied on radio, television and now streamed broadcasts to keep up with the action for road games. I have some more memories to share down the road in his thread and will also plan to dig up some factual information (e.g., radio stations and announcers by seasons) where I can find it. Hopefully others have memories and info to post relating to times when they listened to or watched special broadcasts over the years.
During my high school years at DeLaSalle (1969-73), I recall going to the Memorial Building once for a science fair and a few times for Catholic League championship playoff games, but I never had the inclination or opportunity to trek to the westside to catch the Jim Harding-era Titans in action on campus.
I did begin to develop more of an interest in college basketball circa 1971 when I started to regularly listen to U-D games that were carried on a local radio station. I also remember catching a few Titans games on television, and have a very specific recollection of being glued to the tube the Saturday afternoon of 2/26/72 (50 years ago!) when Detroit crushed #2 ranked Marquette, 70-49. I could be wrong but I think that was a nationally or regionally televised game and Hot Rod Hundley and Dick Enberg were the announcers.
In the Spring of 1973 I had acceptances at the three colleges I applied to (U-D, Wayne State, and Michigan State). To room and board at MSU was deemed too expensive; opting to stay home, a factor in deciding on U-D over WSU (besides a nice financial aid package) was that I already had a budding affinity for Titans basketball from following the team on radio and TV.
I guess the purpose of this long thread intro is to express the thought that in many respects my initial interest in Titan basketball came through radio and television exposure. The first U-D game I actually attended was not until 1973 as a college freshman (my four years of undergrad coinciding with the Dick Vitale era, my two years of grad school with Smoky Gaines’ tenure).
Over the past 49 years I have generally attended as many home games as I can, but have relied on radio, television and now streamed broadcasts to keep up with the action for road games. I have some more memories to share down the road in his thread and will also plan to dig up some factual information (e.g., radio stations and announcers by seasons) where I can find it. Hopefully others have memories and info to post relating to times when they listened to or watched special broadcasts over the years.