Post by Commissioner on Jul 1, 2024 14:30:11 GMT -5
The first Titan player to reach 7' in height was a fellow named Pete "The Crain" Corbett, who played on the 1959 and 1960 varsity teams.
Corbett, from the Syracuse, NY suburb of Solvay, played his high school ball at private schools in the East. He averaged 23 points as a sophomore and 31 as a junior at Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, and then 18.5 points at the Dean Academy in Franklin, Massachusetts.
At the time he joined the Titans, Corbett was the tallest college basketball player in the state of Michigan's history. His tall, remarkably thin physique--his weight was reported at just 180 pounds--gave him his nickname "The Crain." To truly appreciate Corbett's height, remember that this was in an era when top college teams still played 6-6 centers, 6-3 forwards, and 5-9 guards with regularity. The Titans' center at the time was 6-6 Don Haase, and Haase was one of the top 30 rebounders in the country.
Freshmen were ineligible for varsity play back then, and Corbett played on the Titan freshman squad. Playing a mix of military bases, junior colleges, and other frosh teams, the squad went 7-5, with Corbett as the #2 scorer on the team. Can't find full stats, but he appears to have scored between 100 and 139 points, thus averaging somewhere between 8.3 and 11.6 points per game.
Corbett's height naturally made him a center of attention, and his varsity debut in the fall of 1958 was much anticipated. His sophomore season started well. In the 1958-59 season opener, a 77-50 win over Assumption, Corbett scored 11 points and gathered in 11 rebounds in 18 minutes of play. But he was unable to establish regular playing time. I can't find many box scores, and the only games I can be sure he played in, besides Assumption, were against Michigan State and Bradley. But Corbett appeared in 9 of the team's first 13 games, averaging 3 points and 3.3 rebounds. By season's end, Corbett had played in 17 of 25 games, averaging 2.6 points and 3.8 rebounds. For a big guy playing close to the basket, Corbett shot quite poorly, making just 17 of 48 field goal attempts for a .354 shooting percentage. The Titans finished 11-14.
It's possible that on some lesser teams, Corbett might have had another year to develop, but the 1960-61 Titans aimed to be one of the top teams in the country, and added top front court talent in sophomore forwards Dave DeBusschere and Charlie North. There was no chance to give Corbett playing time as the Titans fought for national prominence. He played in just 5 of the team's first 13 games, and just two more after that. His final stats for 7 games played had him averaging 0.7 points and 1.4 rebounds. For the season, he took just three shots from the floor (making two), and was 1-3 from the foul line. But he remained a fan favorite--in blowout games the crowd often chanted "we want Corbett," especially if the big guy began to take off his sweats on the sideline.
Having played so little in the 1959-60 season, and having completed his work in pre-dentistry, Corbett decided to forego his senior year at UD and returned to the east coast, enrolling in the Georgetown School of Dentristy.
In December 1960, Corbett came down with a pancreas infection. He was hospitalized for 3 or 4 days (news accounts differ) at St. Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse, and died on New Year's eve, December 31, 1960, at the age of 21. Corbett wore #44 for the Titans.
Pete Corbett goes for two in a 77-63 loss to #9 ranked Bradley, January 1959.
Corbett, from the Syracuse, NY suburb of Solvay, played his high school ball at private schools in the East. He averaged 23 points as a sophomore and 31 as a junior at Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, and then 18.5 points at the Dean Academy in Franklin, Massachusetts.
At the time he joined the Titans, Corbett was the tallest college basketball player in the state of Michigan's history. His tall, remarkably thin physique--his weight was reported at just 180 pounds--gave him his nickname "The Crain." To truly appreciate Corbett's height, remember that this was in an era when top college teams still played 6-6 centers, 6-3 forwards, and 5-9 guards with regularity. The Titans' center at the time was 6-6 Don Haase, and Haase was one of the top 30 rebounders in the country.
Freshmen were ineligible for varsity play back then, and Corbett played on the Titan freshman squad. Playing a mix of military bases, junior colleges, and other frosh teams, the squad went 7-5, with Corbett as the #2 scorer on the team. Can't find full stats, but he appears to have scored between 100 and 139 points, thus averaging somewhere between 8.3 and 11.6 points per game.
Corbett's height naturally made him a center of attention, and his varsity debut in the fall of 1958 was much anticipated. His sophomore season started well. In the 1958-59 season opener, a 77-50 win over Assumption, Corbett scored 11 points and gathered in 11 rebounds in 18 minutes of play. But he was unable to establish regular playing time. I can't find many box scores, and the only games I can be sure he played in, besides Assumption, were against Michigan State and Bradley. But Corbett appeared in 9 of the team's first 13 games, averaging 3 points and 3.3 rebounds. By season's end, Corbett had played in 17 of 25 games, averaging 2.6 points and 3.8 rebounds. For a big guy playing close to the basket, Corbett shot quite poorly, making just 17 of 48 field goal attempts for a .354 shooting percentage. The Titans finished 11-14.
It's possible that on some lesser teams, Corbett might have had another year to develop, but the 1960-61 Titans aimed to be one of the top teams in the country, and added top front court talent in sophomore forwards Dave DeBusschere and Charlie North. There was no chance to give Corbett playing time as the Titans fought for national prominence. He played in just 5 of the team's first 13 games, and just two more after that. His final stats for 7 games played had him averaging 0.7 points and 1.4 rebounds. For the season, he took just three shots from the floor (making two), and was 1-3 from the foul line. But he remained a fan favorite--in blowout games the crowd often chanted "we want Corbett," especially if the big guy began to take off his sweats on the sideline.
Having played so little in the 1959-60 season, and having completed his work in pre-dentistry, Corbett decided to forego his senior year at UD and returned to the east coast, enrolling in the Georgetown School of Dentristy.
In December 1960, Corbett came down with a pancreas infection. He was hospitalized for 3 or 4 days (news accounts differ) at St. Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse, and died on New Year's eve, December 31, 1960, at the age of 21. Corbett wore #44 for the Titans.
Pete Corbett goes for two in a 77-63 loss to #9 ranked Bradley, January 1959.