The Cougar Classic, Then and Now

The origin of the annual Parents’ Association event is the stuff of urban legend.
    
Old timers reflect back to games in the ‘60’s when (headmaster) Mac Pitt, (athletic director) Petey Jacobs, and (life trustee) Dick Wiltshire, Collegiate icons and former college and semi-pro standouts, donned the green and gold and joined the faculty in intensely-contested, sometimes raggedly-played games against outside teams.

In the ‘70’s, several local radio stations fielded teams of employees and -- let's not mince words -- ringers and challenged the coaching staffs at local high schools.  We were always happy to oblige.

Wilbur Athey, our manager of set-ups and special events who has played in every Cougar Classic, remembers one day in the early ‘80’s when the physical plant staff played lunchtime games amongst themselves in the Lower School gym.

He recalls that David Corrigan, then a teacher and coach and now a Richmond attorney, was walking through the gym, stopped, and commented (half jokingly), ‘You guys think you know how to play ball?’”
Athey replied, “Yeah, we do.”  
Corrigan responded with “We can beat you any day.” 
“Who is we?” Athey asked. 
“The faculty,” Corrigan answered.

In due time, the friendly bantering between colleagues became a reality, and the game was staged in the Jacobs Gym during an activities period. The outcome depends on whom you ask, but Athey has one vivid recollection that stands out to this day.

“I remember a shot that Charlie McFall took,” he said.  “He threw up an over-his-head, backwards shot from the corner.  It kissed off the glass and went in.  It would have been a 3-pointer, but 3-pointers weren’t in effect then. He ran to the bench, sat down, and never played in a Cougar Classic again.”

Over the years, the play became more aggressive, and that's putting it mildly.

On one team were the physical plant guys plus (headmaster) Rob Hershey (vice-president, development) Alex Smith, and (trustee) Bobby Ukrop, a standout at Richmond in the ‘60’s who had lost none of his quickness or spunk. 

On the other were the rest of us, some who had grown up with basketball and even coached the sport and others who didn’t know whether the ball was blown up or stuffed.

Athey, a guard and deft ball handler/shooter/defender, and Glen Dandridge, at 6-6 an imposing figure in the paint, were stalwarts for the physical plant team.

Brian Justice, Michael Brost, and Trip Featherston (Collegiate stars in the mid-to-late ‘80’s and long time coaches and teachers) and Bill Chambers and Mark Newlen (former college players and varsity basketball coaches) were mainstays of the faculty squad.

Occasionally, folks with only a tangential connection to faculty and staff happened by on game night and, of course, suited up, usually opposite the faculty. Most notable were former UVA All-American and NBA veteran Ralph Sampson, all 7-4 of him, and Calvin Duncan, who starred at VCU and later played pro ball. To say the least, their presence created an imbalance of talent.

Adding to the atmosphere, in the old days real Virginia High School League-certified referees did the officiating, and Ben Hamlin, the sports director for Channel 12, served as announcer.

Somewhere along the way, the decision was made out of necessity and self-preservation to change the format and, consequently, the tenor of the game. Perhaps it was because the action had become too wild and wooly. Perhaps it was because of the perception that the clock keeper was –heaven, forbid – manipulating the scoreboard. Perhaps it was the result of one of the combatants getting T-ed up for excessive verbiage directed toward the striped shirts.

Nobody recalls for sure, but now the kinder, gentler game, coached and reffed by students, is the climax of an evening that includes food and games of knockout for the kids.

Not that there haven’t been memorable moments. There was Chambers taking charges well past the age that he should even have been playing. There was Shep Lewis's dive for a loose ball that gave him a strawberry on his hip that took forever to heal. And there was Kevin Coffey’s rattle-the-rafters tomahawk jam last year off an alley-oop pass from Andrew Hickman.

The guys (and girls) – divided into evenly-matched teams – tee it up Monday night in another revival of a Collegiate institution. It’ll be great family entertainment and great fun. Hopefully, no one – young whippersnapper or old-timer – will get hurt.
                         -- Weldon Bradshaw