Thoughts of Badger

While doing the preview for the annual Marseco Memorial Tournament two weeks ago, I sat back and thought to myself, ‘Wow. I can’t believe this tournament is going to be 10 years old.’

Even harder to believe is the fact that Badger has been gone for 15 years.

Anthony “Tony” Marseco – “Badger” to us in Old Forge, and “Coach Tony” to those on the West Side at Wyoming Area – died a senseless death in a motorcycle accident during the spring of 1995.

I say senseless because Badger had his whole life ahead of him. He was 20 years old. He was coaching freshman basketball at Wyoming Area while pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Wilkes University, and he was one of the nicest young men you could ever meet.

Badger was a close friend of my brother Rob. He was his classmate in the Old Forge Class of 1992, and also at Wilkes. He was his teammate on the District 2 Class 1A champion Blue Devils basketball team. Badger was also a starting first and second baseman on the PIAA Class 2A champion Blue Devils baseball team.

But he wasn’t your typical winner. He wasn’t overly talented and wasn’t necessarily physically gifted.

Badger worked for everything he won. He earned every minute of playing time, every point he ever scored, every hit he ever smacked to the outfield gaps, and every rebound he ever grabbed over a bigger stronger opponent.

There are two memories of Badger from his junior season in high school that stick out the most for me that represent that very description of him.

First there is the one of an injured Badger off to the side during fall workouts not sitting, but shooting one-handed. His other arm or maybe even shoulder and been injured, but instead of just sitting and watching practice, Badger was working on his shooting form.

The funny thing is that Badger wasn’t known for his shooting prowess. But there he was – with one arm – working on that shooting form. First from a few feet away. Then from about 10 feet away. Then from the foul line. Badger was always working to make himself better. I can picture it in my mind like it was yesterday.

Then there is my memory of Badger lying on the gym floor at Wyoming Area at the end of his junior year with a towel on his face trying to prevent his nose from bleeding. He had just been struck by the elbow of a Bishop Hafey player during a D2 playoff game. Badger - all 150 pounds of him – decided he was going to mix it up inside with the big boys. He lost that battle with a broken nose. But it was one of the few battles he lost throughout his athletic career.

Badger was your typical Old Forge basketball player – undersized for a post player physically, but played with the heart of a lion. He was fearless.

Badger also wasn’t your typical winner in the sense that he never bragged about anything. He wasn’t the chest-pounding, me-me-me guy that we have become accustomed to seeing in the gyms and ballfields from youth leagues to the professional ranks of today.

I coached against him once. And I sometimes think he was almost embarrassed that his Warriors won, even though I know that tough competitor deep down inside of him loved every minute of it.

Sneaking a peak at him every now and then during the game, I watched how he handled his team and his players. He didn’t coach with that Old Forge hot-blooded, passionate style that I coached with, and that many Blue Devil coaches coach with.

He was laid back. Quiet even. He found ways to get things across to his players without that in-your-face intensity that doesn’t always work with every player.

I share these stories with you today because in essence, this is what the Badger Tournament is all about.

It’s about fearlessness. It’s about working hard. It’s about competing with class.

After 10 years of some fierce battles between Old Forge, Wyoming Area, Pittston Area, and Seton Catholic, the reason this tournament was started may have faded from the minds of the young men and women that play in it.

The Badger Game between Wyoming Area and Old Forge, and the Anthony “Badger” Marseco Memorial Boys and Girls’ Tip-Off Tournament were conceived 15 and 10 years ago respectively to honor our friend, teammate, classmate and coach.

For those of us who knew Badger, it was a way to make sure he was never forgotten and a way to introduce him to the youth of the Old Forge and Greater Pittston communities that never got a chance to know him.

And though the athletes that participate in this year’s tournament never had a chance to know Badger personally, they absolutely deserve to know of him.

There are no MVPs or All-Tournament teams at the Marseco Memorial because Badger wasn’t that type of player. It wasn’t about individual awards or accomplishments.