Bill O’Boyle

Bill O’Boyle

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<p>This was the watch given to every player, coach and team manager of the 1966 Plymouth High School District 2 championship team.</p>

This was the watch given to every player, coach and team manager of the 1966 Plymouth High School District 2 championship team.

Some might say that for winning the league and district championship back in 1966, all we got was a lousy watch.

Not me. Not any members of the team, the coaches or team managers.

That watch meant everything to all of us. We were so proud to receive those watches and an accompanying jacket that we couldn’t wait to show them off to our parents, families and friends.

In 1966, the year of Plymouth’s centennial celebration, we were the toast of the town.

Now, some 55 years later, we still hold those very special memories of a season in the sun, even though it was cut short by an incorrect decision made on the floor.

It was a high school basketball playoff game at the Scranton CYC in 1966. My school, Plymouth, won the District 2 title and we were playing District 4 champ Williamsport. It was close, but we were leading the game by three points with seconds remaining.

Or so we thought. We lost the game on a fluke technicality.

Williamsport went to the state playoffs, only to lose their next game.

A week later the inter-district result that let Williamsport advance was reversed and Plymouth was given the playoff victory. But it was too late — the state tournament was over.

I was a sophomore on that team. Our coach was Joe Evan. I had seen Coach Evan get mad before, but never as mad as that night. Even legendary Plymouth coach John “Snoggy” Mergo was irate — he threw his sport coat onto the floor.

To borrow a phrase from Brooklyn Dodger fans: “We wuz robbed.”

Here’s what happened:

We were leading by three points when Kenny Savage drove to the bucket and was fouled in the act of shooting. He was to go to the foul line for two shots that could have iced the game. Remember, these were the days before the three-point shot.

Anyway, before Savage could take his two foul shots, our point guard, Jack Shaw, was buzzed in by the scoring table ref to re-enter the game, but the on-court referees did not wave him in — a technical foul was called.

The refs took Williamsport down to the other end of the court and Jerry Janeski sank two free throws, leaving us ahead by one point. Williamsport was given the ball out of bounds and Janeski passed in to 6-foot-8 center Greg Spotts who sank a shot at the buzzer.

Williamsport wins, right?

Except Kenny Savage never got to shoot his two free throws, which he was awarded prior to the technical foul being called.

Yes, we were right — but in reality, we were wronged.

So, for being crowned District 2 champs, we were honored and each player, manager and coach was given a beautiful jacket — red with black leather sleeves and a patch on the left breast that proudly displayed our district title — and a beautiful Longines watch. A photo of that watch was sent to me courtesy of Coach Evan’s widow, Joan.

Most of the guys I know say they don’t know what happened to their watch. Mine was taken away by the June 1972 Agnes Flood.

A few years ago, Mrs. Evan honored me by giving me Coach Evans’ jacket. It will be treasured by me forever.

But the watch is a different story. Even though we don’t have our watches to recall that season, we will forever have the memories of that year and what it meant to each of us and the town.

A jacket and a watch were cherished symbols of our accomplishment.

The memories will never fade.

Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle, or email at [email protected].