This past Sunday, at the Hilton Gardens Hotel in Troy, was the induction ceremony for the Capital District Basketball Hall of Fame.
Two Saratogians are members of the class of 2014, which inducted 16 new members. There was a large crowd, including many well-known former players, coaches, referees and sports writers of the Albany area.
The event was lengthy, but very well done, particularly under the direction of Saratoga native Rene Leroux, who kept the program moving along.
There was personal pride for me, during this event, because one of my former high school basketball stars was inducted as a member of the Hall of Fame.
Robert “Buddy” Clarke played on one of the best basketball teams in the history of Saratoga Springs High School—the only unbeaten team in the school's history (regular season), in 1977-78. That team lost, in the finals of the Section II Class AA championship to the eventual 1978 class AA state champions, Niskayuna High School, 63- 62.
Buddy was a junior in 1978, and in 1979, his senior year, he was considered one of the top players in the area (Channel 13 All-Star). He averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds a game.
Oddly enough there weren't many schools with scholarship offers chasing Buddy. He stood 6-foot-1 and I played him as a small forward because of his exceptional jumping ability. I felt he could serve the team best at that position, while also realizing that colleges might say he was too small to play at that level as a forward.
So, I decided to write letters, mainly to D-II colleges. Of course this was all before computers became part of our lives, so there were no email addresses. One of the schools that responded to my letters was Springfield College, in Springfield Massachusetts. To make a long story short, Buddy went to Springfield College, which was a Division II school, at the time.
Buddy had an outstanding career at Springfield: He scored 1,760 points (second best in the school's history) in his junior year (1982). He was also named to the D-II All-American team. He had many other honors while playing for Springfield: three years All-League, player of the year, All-New England and more.
Last Sunday, when Buddy spoke, he made the point to mention his high school teammates and how, in 1978, all five starters averaged double figures. He also expressed his gratitude to his coaches, throughout his career, including yours truly.
Buddy was with his wife, Amy, along with the support of his siblings: sisters, Donnie and Karen; and brother, Bruce. He fondly mentioned the influence of his late mother, Barbara, and late maternal grandmother, Gladys. Buddy was very gracious in his talk and expressed the honor he felt for being selected by the Upstate New York Basketball Hall of Fame.
The other local recipient was Bill Stanley, a retired Saratoga Springs High School health teacher, basketball coach and tennis coach, who later became a well-known basketball official.
Mr. Stanley has quite the athletic background. Bill, originally from Amsterdam, played his high school basketball at the now defunct St. Mary's Institute of Amsterdam.
Back then, St. Mary's played in the, also defunct Diocesan League, which consisted of much larger schools than SMI. In his senior year, at St. Mary’s, the school moved into the Parochial League with schools that were comparable in size.
A league where Stanley dominated the game!
Bill received a basketball scholarship to LeMoyne College in Syracuse, where he starred in basketball and baseball. He is a member of the LeMoyne Hall of Fame. He also played for a while with a local pro team, the Schaefer Brewers, but later opted out of the semi-pro game when he began coaching and teaching. Before coming to Saratoga, Coach Stanley had a brief coaching stint as the Siena College freshman men's basketball coach. At last Sunday's ceremony, Bill Stanley was accompanied, and supported, by his wife, Patricia.
A short story: when I first came to Saratoga, in the fall of 1972, I had the opportunity to coach the boys' JV basketball team. Bill Stanley was the varsity coach at that time. I got to know him pretty well. I think very highly of him as an icon in the local sports community, especially with basketball. An outstanding basketball official for 30 years, Bill was quite animated in his calling of the game, and because of his delivery, he made the game exciting. I played some basketball against Bill and was a difficult challenge for anyone who had to guard him. He was strong and powerful around the basket, and could shoot well from the outside.
This community should be proud of these two men. They represent the Saratoga community athletic tradition with class and dignity. Both are deserving of their honor as inductees to the Upstate New York Basketball Hall of Fame. My congratulations to Bill and Buddy. It is an honor for me to have been associated with the both of them.
