Those of us fortunate enough to play basketball for the Midway High School Greenwave prior to 1997 share in a distinct honor that a generation of current and future Greenwave will never enjoy. Though at the time we may have dreamt of a regulation size court, a floor that you could actually stop on rather than ski across, or a sideline that you could dive after a ball without fear of slamming into a wall or ceramic water fountain, in retrospect playing in a facility with the character of the old Midway High School gymnasium was one of the dearest memories of the high school years. This legendary arena, where young gladiators learned the mantras of “Ball, me, you” and “step, slide, step, slide” was known to several generations as “The Pit.”
To say the “Pit” was unique simply would be an injustice. The Pit was unlike any gym ever constructed. While retro stadiums seem to be the rage across the country, to reconstruct a replica of the “Pit” would be virtually impossible (and in some instances possibly illegal). With almost 50 years of modifications, renovations, squeaking sneakers, yelling coaches, irate fans and hard headed 16 year olds, the Pit saw its share of great games, memorable moments, forgettable plays and memories that will never be forgotten. While Boston had its Garden, the Midway community had a gym with just as much local flavor. What follows is a memoir of some of the aspects that are burned into our memories of the old gym………..the Pit.
The Midway High School gym was originally constructed around 1947 along with the initial construction of Midway High School The gym underwent several major renovations along the way. One end of the gym originally contained a stage which was boarded over sometime in the early ’80s. While the original person to call the gym “the pit” is debatable, the reason for the nickname was obvious. The entire first row of bleachers on either side of the facility was about was six feet above the floor. While playing you had no choice but to think that all eyes were on you. While on the bench one was likely to be subjected to falling popcorn, spilled Coca-Colas or lost childrens toys from the overhead railing. During timeouts, it was very easy for the patrons to lean over for a “look at the strategy” or to offer some friendly coaching advice.
The Bleachers: Bleachers may be a poor choice of words because when I think of “bleachers” I think aluminum….The seating arrangement for the Pit were best described as “custom” made wood benches, covered with years of dust, dirt, popcorn crumbs, spilt Coca-Colas, and lollipop sticks. No amount of mopping by “Granny” Grigsby could ever keep these bleachers clean. The home side featured stained wood with about 24 coats of Clear coat finish. The visitor’s side was painted yellow for a time and was a challenge to climb because of the height of the rows; they were higher than a typical single step and lower than a double step. This created many awkward climbs and descents and more than its share of ‘Chevy Chase on old Saturday Night Live” type falls. Many shins were bruised by these bleachers. The stair case from the gym floor to the bleachers was another challenge, especially if you were wider than about 10 inches because that was about the width of the stair case. Most everyone had to turn sideways and go up the steps. Pity to the “above average size” person to try to negotiate the stairs in front of the Midway student section.
The Floor: The floor was actually one of the slickest surfaces in the world. It was rumored that the 1982 US Hockey Team actually practiced there one summer and that the old floor was a testing ground for the no stick surface later known as Teflon. The floor was not your typical basketball hardwood floor. It was some sort of rubberized-coated/concrete combination type of flooring. The floor was a nasty (think the color of dried mustard) yellow color with a green baseline and dead spots galore. Not the most attractive or efficient floor but it was ours! The floor was actually not even regulation size. This became an issue in the mid 1980s when it is rumored that Coaches Mike Hayes and Darrel Ruffner actually “stretched” the court a bit to allow the Greenwave to host a sub-state playoff game. Regulation courts are 94 feet long, the Pit floor was rumored to be closer to 84 feet. Also the lack of size of the court became apparent in the late 1980’s with the advent of the 3 point line. The 19 feet 9 inch from the basket three point line at the head of the circle almost touched the outer edge of the jump circle at mid court. If you wore about a size 13 shoe or larger you could not shoot a 3-pointer from the corner, there simply wasn’t enough room to put your feet behind the line and stay in bounds. You either had to stand on your tip toes to shoot from long range corner or step inside the line for the 2. Also for many years there was potentially the greatest and most dangerous obstacle ever on a basketball court in the south-west corner…….a four spigot ceramic water fountain. Yes, a large water fountain was along the sidelines! It was great! At any time during the game you could just take a step over and get a drink and largely not miss a play. Of course the danger of going for a lose ball and catching the fountain waist high was always present and this corner was many times damp, due to one of the dispensers being improperly adjusted. The most interesting obstacle could have been the wall along the visitor’s side. About 10 inches away from the out-of-bounds line is where you would find the wall. This pinewood panel wall made it feel as if you were playing basketball in a hockey ring, a very small hockey ring. Great joy could come from “checking” a Webb player into the wall.
The Ceiling: The ceiling was pretty low for a basketball gym. The exact height is unknown, but if you sling one from the other end of the court as the final seconds roll off the clock before half time……..look out lights!!!! Unless you could throw one in without any arc on the ball, odds are you would nearly take out one of low hanging halogen lights. These lights endured years of punishment and though the crowd would gasp for air anticipating one to crash to the floor after being rocked by a basketball, the lights to our knowledge never fell. Also length of the floor, beat the press baseball passes ran this risk. A smart coach always took this into his game plan considerations. Anyone taller than 5’6” most likely could not stand straight up on the top row bleachers on either the home or visitors side. The ceiling was right overhead on the top row, allowing just enough room for one person to remain seated. If the game got really exciting and you jumped out of your seat, well watch your head. This was also a very popular spot to leave your signature on the ceiling or perhaps tell all who come after you your true love at the time.
The Windows: With a packed house there to watch a classic Coach Woody or Hayes led Lady Waves team in January, the temperature would rise greatly inside the Pit and the best way to expel some of the heat was to open (or attempt to open) the windows along the top row of bleachers as discussed above. If you could scrap off enough of the old paint, you could push open these approximately 4 foot wide large windows and help cool the gym off quickly. Of course those unfortunate enough to be setting right next to the window would nearly catch pneumonia. One of the most unique windows in the gym did not even lead to the outside, it was the window in the men’s bathroom that looked high over the gym. You could take care of business in the mens room and still know what was going on in the game.
The Boiler: Keep in mind the age of the school. The school used a coal boiler for many years to heat the school and gym and though it may take several hours to get started, it would eventually provide enough heat. That is until the boiler would become stopped up and the smoke from the boiler room would pour into the gym (the boiler was just next door to the gym). It would happen at least once a year during a game. The gym would become filled with black smoke and the smell of burning coal, leaving the fans and players with burning eyes, dark lungs, and poor visibility. You know the fans of Webb, CAK, and Knox Catholic just hated to come to visit the Pit in the heavy winter.
The Cameraman Perch:
Possibly the most dangerous part of the Pit was not the water fountain or even on the floor level at all, the most dangerous part of the Pit was the perch from which the school video cameraman would sit.
As we recall, the perch was actually a four by four sheet of plywood attached to the top of the side goals/backboard support in the old gym, which provided an excellent “eye in the sky” view for the video tape recorder (beta or VHS anyone?). If one figures the rim was 10 feet tall, the top of the backboard an extra 4 feet up and the chair that set on top of the plywood an additional 3 feet, then the cameraman’s head was a good 17-20 feet above the gym floor. A bit concerning when you think about it a moment. However, the height above the floor was not the only issue with the camera podium. A bigger challenge was obtaining access to the platform.
The cameraman would get to the perch by first climbing onto the sink just below the mens room window (see Tales from the Pit, window section), the second step was to scurry up into the open window itself (remember how large these windows were, they seemed about 3-4 feet wide) and third was to complete the most dangerous maneuver of all, which was to carefully crawl, crab walk or shuffle/stoop over to the platform. Once death was firmly defied and the cameraman in place, an assistant would then hand the tripod and camera out the window to the platform (no small feat itself, remember the size of cameras back then??).
Several questions come to mind when reviewing this situation and we are reaching out to the readers of SORSN.com for some feedback.
First, what was the purpose of the side goals anyway? As we recall, the only use they ever saw was for the occasional warm-up free throws for the third string.
Second, and most obvious, where in the world did the idea for the cameraman to sit on top of the backboard (and almost at the ceiling level of the gym) originate? While the obvious answer is it is a great vantage point for film and the old gym didn’t have many “good viewing angles”, honestly, folks lets think about it for a moment. The top of the goalpost for football games would also be a great camera angle, but we do not recall anyone scurrying up there on Friday nights.
Third, why in the world didn’t we come up with a ladder or a more permanent platform for the cameraman? The image of the lonely cameraman hanging out the bathroom window to gain access to the top of the backboard to film a late January battle with Vonore or TMI is one that still causes us to shudder. Lastly, who were these cameramen (we assume all men, because you first had to go through the mens room)? If anyone actually filmed, have a story or recall who these brave souls were, please contact SORSN.com we would like to speak with them.
Christmas Break/Summer Practices: Those who played for the Greenwave will never forget those early morning practices during the Christmas break. The gym would be frigidly cold since school was out of session and the boiler was not burning. Setting fire in a barrel was generally not allowed, but always discussed. Typically for practice you would go to the locker room, change out of your clothes, put on your practice uniform and hit the floor. Not during Christmas break. You would enter “The Pit” in what you walked out of the house in….toboggan, gloves, scarf, sweat pants and hooded sweat shirt with possibly thermal underwear underneath. Many a Greenwave player asked for long johns or sweat pants for Christmas in anticipation of “after Christmas practices”. Your lungs would hurt so bad when you tried to breathe the cold gym air that you would swear the chest pains were a sign of an oncoming heart attack. Players watched each other closely for signs of hypothermia. Trying to catch, pass, or shoot the ball was dang near impossible with fingers so cold you could hardly bend.
Also the gyms air conditioning was provided by a couple of gigantic ceiling fans that never worked, the aforementioned windows and a set of double swinging doors just beyond the on floors water fountain. Let’s just say that airflow through the building was not great. Also there was a small area between the double doors and the outside of the building. This area was legendary for housing smokers during school hours and the nicotine (or worse) smell from this area was sometimes overwhelming.
The Pit was torn down following the 1996 season and it wasn’t until then when many of us realized how special of a place it was to play. What you have just read are some of our memories of playing in the Pit and now we ask that you share some of your memories as we compile Tales from the Pit.
Possible story ideas that we did not cover: The small hole at the bottom of the scorers table, the rebound machine, locker rooms.
Story by Michael Rose and Shawn Queener