The Paris Olympics ended with the sparkling Eiffel Tower in the background and countless unforgettable moments.
Sometimes a key moment in sports sticks with an athlete seemingly forever — or at least 45 years, in the case of one of the most wacky basketball calls in CHS history made back in January 1979.
Below is an email received I received from Todd Roerig about an article titled “A ‘T’ on the Curtain” he recently read in The Cordova Times:
Dick,
I just read the “T on the curtain” you wrote and you made my day. I was a sophomore at Kenai and was behind the curtain — not one of guys you warned and gave the T (but know who it was). I’ve left Alaska (haven’t lived there since 1981), but visit regularly. After college I taught high school and coached basketball and football in Colorado, Oregon and the San Diego area (32 years) … I’ve told assistants and colleagues that story and just forwarded it to a couple doubters. Thank you for the proof and making me laugh about the memory.
Todd Roerig
P.S. Curious if you know what ever happened to Bill Bacon, I have tried to look him up over the years without any success. Thank you again.
The curtain Roerig refers to was a large blue velvet one which closed off the stage end of the CHS court during basketball games.
The Class 4A Kenai boys’ and girls’ varsity and junior varsity teams were here for a much-anticipated matchup with their 3A counterparts.
Further adding to the excitement was the fact that the Kenai boys were coached by Bill Bacon, who formerly was the CHS boys’ coach.
At that time the visiting boys’ team were commonly housed on the stage. It had wrestling mats on the floor to provide a much more comfortable place to sleep rather than on hard classroom floors.
The Kenai boys had made themselves comfortable there between their games.
Jerry Bendzak and I were officiating the girls’ varsity game. When Cordova was shooting free throws at the stage end of the court, the Kenai lads were moving the curtain or waving their hands or feet through the curtain to distract the Cordova free throw shooters.
Jerry and I gave them repeated warnings to knock off such unsporting behavior, all to no avail.
Since none of the boys’ coaches were available, we conferred and decided to call a “T” on the curtain.
Bacon and I knew each other well; in fact, I was his JV coach for four years here in Cordova.
When he came in the gym, his first words were “Come on guys – you can’t call a ‘T’ on the curtain!”
Jerry was an expert at “T” mechanics. He tooted his whistle loudly, made the requisite “T” signal with his hands, and reported the foul to the scorer’s table.
Bacon just stood and shook his head.
And there were no more problems behind the curtain.
Although 45 years later, at least one Kenai Cardinal still remembers call.
