Games We Will Remember: The Garden and the Editorial
Did you know that Conval once played a regular season game at Boston Garden?
On December 3, 1976, the Cougars opened their season by taking on Exeter High in the old Garden (pre-TD Bank Garden) on Causeway Street. The game was arranged months in advance through the efforts of the Exeter athletic department.
Three busloads of spectators plus numerous cars traveled to the game, which was a prelim to the Celtics game that night against the Chicago Bulls. Coach Ray Richard noted afterwards, “We could hardly tell they were there because the Garden is so big.”
It was an exciting experience for all, but Coach Richard said afterwards he was glad the Cougars didn’t play there every game—it was difficult to communicate with players in such a cavernous facility, the perception of the basket in a large building affected outside shooting, and then there was the infamous irregular bounces produced by the ancient parquet floor.
But the Garden party proved to be more than a memorable game. It was a galvanizing moment for Conval Nation.
Controversy arose following an editorial in the Peterborough Transcript a week before the game. The Garden game and the opening night of the high school musical, “Sound of Music,” both fell on that Friday night, and the editors thought it made for an unnecessarily tough choice for students.
The editorial, which claimed “the faculty members in charge of the production [Sound of Music] have steadfastly refused to change the date in order to avoid the conflict,” resulted in a firestorm of letters of rebuttal to the editor, including one by cheerleaders and family members of the players who were involved in the musical. However, a letter by faculty member Bev Tenney, who was advisor to the Junior Classical League at the time, put a positive spin on the situation. The last paragraph of her letter especially are words that have rung true down through the years of Conval Nation when it comes to supporting both athletics and the arts:
“Thanks for your recent editorial concerning the game vs. the play. The cast of The Sound of Music played to full houses on both Friday and Saturday nights and the Conval chapter of JCL (Junior Classical League) reaped financial benefits from selling refreshments. In fact, we made enough money to cover our yearly award to a graduating Conval senior.
“The enthusiastic support of the Conval community for ALL school activities during the past weekend was greatly appreciated.”—Bev Tenney
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