In his outstanding memoir, “The Tender Bar,” J.R. Moehringer wrote, “For a boy to become a man, he must first see a man.”
Chris Logan was one of the good guys from back in the day. He was from St. Saviour but that’s okay. 3rd street, between 7th and 8th avenues. Chris, better known as “Tiffer” was an outstanding basketball player. He started at Bishop Ford High School where he was all-city in 1979. The 6’8″ big man than went on to play at Holy Cross College where he played from 1979-83. His senior year he played 35 minutes per game, averaged 15.3 PPG and 8.1 RPG. Chris was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 5th round of the 1983 draft.
One day I was playing pick-up ball down at East 5th Street. All the ballplayers were there. Chris, Turk, myself, Jack, Randy, Billy, Danny Leary, Tommy Sina and many others. After we played, I asked Chris for a ride up the hill to the neighborhood. He agreed and I was relieved. It was one of only a few times I didn’t have my mountain bike. My legs were shot after running all day. On our way back Chris stopped at Ford. I was about to be taught a lesson. But I was so stupid, I didn’t realize it at the time.
We parked in front of the gym on 9th avenue and went in the gym. It was time for Chris to lift. He hit the weight room and than got up a few shots while I rebounded and passed back to him.
It was a lesson in hard work and doing extra, because that’s what the real ballplayers do.
Chris has a son Sean who plays at Davidson. He’s a sophomore and leads the team in blocked shots. The Wildcats are 11-6 and Sean has appeared in all 17 games. They beat Fordham Wednesday night in the Bronx. Sean played 26 minutes and blocked 3 shots.
Hope all is well…
-Red
SteveFinamore@yahoo.com