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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The scene at Thursday night&#8217;s boys basketball game between Holy Redeemer and Wyoming Seminary brought back a lot of memories.</p><p>It seems like decades ago when local high school basketball games were filled with tradition, rivalry and capacity crowds jammed into rather tiny gymnasiums.</p><p>It seems like decades ago because, well, it was decades ago.</p><p>Back in the days of rivalries like Nanticoke versus Plymouth. Yeah, those were some games back then. Plymouth played home games in the Gaylord Armory &#8212; a comfortable building with bleachers on both sides of the court and a horseshoe-like balcony.</p><p>Nanticoke played in what can affectionately be called a bandbox of a gym. I mean there were support columns in the corners of the playing floor that were, yes, in bounds. If the ball hit one of the columns, it was not out of bounds. I kid you not.</p><p>And there were other similar gyms that gave the home teams a decided advantage, like knowing where the weak floorboards were that would alter the bounce on a dribble. Just name the school and the gym had its particular traits, shall we say. Whether it be GAR, Kingston, Newport, Ashley, Wilkes-Barre Township, West Pittston, Forty Fort, Swoyersville &#8212; and all those Catholic League schools.</p><p>And it was always fun. When preparing to play a particular school, part of those preparations was a review of the venue &#8212; the gym. We had to know what to expect when we went on the road.</p><p>A lot of those memories came rushing back Thursday night. The Sem gymnasium is a bit larger than the ones back in the 1960s, but it took on the same appearance because of the jam-packed crowd. The Holy Redeemer students took up a whole section to root for their Royals and the Sem kids did the same. The difference was that the Redeemer kids were tucked into a corner at one end of the gym, while the Blue Knight students were at center court.</p><p>And the players played hard. It was a competitive game with Sem edging Redeemer by two points. And there were familiar names in the game &#8212; Koretz, Callahan, Phillips, Prociak, Piontkowski, Andrejko &#8212; to name a few that have been around for a few generations.</p><p>It was good to see this scene again. It gave me a good feeling to be able to walk into a game in 2019 and feel the same vibes of 50 years ago.</p><p>Which gets me to a lunch I will be attending today (Sunday) in Plymouth. I&#8217;ve been invited to break bread with a few former St. Vincent&#8217;s Vinnies to talk about those halcyon days of old. These guys were a part of the Vinnies basketball and baseball teams of Joseph &#8220;Red&#8221; Jones and Alex &#8220;Reppy&#8221; Junevitz and winning conference championships was always expected &#8212; and usually accomplished.</p><p>Every year of my youth, the Plymouth Shawnee Indians and the St. Vincent&#8217;s Vinnies were always the talk of the town in Old Shawnee. And not without debate. You would often stumble upon a good-spirited, yet lively debate about who was better. The question could never be settled on the court or diamond because the two schools competed in different conferences &#8212; Plymouth in the Wyoming Valley League and St. Vincent&#8217;s in the Catholic League.</p><p>I&#8217;m sure either school could defeat the other. The players often did compete on the courts of Plymouth&#8217;s playgrounds or in Doc Savage&#8217;s backyard. And the games were always competitive and both sides could claim victory, but I can&#8217;t verify that.</p><p>There are stories that still circulate that the two schools did meet in scrimmages and each side will tell you they won, and I&#8217;m sure they did. The Vinnies&#8217; guys will be sure to tell me that they beat Plymouth, probably more than once. I&#8217;ll claim they are way off.</p><p>We will try to convince each other who is right. There will be compelling arguments and lots of &#8220;facts&#8221; presented.</p><p>I really don&#8217;t expect an agreement.</p><p>I do expect a good lunch at Raub&#8217;s Restaurant and a lot of laughing.</p><p>And just like that moment when I walked into the gymnasium at Wyoming Seminary, all those good memories will come back to me.</p><p>Memories of the Red &amp; Black and the Blue &amp; White and of when our hometown would come alive and fill our home courts with fans.</p><p>Every town was part of those glory days.</p><p>It&#8217;s good to know they are still around.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Bill O&#8217;Boyle </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_Columnshot-6-.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bill O&#8217;Boyle </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle, or email at boboyle@www.timesleader.com.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Beyond the Byline: Glory days alive and well