Former Flyer staying at our B&B!

[MrsFlyerFanatic]

I took a reservation last week for a family of 4 who would be staying for 2 nights at our B&B in the Oregon District. Upon check-in of the tallest family I have ever met (the dad has to be around 7 ft tall, with the teenage sons not far behind, making the Mom, who still towers over little ol' 5'4 me, look tiny (Mom was probably about 6ft tall). I don't want to use the cliche, "Hey, you guys don't play basketball, do ya?"--and I don't have to. I use my, "So what brings you to Dayton?" line of inquiry.

As it turns out, "Dad," is a UD alum, and he played for our flyers back in the early 70s. He was very modest about this, and I know nothing about his contribution to the team, except that his name is Steve Lawrence and he is from Newark, OH--now living in London, England! Don't know if the boys are coming for a campus visit...

Very nice family! Gotta go and see if I need to restock the Cheerios, so

Cheerio!
Leslie G.
Inn Port B&B and Suites/ Ideal Travel

[UDBrian]

Lucky you. I know that Steve is a mathematical genius or close to it. Everything I heard about Steve is that he is a very nice guy. He was a huge crowd favorite I believe ...

[tman]

Big Steve was not the most gifted player to ever wear the red and blue. But certainly he was one of the most popular. Very tall. Very skinny.
HE looked like a seven foot buddy holly.

Whenever he was given the oportunity to get into the ball game---the UD crowd went wild.
Sounds like he's doing just fine.

[DickB 309]

Agree with Tman. Steve was a long, lanky backup center and didn't get much playing time (averaged 2.4 points in 46 games from 1970-73). He always hustled when he was in and was a crowd favorite.

I wonder what brought him back to town.

[Dirty Sanchez]

[SeasonTicketFan]

Originally Posted by MrsFlyerFanatic I took a reservation last week for a family of 4 who would be staying for 2 nights at our B&B in the Oregon District. Upon check-in of the tallest family I have ever met (the dad has to be around 7 ft tall, with the teenage sons not far behind, making the Mom, who still towers over little ol' 5'4 me, look tiny (Mom was probably about 6ft tall). I don't want to use the cliche, "Hey, you guys don't play basketball, do ya?"--and I don't have to. I use my, "So what brings you to Dayton?" line of inquiry. As it turns out, "Dad," is a UD alum, and he played for our flyers back in the early 70s. He was very modest about this, and I know nothing about his contribution to the team, except that his name is Steve Lawrence and he is from Newark, OH--now living in London, England! Don't know if the boys are coming for a campus visit... Very nice family! Gotta go and see if I need to restock the Cheerios, so Cheerio! Leslie G. Inn Port B&B and Suites/ Ideal Travel

Steve has worked for NCR for years. He would ride his bicycle to building 31 (what is now the Dayton Daily News building) when he worked in Dayton.

He was a fan favorite whenever he got in the game

[allflyernamesaregone]

I didn't want to start another thread, but last night one Brian Roberts was making his way through the Ghetto last night.

	Ghetto UD GHETTO Student neighborhood surrounding the campus of the University of Dayton. Unique to UD, the Ghetto gets its name from the nickname students gave the depression and war-period row houses the university owns and rents to Dayton students during their course of study. The landlord arrangement and compact nature of the neighborhood homes create a camaraderie among students outside of class that provides personal space away from classrooms and on-campus dorms. Parties and celebrations on Ghetto streets are legendary and have made David Letterman's Top-10 List. A significant effort has been made in recent years to curb hooliganism and renovate older homes.

[jack72]

Good to hear Steve is alive and doing well. I knew him at UD and had some classed with him, and have not seen him since '72. He was a bright guy and nice as could be. A real tribute to the type of student athlete UD has put out.

[longtimefan]

Originally Posted by Dirty Sanchez

Classic!

[MrsFlyerFanatic]

He really was super-nice. He made a visit to campus on Friday to inquire about Brian Gregory's basketball camps for next year. His wife informed me that their youngest son is 15 years old and 6'8" tall--an inch ahead of where his dad was at age 16. Sadly, raised on soccer instead of basketball...

For some people, having a movie star or a political candidate stay at their lodging establishment would be a major thrill. For me, give me two guests where one is a former-Flyer and the other a brewmaster for Hoppin' Frog brewery in Akron in the same week, and I'm star-struck for a week!

Go Flyers--drink Hoppin' Frog :-)


Leslie G.

	Brian Gregory BRIAN GREGORY UD Men's Basketball Head Coach since 2004. Groomed by the likes of Judd Heathcoate and Tom Izzo at Michigan State, as well as Kevin O'Neill and others, Gregory's defensive-minded leadership has led Dayton to NCAA and multiple NIT appearances. A good recruiter, BG has elevated the athleticism of the squad in recent years and kept top area talent at home. Still looking for that breakthrough season with his own players that catapult him to the NCAA tourney. Graduated from Oakland University.

[number21]

The Ostrich

[moville]

There are nice guys and there are nice guys. He's one of the nicest. Met him briefly in Jan of '72 after graduation when I was taking a class to get certified as a teacher. What he was doing in the class, I don't know . . . everybody liked this guy, and he's probably the same now.

Swampy can help me with this (and maybe it has been noted above and I didn't see it as I quickly read the responses) but I think Steve, after graduation, played for the Washington Generals . . . the team that traveled with the Harlem Globetrotters.

[Bill McPeek]

Steve was a long, tall, drink of water. He definitely seemed to be a real nice guy, as I remember. He was a year younger than I. I don't think, however, that he played with the Washington Generals..the team that used to play the Globetrotters.

[swish61]

I was young, but I remember being at a game, and we would have a big lead late in the game, and the fans would all start chanting for Donoher to put Steve in. See, he didn't get any playing time until the game was decided. But when he, and his black horn-rimmed glasses would get up off the bench the crown would go nuts!
Once, at a time out, he got up, went to the scorers table to check in the game, and the whole crowd just exploded. You should have seen the bewildered look of the players on the other team. It took a minute for them to realize why the fans suddenly got so loud, AT A TIMEOUT!
He was definitely a fan favorite.

	Don Donoher DON DONOHER Legendary Flyer men's basketball coach who guided Dayton to 435 victories in 25 seasons (1964-1989) including the 1967 NCAA Runner-Up. Took over the program after the passing of Tom Blackburn and earned many NCAA and NIT bids over his career, including five Sweet-16s, one Elite Eight appearance, and the 1968 NIT Championship. Groomed All-Americans Don May and Jim Paxson, along with all-time leading scorer Roosevelt Chapman. Coached UD as they joined conference affiliation for the first time (Midwest Collegiate). A graduate of UD, Donoher played for Blackburn and credits much of his coaching success to his mentor's teachings: defense, ball protection, patience, and unselfishness.

[moville]

Hey Bill, it's amazing what comes up when you google: "Washington Generals, Dayton, Steve Lawrence, Harlem Globetrotters."

I don't know where this paper's from, assume Steve's hometown paper, but here's what it says:

Advocate, The
Thursday, April 08, 1976
Newspaper Text:
IOOOCXM People here... Compiled by MEG COX The Lawrence boys are spread out all over the world, from Nigeria to Switzerland. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lawrence, 803 Garrett Pkway., are extremely proud of their three far-flung sons, Steve, Edward and John. Steve Lawrence, a University of Dayton graduate, is teaching math at Edo College in Benin City, Nigeria. In 1974, Steve played basketball with the WASHINGTON GENERALS, op- ponents of the famed HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS, A graduate of Mount Union College in Al- liance. Ohio, Edward Lawrence is play...

I knew in the back of my mind I had heard that Steve traveled with the Globetrotters' patsies . . .and I was right . . . for once.

[Swampy Meadows]

There was a small stretch of games in his (and my) senior year where Steve came in and put up 7PPG and 7RPG a game...that ain't bad for a third stringer.

[jack72]

Originally Posted by swish61 I was young, but I remember being at a game, and we would have a big lead late in the game, and the fans would all start chanting for Donoher to put Steve in. See, he didn't get any playing time until the game was decided. But when he, and his black horn-rimmed glasses would get up off the bench the crown would go nuts! Once, at a time out, he got up, went to the scorers table to check in the game, and the whole crowd just exploded. You should have seen the bewildered look of the players on the other team. It took a minute for them to realize why the fans suddenly got so loud, AT A TIMEOUT! He was definitely a fan favorite.

Glad you mentioned that because now I remember that Kodak moment. You are right the opposing team all looked up, like what the heck is going on. Priceless.

	Don Donoher DON DONOHER Legendary Flyer men's basketball coach who guided Dayton to 435 victories in 25 seasons (1964-1989) including the 1967 NCAA Runner-Up. Took over the program after the passing of Tom Blackburn and earned many NCAA and NIT bids over his career, including five Sweet-16s, one Elite Eight appearance, and the 1968 NIT Championship. Groomed All-Americans Don May and Jim Paxson, along with all-time leading scorer Roosevelt Chapman. Coached UD as they joined conference affiliation for the first time (Midwest Collegiate). A graduate of UD, Donoher played for Blackburn and credits much of his coaching success to his mentor's teachings: defense, ball protection, patience, and unselfishness.

[Bill McPeek]

Originally Posted by moville Hey Bill, it's amazing what comes up when you google: "Washington Generals, Dayton, Steve Lawrence, Harlem Globetrotters." I don't know where this paper's from, assume Steve's hometown paper, but here's what it says: Advocate, The Thursday, April 08, 1976 Newspaper Text: IOOOCXM People here... Compiled by MEG COX The Lawrence boys are spread out all over the world, from Nigeria to Switzerland. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lawrence, 803 Garrett Pkway., are extremely proud of their three far-flung sons, Steve, Edward and John. Steve Lawrence, a University of Dayton graduate, is teaching math at Edo College in Benin City, Nigeria. In 1974, Steve played basketball with the WASHINGTON GENERALS, op- ponents of the famed HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS, A graduate of Mount Union College in Al- liance. Ohio, Edward Lawrence is play... I knew in the back of my mind I had heard that Steve traveled with the Globetrotters' patsies . . .and I was right . . . for once.

Wow, my bad. Never knew he played withe Generals. I remember talking to Kenny May in August of 71 and he told me he was going to play with the Generals but I never thought or knew Steve played with them also. Thanks for the update.