50th Anniversary of Crimson Eagles' FCIAC Eastern Division Boys Basketball Championship

Coach J. Donald Feeley's Andrew Warde High School boys' basketball team defeated Norwalk, 64-60, to win the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference Eastern Division championship 50 years ago this evening.

Rusty Helgren scored 23 points and Bruce Bernhard added 21 for the winners. Marty Melson grabbed 19 rebounds for the Eagles. Future NBA all-star Calvin Murphy tallied 33 points for the Green Wave.

Bernhard canned 10 points in the first quarter as he riddled the Norwalk zone defense with jumpers from the corner to help his team take a 21-10 advantage. The Crimson Eagles led at the half, 35-24, and after three quarters, 51-42, before withstanding the potented closing rush of the Green Wave.

Murphy tallied 10 points, dished off for a pair of easy baskets, stole the ball twice, and forced two jump balls in the final quarter before fouling out with 22 seconds remaining in a scramble for a rebound with Melson.

While Helgren and Bernhard spearheaded the Warde offensive attack, Melson's performance was the key to the coveted triumph as he tallied 10 points and pulled down a game-high 19 rebounds.

Murphy hit on 14 of 29 field goal attempts and five straight foul shots. His teammates clicked on 13 of 30 shots from the floor for a team shooting average of 46 percent.

Warde converted 27 of 60 shots from the field for a solid 45 percent and made 10 of 18 foul shots. Despite Melson's domination of the boards, Norwalk enjoyed a 37-35 rebounding advantage.

The game was decided in the first period when Murphy missed all six of shots while Bernhard tallied 10 points and Helgren added six for the Fairfield cagers. Warde ran out to a 13-4 cushion before lanky LaSalle Reynolds scored a couple of baskets. Green Wave captain Ab Latoison's basket with 2:18 left in the opening session was the only other Norwalk basket.

Murphy took over in the second quarter, though, netting 12 of Norwalk's 14 points as the Green Wave crept to within five points twice. However, two baskets by Brian Silvestro and single hoops by George Amarant and Helgren over-matched the lone non-Murphy tally, a bucket by Curtis Brown, with 17 seconds left in the first half.

The FCIAC co-champions went on to defeat Fairfield Prep, 66-54, in the opening round of the state tournament as Helgren scored 33 points and Bernhard added 16. Jim Collins tallied 16, Stan Czulewicz 11 and Mark Valentine 10 for the Jesuits.

Paul

Computer Dating First Introduced at Warde & Ludlowe 48 Years Ago This Month

Today's high school students are computer savvy. They routinely use computers to connect with one another, meet new classmates, or even arrange dates. Teenagers communicate instantly through texting, social networking Web sites, or by cell phone. Obviously, things were much different for those of us who grew up over a generation ago.

Believe it or not, computer technology was first introduced 48 years ago to match boys and girls who attended a fun-filled dance jointly organized by Andrew Warde and Roger Ludlowe highs schools. The "computer dating" service was a big hit with the students, according to a newspaper story which appeared Sunday, February 19, 1967.

The teens from both high schools filled out cards stating whether they thought they were beautiful or handsome, whether they most admired an all-American football player or a prize-winning novelist, or whether they preferred quiet or talkative dates.

The cards were processed by a computer in Boston, and teenagers were matched at the dance. According to the article, "The computer dance is the latest craze which is sweeping the country. American teenagers are using the computer to pick their ideal dates for a high school dance."


In addition to providing a high school dating service, Betty Tyler, author of the article in the Bridgeport Sunday Post, wrote, "Computers in the area are doing everything from preparing payrolls to printing report cards. Within a year, a bank teller will insert a card at her window and record the customer's acquired interest instantly. A computer in a hospital will schedule medication for a patient and ring a bell if it is not given at the proper time."

In fact, the author wrote that "within the very near future, every housewife and every office in the Bridgeport area will have access to a computer. The day is close at hand when the housewife will be able to insert a card in her telephone to order an item from a department store and the charge will be taken directly from her bank account."

Fast-forward 48 years. Betty Tyler's words were, indeed, prophetic. Now, we use computers for everything, including dating. In fact, you're reading this on the computer. But it must have been exciting for the Andrew Warde and Roger Ludlowe high school students who first used the computer to get matched with their dates in 1967. I'm sure they haven't forgotten about it, either.

Paul

Coaches Named for New Andrew Warde High School 59 Years Ago Today

Let's take a look back and see what was happening on this date 59 years ago. The reassignment of three coaches at Roger Ludlowe High School to the new Andrew Warde High School, which opened in September of 1956, was announced on this date --- Tuesday, February 7, 1956.

Fern Tetreau (football), Robert Jackson (baseball), and Robert Seirup (basketball) transferred from the Unquowa Road high school to the sparkling new secondary high school on Melville Avenue. Tetreau guided the Warde gridders to a perfect record in 1959, and Jackson and Seirup perenially led their squads to tremendous success.

Take a look at the front-page article which appeared in The Bridgeport Post from Wednesday, February 8, 1956.



Paul

Crimson Eagles' Cagers Trounced Flying Tigers to Sweep Season Series 52 Years Ago Today

The Andrew Warde High School boys' basketball team trounced arch-rival Roger Ludlowe, 87-62, at the winners' gym 52 years ago today, Tuesday, February 5, 1963. It was the second game between the spirited Fairfield rivals that season. Warde also won the first contest, 71-48.

There were several highlights in the game. Warde co-captain Pete Jankovsky equaled Joe Magdon's school scoring record of 34 points; the Crimson Eagles climbed into a tie for second place with New Canaan in the FCIAC Eastern Division; Coach Don Feeley's cagers gained a berth in the CIAC tournament; Warde chalked up its tenth straight home court triumph; and the Eagles defeated the Tigers for the eighth time in a row.



Jankovsky and co-captain Bob Ryan combined for 12 points as Warde spurted into a 17-8 lead after the first period. Joel Blaskey topped the Tigers with six points.

The Crimson Eagles scored 21 points in the second quarter to take a commanding 38-25 halftime cushion. The second-quarter onslaught was led by Ryan (six points), Rusty Helgren (five), Jankovsky (four), Hank Gellert (four), and Wayne Gower (two), each having a hand in the scoring. Blaskey was the top scorer on offense for the Tigers with eight points, but he was limited to only two points in the second half.

Feeley's fast-breaking charges erupted for 45 points in the second half , netting 21 in the third period as Ryan hit for nine and Jankovsky added six. Ludlowe fought back gamely with 16 points, including six each by George Martin and Gary Klahr, but the Tigers trailed, 59-41, prior to the final eight-minute session.

The fourth quarter was all Jankovsky, as the senior tallied 16 points to equal the high mark established by Magdon in 1959 against Stamford Catholic.

Overall, Warde converted 21 of 27 foul shots, compared to 12 of 17 for Ludlowe.

The Crimson Eagles also won the junior varsity tilt, 46-44, as Jim Bodnar paced the winners with 19 points and Ray DeCormier tallied 18 for the Tigers.

Paul