MONTREAL -- This week marks the 52nd anniversary of McGill's remarkable 1971-72 Quebec University Athletics Association championship in men's basketball, a 73-71 upset over Loyola on Feb. 26, 1972. It was the team's first league banner in a decade, dating back to the 1961-62 season.
This resilient squad overcame great hurdles and was initially disbanded in the wake of a significant funding crisis at the University in 1970. After a chance meeting on campus between student reporter
Ira Turetsky and junior varsity coach
Sam Wimisner, the duo convinced each other to serve as volunteer coaches and a fundraising plan was put forth to revive the team. An initial meagre budget of $1,000 was raised from the team's alumni on Oct. 8, 1971. McGill applied for late admittance to the eight-team Quebec conference. There was no time for a preseason schedule and McGill was accepted into the league only after agreeing to play a disadvantaged regular-season schedule which forced them to play one home game and two road contests against each team.
The season began three weeks later and the team was allotted only three practices dates per week at the Currie gymnasium, losing one of those practices whenever home games were scheduled. Their allotted per diem meal money was used to pay for longer bus trips to Kingston and Laval and the players made the 90-minute drive, crammed into cars to play games in Sherbrooke and Lennoxville.
Despite those obstacles, McGill managed to finish regular season play in second place with a 16-5 record en route to posting an 18-7 mark overall. In the playoffs, McGill played two teams against which they had posted a combined 1-5 record during the regular season. A 79-76 semifinal victory over Macdonald College paved the way for the 73-71 stunner over Loyola, then the two-time defending Quebec champions, in front of a capacity crowd.
John Naponick, a 6-foot-10, 335-pound centre, paced the squad with 24 points and 29 rebounds in the title match. The unlikely QUAA title qualified McGill for its first-ever appearance at the CIAU national championship, then a four-team tournament, in Vancouver, B.C.
After scrambling to fund their way to the Nationals, McGill's rag-tag appearance and underdog status quickly attracted wide media attention and an unexpected fan following. Some players flew out west on standby status to save money.
In the CIAU semifinal round, McGill's dream season became untracked with an 84-67 loss to Acadia, the defending national champs. In the consolation round, McGill fell 87-84 to Windsor, another traditional powerhouse, after rallying from a 20-point, first-half deficit to take a brief one-point lead late in the game. They failed to hold the lead after Naponick fouled out. The native of Irwin, Penn., ended up being the leading scorer and rebounder at the CIAU tournament. A first-team conference all-star, he posted a season-high 40-point performance in a 69-59 win over Royal Military College on Dec. 4, 1971.
Also earning all-star status was
Chad Gaffield, a 6-foot-2 forward from New York City, who merited a berth on the second team.
Joining Naponick and Gaffield on the team roster was
Joe Prah,
Kit Kennard,
Bob Wylie,
Paul Lemaitre,
Howard Roseman,
Phil Ross,
Kevin Walsh,
Phil Thompson,
Cliff Bochner,
Brian Riordan and
Frank Schell. Sadly, the team has lost five members since then, including Coach Wimisner, Ross, Prah, Walsh and Wylie.
Rounding out the support staff was the aforementioned
Ira Turetsky, who acted as the assistant coach and
Gary Trudeau, who volunteered to serve in the critical role of team manager.
A dozen of McGill's 13-man roster ended up graduating with one degree and nine of them obtained an advanced degree. That group includes four physicians, two university professors, an award winning architect, an MBA grad who is a highly successful businessman, two lawyers, a judge, two teachers and 16 never-say-die champions.
1971-72 McGill m.Basketball Schedule & Results
*QUAA semifinal
**
QUAA Final
