Sometime next week, Dukes Chat will unveil the next of its countdowns -- the Top Ten Teams in Duquesne Athletics History.
Feel free to comment and/or debate.
(Image: Duquesne University Football Team, Copyright Duquesne University)
The Pittsburgh Passion, Pittsburgh's National Women's Football Association team, was recently crowned league champions after an undefeated season.
The team's players and management come from all over the Pittsburgh area, and some of these people have a close connection with Duquesne University.
Jayne Beatty, the Pittsburgh Passion's general manager, is the throws coach for Duquesne Track & Field, Jen Cairns, a Passion running back, is a former Duquesne swimmer and lacrosse player with a degree from the university (B.A.), Kara Prentice, the team's co-community relations director, is also a Duquesne graduate (M.B.A., M.S.) and Sarah Young, who plays offensive line, is a Duquesne Pharm.D. recipient.
Cairns is also officially sponsored by Duquesne University Athletics.
(Image: Pittsburgh Passion Logo, Copyright Pittsburgh Passion)
To get a jump start on the 2007-08 men's basketball season, Duquesne University Athletics will take advantage of an NCAA rule that allows it to schedule a preseason out-of-country tour every four years.
In preparation for four games in three days against teams in Canada from September 1-3, the Dukes began practice yesterday a full week before they normally would be allowed (in a standard NCAA season).
Though newcomers Bill Clark, Brandon Harris, Ricky Jackson and David Theis are not permitted to participate in team workouts until the first day of classes on August 27, transfers Stuard Baldonado, Shawn James and Kojo Mensah have already joined the nine returnees from the 2006-07 Dukes and are eligible already for full participation. The nine returnees include Kieron Achara, who was invited to try out for the Great Britain National Team in late July but did not make the final cut for the 12-man team. He will be with the Dukes for the Canadian tour and its accompanying team workouts.
The Dukes' opponents north-of-the-border will be the University of Toronto (Sept. 1), Ryerson University (Sept. 2 - Game 1), Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (Sept. 2 - Game 2) and the University of Waterloo (Sept. 3).
All four of the games will be broadcast live on the Internet by Ray Goss, the "Voice of the Dukes." Fans may listen to the games by going to the Red Zone Media Web site. A link is provided to the right of this Web page.
(Image: The National Flag of Canada, Copyright Department of Canadian Heritage)
Sihugo Green, Men's Basketball - Men's basketball is not the only sport played at Duquesne University, but men's basketball is the sport that matters most at Duquesne. This is why Green, the greatest basketball player in Duquesne Athletics History, is the greatest athlete in Duquesne history.
The man's career was nothing short of fantastic. He was an Associated Press Second-Team and First-Team All-American in 1955 and 1956, respectively.
Without Green, who led the 1954-55 Dukes in total points, Duquesne simply would never have won the National Invitation Tournament in 1955, the greatest accomplishment in Duquesne Athletics history. Green's contributions to the team during the 1954-55 season and more led Duquesne Basketball to retire his No. 11 in 2001 and place him in the Duquesne Athletics Hall of Fame in 1973. The annual Duquesne Men's Basketball award given to the top upperclassman on the roster is even named the Sihugo Green Award.
The media truly understood how great Green was in those days, as he was once featured on the cover of SPORT magazine, and Milton Gross, of the New York Post, even had the following to say about Green following his game-high 33 points in the 1955 NIT Final.
"Si Green, at 6-2, must be the best college basketball player in the country today. In a sense, he is to college basketball what Ray Robinson was to boxing -- the best fighter pound for pound."
Green was selected first overall by the Rochester Royals in the 1956 NBA Draft following his collegiate career -- one pick ahead of the legendary Bill Russell -- and enjoyed a long NBA career. He played for the Rochester/Cincinnati Royals (later the Kansas City-Omaha, then the Kansas City and now the Sacramento Kings) for all of the 1956-57 season and part of the 1958-59 season, for the St. Louis (now Atlanta) Hawks for part of the 1958-59 season, all of the 1959-60 and 1960-61 seasons and part of the 1961-62 season, for the Chicago Packers/Zephyrs/Baltimore Bullets (later the Capital/Washington Bullets and now the Washington Wizards) for part of the 1961-62 season and all of the 1962-63, 1963-64 and 1964-65 seasons and for the Boston Celtics for the 1965-66 season.
(Image: Sihugo Green on the cover of an issue of SPORT magazine, Copyright Duquesne University)
Dick Ricketts, (Men's Basketball, Baseball) - Ricketts is another two-sport star in the history of Duquesne University Athletics.
His collegiate basketball career truly speaks for itself on both a team and individual level.
First and foremost, Ricketts was the captain of Duquesne's 1955 NIT title-winning team, and he was named an Associated Press First-Team All-American that year. (He was named an AP Second-Team All-American in 1954.)
Ricketts also holds many Duquesne Men's Basketball records. To this day, he holds the team records for most free throws made in a game, most free throws made in a game without a miss -- he went 19-for-19 in game during the 1954-55 season -- most points in a season by a sophomore, most rebounds in a season, most rebounds per game in a season, most rebounds in a career, most starts in a career (tied), most free throws made in a career, most consecutive free throws made and most points in a career.
His success in college landed him the first overall selection by the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks in the 1955 NBA Draft. He played for the Hawks for part of the 1955-56 season and for the Rochester/Cincinnati Royals for part of the 1955-56 season and all of the 1956-57 and 1957-58 seasons.
What truly propels Ricketts to No. 2 on the Duquesne All-Time Greatest Athletes countdown though is his two-sport versatility. Many athletes can claim stardom in multiple sports during college, but Ricketts was such an accomplished baseball player (in addition to his basketball abilities) that he made it all the way to Major League Baseball as a member of the 1959 St. Louis Cardinals.
(Image: Dick Ricketts, Copyright Duquesne University)
Norm Nixon, (Men's Basketball) - Nixon is yet another former Duquesne University basketball star that made mis mark not only in college but also in the major professional ranks.
A Duquesne Athletics Hall of Fame inductee in 1982, Nixon's No. 10 was retired by Duquesne Basketball in 2001. Perhaps his biggest acomplishments though, both team and individual, came as part of Duquesne's 1976-77 season. The Dukes were the Eastern Collegiate Basketball League (the forerunner to the Eastern Athletic Association -- now known as the Atlantic Ten Conference) champions that season, and Nixon was honored as the conference's 1977 Player of the Year and conference championship's Most Outstanding Player.
The 1977 basketball title is the lone Atlantic Ten postseason championship in Duquesne Basketball history and was the only postseason Atlantic Ten team championship of any kind for the university until 2005.
Nixon still holds the Duquesne Men's Basketball record for field goals made in a career, assists in a season, assists per game in a season -- he actually holds the top three spots in that category's place in the record books -- assists in a career and assists per game in a career.
His outstanding collegiate career led Nixon to the longest-tenured NBA career of any Duquesne alumnus.
He was a first-round selection by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1977 NBA Draft and was a member of the NBA All-Rookie team in 1978. A two-time NBA All-Star, he was a starter for the Lakers' world championship teams of the NBA's 1979-80 and 1981-82 seasons.
An ironman and a multi-dimensional player, Nixon led the NBA in minutes played for the 1979-80 season and steals for the 1978-79 season.
(Image: Norm Nixon, Copyright Duquesne University)
Willie Somerset, (Men's Basketball) - Somerset is simply one of the best basketball players in the history of Duquesne University.
His No. 24 is retired by Duquesne Basketball, and he was inducted into the Duquesne Athletics Hall of Fame in 1975.
Some of Somerset's Duquesne Men's Basketball records: most points as a junior, most career 30-point games, most consecutive 30-point games and highest career points per game (22.7, which is 2.9 points higher than second place). He also scored more points in three seasons than any other player in team history.
Somerset's ABA/NBA career lasted three seasons; he played for the NBA's Baltimore Bullets (now the Washington Wizards) for the 1965-66 season, for the ABA's Houston Mavericks (later known as the Carolina Cougars and then the Spirits of St. Louis) for the 1967-68 season and part of the 1968-69 season and for the ABA's New York (now NBA's New Jersey) Nets for part of the 1968-69 season.
He was an ABA All-Star with the Mavericks for the 1968-69 season.
(Image: Willie Somerset Cartoon, Copyright Duquesne University)
Duquesne University Soccer player Travis MacKenzie has been named to the 29-man watch list for this season's male version of the Hermann Trophy.
The trophy represents the Missouri Athletic Club's Player of the Year, a title given annually to both the top NCAA Division I male and female soccer player. The award is also sponsored by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
Past Player of the Year honorees include Alexi Lalas and Mia Hamm, among many other notables.
MacKenzie hails from Carnegie, PA. He will be a senior for Duquesne Men's Soccer this season.
(Image: Travis MacKenzie, Copyright Duquesne University)
Aldo "Buff" Donelli, (Football, Men's Soccer) - Donelli was a true two-sport star in his day.
A charter member of the Duquesne University Athletics Hall of Fame, Donelli was a standout football player at Duquesne, captaining the university's 9-0-1 team in 1929. But as good as his football career was, he was an even better soccer player.
Donelli is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, and what follows is an excerpt from the Hall's Web site: "[Donelli] played American football for Duquesne University from 1926 to 1929, at first at center and then as a running back. In the 1930s, he began playing for [a] local soccer team in Curry, and it was while he was with [that team] that he was selected for the 1934 U.S. World Cup team [in Italy].
"In Italy, he scored four goals against Mexico in the qualifying game and the lone U.S. goal against Italy in the first round. One year later, he was a guest player with the New York Americans when they toured Mexico. He came out of soccer retirement in 1943 to play for Morgan Strasser in the 1944 Open Cup final... at the Polo Grounds."
(Image: Aldo Donelli, Copyright Duquesne University)
Mike Basrak, (Football) - Basrak, Duquesne Football's first All-American (Associated Press, 1936 season), is Duquesne's greatest football player ever.
With only one level of major college football in the United States at the time of Basrak's career, he ranks as Duquesne Football's highest-honored player, especially given his MVP performance in the 1937 Orange Bowl.
His collegiate career led him to a first-round choice (fifth overall) in the 1937 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates (now Steelers), for whom he played for from 1937-1938.
[Image: Mike Basrak, Copyright Bellaire (Oh.) Public Library]
Korie Hlede, (Women's Basketball) - Hlede is, without a doubt, the greatest female athlete in Duquesne Athletics history. Perhaps no player dominated his/her particular sport more as a Duquesne University athlete than Hlede did as a women's basketball player from 1994-1998.
A four-time First-Team All-Atlantic Ten Conference player and consistent All-American (as picked by numerous publications and authorities), Hlede has her #25 uniform retired by Duquesne Basketball and is a memeber of the Duquesne Athletics Hall of Fame.
A fantastic scorer, she holds the Duquesne Women's Basketball records for points in a game, in a season and in a career and scoring average in a season and in a career. Her career total scoring mark bests the second all-time Duquesne Women's Basketball scorer by an astounding 1,300+ points.
Also an outstanding defensive player, Hlede holds three important Duquesne Women's Basketball defensive records as well -- steals in a game, in a season and in a career.
Hlede's college success led her to a first-round pick (fourth overall) in the 1998 WNBA Draft by the Detroit Shock. She played for the Shock that year and for part of 1999, for the Utah Starzz (now San Antonio Silver Stars) for part of 1999 and from 2000-2001 and for the New York Liberty in 2002.
She led the WNBA in three-point field goal percentage in 2000.
(Image: Korie Hlede, Copyright Duquesne University)
Leigh Bodden, (Football, Men's Outdoor Track & Field) - Though Bodden's contributions to Duquesne Outdoor Track & Field are outstanding -- Atlantic Ten Conference champion in the long jump in 2002 and three school records for men (one as a relay team member) -- it is truly Bodden's football career that makes him one of Duquesne's greatest athletes ever.
A member of football's four straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship teams from 1999-2002, Bodden holds nearly every Duquesne record for interceptions and was a vital part of Duquesne Football's greatest NCAA Division I-AA team to this point -- the 11-1 2002 Dukes. Consistently, Bodden was also one of the very few I-AA "mid-major" players to garner inclusion on overall I-AA All-American teams, including the Associated Press' First Team for that level.
As impressive as his college athletics career was, Bodden went undrafted by the NFL, but the Cleveland Browns took a chance on him as a free agent and have been rewarded handsomely. Bodden is currently a starting defensive back for Cleveland and has already accumulated numerous interceptions.
His debut for the Browns in 2003 marked the first time that a Duquesne Football player competed in the NFL in half of a century.
He is the gold standard for the modern Duquesne Football player.
(Image: Leigh Bodden, Copyright Duquesne University)
Boyd Brumbaugh, (Football) - Inducted into the Duquesne University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1965, Brumbaugh was the second Duquesne athlete ever to be selected in an NFL Draft, one of only two to be taken in the first round and, to this day, is the highest-drafted Duquesne Football player ever.
He was selected third overall by the now-defunct Brooklyn Dodgers (later known as the Tigers) in 1938, and enjoyed a colorful four-year NFL career for that team and later the Pittsburgh Pirates/Steelers.
Brumbaugh's exact time period of Duquesne Football roster membership is unknown, but it is certain that he was a key part of the Dukes' 1937 Orange Bowl win. It was Brumbaugh's 72-yard halfback pass in that game that provided Duquesne the winning margin over Mississippi State College (now University).
The Duquesne Football media guide also credits Brumbaugh as once being "an honorable mention All-American."
(Image: Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, 1938, Copyright AllPosters.com)
Tom Slosky, (Men's Outdoor Track & Field, Men's Cross Country, Men's Indoor Track & Field) - Slosky's contributions to the image of Duquesne University Athletics cannot be overlooked, which merits him inclusion in this countdown.
Though he is believed to hold numerous men's records for Duquesne Indoor Track & Field, records for this club team are not completely verifiable. Nonetheless, Slosky's highest accomplishments have been for Duquesne University Outdoor Track & Field. An Atlantic Ten Conference champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in both 2005 and 2006, Slosky has advanced to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championship twice in that event (in 2006 and 2007), advancing to the final heat of the competition in 2007.
He is the first Duquesne athlete ever to compete in the very final competition of an NCAA-sanctioned national championship.
Some of Slosky's other accomplishments include two Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 2006 and 2007 as well as a Atlantic Ten team title in 2005 with men's cross country. Slosky was Duquesne's top finisher at the championship meet, and the 2005 title was Duquesne's first postseason A-10 team championship of any kind since 1977.
In addition to being Duquesne's record-holder in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Slosky also holds Duquesne Outdoor Track & Field records in the 1,500 and 5,000-meter runs and is part of the record-holding 4x1,500-meter relay team.
(Image: Tom Slosky, Copyright Duquesne University)
Sometime next week, Dukes Chat will unveil its newest countdown -- the Top Ten Athletes in Duquesne Athletics History.
The details involved with judging Duquesne University athletes:
- The person must have competed for Duquesne as an ATHLETE in some capacity for either a club or a varsity team. (Coaching accomplishments will not be included in this criteria.)
- The person's entire body of ATHLETIC work DURING AND AFTER his/her tenure as a Duquesne athlete will be considered.
(Image: 1933-34 Duquesne University Men's Basketball Team, Copyright Duquesne University)
Duquesne University Athletics unveiled its men's basketball team's opponents for the 2007-08 season.
Non-conference home contests will be waged against Howard University (November 9), Winston-Salem State University (Nov. 12), Niagra University (Nov. 24), the University of Pittsburgh (December 4), Saint Francis University (Pa.) (Dec. 21), Robert Morris University (Dec. 28) and the University of South Carolina-Upstate (Dec. 30).
Non-conference away contests will be played versus Rice University (Nov. 17), Oakland University (Nov. 20), West Virginia University (Dec. 8) and Bowling Green State University (January 2).
Atlantic Ten Conference home contests pit Duquesne against Fordham University, La Salle University, Saint Bonaventure University, The George Washington University, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, the University of Richmond, Saint Joseph's University and Saint Louis University.
Intraconference away contests for Duquesne: Fordham, La Salle, Saint Bonaventure, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the University of Dayton, the University of Rhode Island, Temple University and Xavier University.
In addition, an in-season tournament at Drake University from Nov. 30-Dec. 1 will include Duquesne, Drake, The California State University-Northridge and North Carolina Central University.
(Image: 2006-07 Duquesne University Men's Basketball Team, Copyright U.S. Basketball Writers Association)
March 20, 1955 - Men’s basketball defeats the University of Dayton, 70-58, at Madison Square Garden (III) in New York City to win the 1955 National Invitation Tournament -- the most exclusive collegiate basketball tournament in the country at the time.
According to the Duquesne University Web site, "Five thousand people greeted the returning Dukes at the Pittsburgh airport, and the entire student body was invited to a testimonial dinner honoring the team."
The NCAA began sponsoring a national championship tournament for men's basketball in 1939, but it wasn't until the 1960s that this NCAA tournament became the most exclusive and important college basketball tournament in the country. Colleges and universities routinely declined offers to participate in the NCAA Championship Tournament during this time period while still accepting bids to the NIT.
An NIT championship before the mid-1960s or so, like the Dukes' 1955 title, was an unofficial (by the NCAA's standards) national championship, but it still meant that Duquesne was the home of the best college basketball team in the country.
(Image: 1954-55 Duquesne University Men's Basketball Team, Copyright Duquesne University)
January 1, 1937 - Football defeats Mississippi State College (now University), 13-12, in the Orange Bowl.
According to The Duquesne Duke’s January 7, 1937, issue, "Thousands of followers and classmates greeted the conquering Duquesne University squad on its arrival at the Pennsylvania station last night at 11:25 p.m. The Duke gridders, weary from the long train ride, were pleasantly surprised by the enthusiastic throng which greeted them on their return from Miami [Fl.] in tribute to their brilliant 13-12 triumph.
"The welcome celebration climaxed one of the most successful seasons in the athletic history of Duquesne. Loyal followers cheered wildly and sang the school songs as the train bearing the squad pulled into the train shed a few minutes late... Radio announcers succeeded in detaining the coaches and some of the gridders for a few hurried words to audiences of WWSW and KDKA."
This moment remains, to this day, the pinnacle of Duquesne Football's success as an NCAA Division I team and thus, the program's greatest moment.
(Images: Oranges and Bowl, Copyright chennaiist)
October 21, 1939 - Football visits and defeats then-No. 1-ranked (AP) the University of Pittsburgh, 21-13, on its way to an undefeated season and a top ten AP ranking.
The 1939 Dukes Football team finished 8-0-1 under head coach Aldo "Buff" Donelli. Donelli was the former player that captained Duquesne to its first official undefeated season (9-0-1 in 1929).
The 1939 Dukes were arguably Duquesne's second-greatest football team ever behind the undefeated and untied 8-0-0 Dukes of 1941, but the Duquesne Football win over Pittsburgh in 1939 ranks as one the school's greatest, especially given the opponent and thus, the situation.
Pitt entered the 1939 contest ranked No. 1 in the country by the Associated Press, and Duquesne was still undefeated and untied. A showdown between the city of Pittsburgh's top two college football teams would lead to ultimate bragging rights, and you could taste the drama in the air. The Dukes were considered legitimate underdogs, especially since they were the official visitors.
However, the Duquesne victory truly signalled a "changing of the guard" in Pittsburgh's college football scene. The Panthers entered the 1939 season riding eight straight seasons of at least seven wins and no more than two losses, but after the 1939 season, the Panthers would not win seven games in a season again until 1955.
The Dukes, meanwhile, would go 7-1-0 in 1940 and 8-0-0 in 1941.
Unfortunately, after a 6-3-1 1942 season, World War II would force Duquesne to suspend football operations, and "big time" football success would truly never come back to the Bluff.
(Image: Antique Football Helmet, Copyright Akadema Inc.)
March 22, 1940 - Under head coach Charles "Chick" Davies -- according to the Duquesne University Men’s Basketball media guide, "the 'Dean' of Duquesne coaches" -- men’s basketball defeats Western Kentucky State Teachers College (now Western Kentucky University), 30-29, to earn a spot in the NCAA Championship Final Four after already reaching the NIT Championship game only seven days earlier.
Davies's success at Duquesne put the Dukes on the map in terms of collegiate basketball and made Davies himself a celebrity. His obituary even appeared in The New York Times following his death in 1985.
A clip from the NYT obituary about Davies, by far Duquesne's all-time winningest coach in any sport: "Davies's record at Duquesne was 314-106. He brought the Iron Dukes to national prominence in the late 1930s and early 1940s. His 1939-40 team, which compiled a 20-3 record, was the first to play in both the National Invitation Tournament and the NCAA Championship Tournament."
(Image: Charles Davies with Duquesne University Men's Basketball Players, Copyright Duquesne University)
