Dave Boling on Frank Burgess

[ZagNative]

Another Zag to be proud of, from the News Tribune:

Serving at Hahn Air Force Base in Germany, Burgess averaged better than 30 points a game and earned all-Air Force honors. Soon, he was being recruited by such schools as Kansas and USC. A friend on base, though, was a Gonzaga alum, and he contacted GU coach Hank Anderson about Burgess.

When Burgess visited Spokane, the first place he was taken was not the gym, but the office of Fr. Edmund Morton, president of the university.

“He said, if you come here, it’s to get an education,” Burgess recalled. “It wasn’t that you will play ball and then we’ll get you out the door. It was the only place I went to where anybody said anything like that.

“You have to remember, I had gotten out of the service and I was married with twin girls,” he said. “Everything I owned was in a foot locker. I wanted to hear that kind of talk because I was all about business. I wasn’t about hanging out and having fun, I was about getting my education and taking care of my family.”

.... the Zags traveled across the country to take on nationally ranked Providence. Coach Anderson thought the big challenge would be stopping senior guard Johnny Egan, so he decided to give Burgess an easier job on the defensive end, checking the “other” guard … Lenny Wilkens.

Wilkens, a Hall of Fame player and coach, was aware of Burgess’ reputation as the nation’s leading scorer.

“He was a terrific player,” Wilkens recalled. “He was a real hustler who could score. We played that one game when they came to Providence, and it was a good, close game.”

Wilkens’ Friars nipped Burgess and the Zags, 81-80.

“Some of my friends were going to law school,” he said. “They said they thought I should give it a try.”

His grades were good enough for admission, so the dean of the law school sent him in for the Law School Aptitude Test. When he passed, he found himself back in school with a family to raise.

“Once I started studying law, I started liking it more and more,” he said. Good thing, because he worked 40 hours a week for Washington Water Power while going through law school.

“I would work the midnight shift to 7 or 8 every morning,” he said. “I handled the emergency phones for power outages and that sort of thing. I was able to take books from the law library down there and study whenever the phone wasn’t ringing.”

But what about sleep?

“I’d get a nap here and there, just the best you could get,” he said. “For a while, I was doing a little assistant coaching for Hank, too. There was never any sitting around with my feet up. But all those things, it’s a matter of how badly do you want it. When you have to provide for your family, you get the work done.

Burgess is going to be out of court for a while as he recovers from a serious back surgery. When he was in the hospital, old friend Lenny Wilkens came to visit.

“When I got traded out here (to the Seattle SuperSonics), we rekindled the friendship,” Wilkens said. “We had a mutual friend (Judge Jack Tanner). When you look at what Frank has accomplished, it shows you how dedicated and how smart he’s always been. To be such an important figure in the community is a marvelous accomplishment by a wonderful man.”

[Rangerzag]

Nice find ZN!

Much more in original article once you hit the link and give Dave the online credit. Interesting perspective on his honor's early upbringing.

[Radbooks]

What a great read! I didn't know anything about his background, so this was a wonderful and interesting article. I certainly can't imagine working that hard... going to law school, working all night, and having a family... oh, and helping out with some coaching too!

Thanks, ZagNative!

[Rangerzag]

This really is a great presentation in hard print. It is side to side complete on the front sports page of the Tribune, 5 1/2 inches above the fold continuing another 7 inches below.




This picture shows a little more than 6 inches wide and 9 inches tall.

Very nice coverage for a fine gentleman

[ZagNative]

Jim Meehan has a reference and link to Boling's story on his blog today, with another great picture of His Honor at the ceremony when his number was retired February 19, 2005:


And I challenge all here present to name me a Zag who ever suited up sporting a better-looking pair of gams than #44!

Of his playing days, he first points out how silly he looked “running around in those little britches.”

Let's hear it for those "little britches!"

[ZagNative]

For an even better read about Frank Burgess, see Steve Robinson's great story from April 29, 2004, on GUNation.com. The piece is just full of marvelous details.

In the fall of 1958 when Frank Burgess arrived on campus, Gonzaga had an enrollment of 1808 students. There were only two dormitories. GU fielded teams in five men’s sports: basketball, baseball, cross-country, golf and tennis. There were no women’s athletics. The basketball uniforms were blue; a pale shade called “Columbia blue,” and had sleeves. The GU teams were known by three interchangeable nicknames: Bulldogs, Zags and Irish. Hank Anderson was the head basketball coach and athletic director. Former boxing coach Joey August served as the team trainer. The Zags played their home games off campus in the 6,500-seat Spokane Coliseum; there was no suitable facility on campus. The practice facilities were primitive, the only gym on campus was on the first floor of the Ad Building in the space now occupied by Russell Theatre. Burgess remembers that the gym had limited “creature comforts”: “It would get so hot in there, we’d open the doors. The ball would then inevitably go out the doors and someone would have to run like hell to get it before it went out into the street on Boone Avenue. Our shower room was in the basement; we called it ‘The Dungeon.’”

Frank Burgess joined a Gonzaga program in the fall of 1958 that had just made the transition from NAIA to NCAA D-1 competition as an independent under Coach Hank Anderson. Burgess quickly formed a bond with his new coach. That admiration is still present 46 years later when Burgess speaks of playing for Anderson: “Hank loved his ballplayers. When he brought you in there, he wanted to see that you had a good career on the court and that you had a full experience.” The strong bond between the coach and his players still remains; a few years ago, Burgess and some of his teammates who had played for Anderson honored their former coach with a banquet in Las Vegas and presented Anderson and his wife Betty with a ten-day cruise.

And I loved this:

The 1958-59 Zags featured the outside shooting and penetration of Frank Burgess and the post presence of the 7’3” 400 pound Frenchman, Jean Claude Lefebvre. In a bit of pre-season publicity and fund-raising, Coach Anderson had Burgess and Lefebvre stand next to the toll booth on the newly-opened Maple Street Toll Bridge holding chef’s hats into which drivers were encouraged to match the toll by dropping an extra dime for Gonzaga basketball. Burgess chuckles as he describes the stunt: “I’d just come to Spokane and here I was standing out in the cold holding a hat. I remember wondering, ‘what in the world is this all about?’” The Spokesman Review sent a photographer to cover the appearance and a picture showing Burgess and Lefebvre holding the hats appeared in the newspaper. A few years back, Fr. Frank Costello sent Burgess a yellowed clipping of the event from the Review. Burgess keeps it with his basketball memorabilia treasures in his desk.

To the author of that piece, known to post here on guboards from time to time: Nice job! Thanks!

[Birddog]

There were only two dormitories.

I'm pretty sure there were at least 3, The newly constructed Welch and Madonna,and the long standing DeSmet. I believe the ladies were also housed just off campus perhaps in the old house on the SW corner of Boone and Hamilton. I'm sure Gamagin would remember, for that matter you might also ZN. For some reason, I keep thinking the present Crimont is a reincarnation of a previous Crimont. There was also a residence called Derochier (sp) Hall, and I think it was the big old house that used to stand on the NE corner of Mission and Hamilton where the Safeway now sits. It may have been run by some entity other than GU, perhaps the Sisters of the Holy Names? We need some old timers from the neighborhood to weigh in on this.

Bulldogs, Zags and Irish.

I don't remember them ever being referred to as the "Irish", I believe that had been dropped years before. I also think that Hank changed the colors from the old dark blue to the light "Columbia" blue, although no one seems to be able to confirm this and no one seems to know why. Where is Wilf (Fr Schoenberg sp? the archivist) when you need him?

[ZagNative]

After consultation with my sister, who is even older than I am, if that's to be believed, we come up with the following:

The woman's dorm at the corner of Boone and Hamilton was called Loretto Hall and housed women from Holy Names college (now Maplewood Gardens retirement communuty), which I attended after HNA. The place at Hamilton and Mission, Durocher Hall, also housed HNC women. Other housing for HNC women was available at Marion Hall on Sharp.

We think you're right about there being three dormitories - Welch, DeSmet, and Madonna.

I have some pretty fond and funny memories of Welch, when I was a student at Holy Names Academy, probably in '59 or '60, joining a carload of classmates in sitting in a car parked across the street from the dorm to watch a parade of the young fellows go into the laundry room in their skivies to iron their trousers for a night out. We howled! Entertainment came cheap in those days.

[Birddog]

A little research produced this. It mentions that there was an original Crimont Hall.

http://www.zagsonline.org/s/829/index.aspx?sid=829&gid=1&pgid=534

I thought maybe those were run by HNA. Marion Hall was built around '57 and was for HS girls IIRC. I'd forgotten the name Loretto Hall and you may well be correct. I do know that later a family moved in and lived there (Boone and Hamilton) for awhile. Their name was Davis.

[ZagNative]

Fun stuff in that link, Birddog! Thanks.

[Dogtownkid]

Odds and ends

Marian Hall was built a little earlier than '57--probably '55 or '56 would be my guess. It housed women from Holy Names College (now Maplewood Gardens). It took the place of the two original dorms, Durocher Hall and Loretto Hall. Dorocher Hall was of course torn down pretty early. Probably about '55, but Loretto lasted longer--until the parking lot at the corner of Boone and Sharp was put in.

My memory stretches back verrrrry far, but not as far as a woman I know who attended Gonzaga the first year that women were allowed. She had been in the Navy during WWII and attended GU on the GI Bill of Rights.

[Birddog]

I won't quibble on the date for Marion. Durocher Hall was razed to make way for a service station, a Texaco I believe. That was probably pre 1960 by just a little. I had long been removed from Spokane when the service station was razed for the Safeway. Does anybody know the year when the Holy Names college moved to Ft Wright and became "Ft Wright College of the Holy Names" (I think that was their official name)? I ask because I distinctly recall going to a "social" at Marion Hall when I was in 8th or more likely 9th grade (1961 or '62) to meet some of the girls boarding there. I think it was all HS girls, but could be mistaken. The nuns had the right idea trying to let the girls socialize, but the rules were too constricting and we (the local boys) all bailed after one or two "socials". I seem to recall seeing one of the more outgoing girls up at the pharmacy occasionally.

A little aside here. In the early 50's, there were but three service stations on the stretch of Hamilton from Trent to Illinois. Starting at Boone, on NW corner was a Phillips66 with the diagonal design. Next up was a Chevron on the SW corner of Mission and Hamilton. It was a tiny place with a separate garage, and was operated by Harry Frazier for several years. It became a dry cleaners. The garage portion was almost right against Bernie's Tavern.
Across the street on the NW corner was a Shell Station, it got modernized in the late 50's and was the biggest by far. Ernie Davis ran it for a long time.

To the best of my knowledge, there were no more N of there. The service station boom of the late 50's early 60's brought in all the new ones. The neighborhood kids always liked the "grand openings" because we always got free pop, balloons, and other junk. In no particular order the new stations popped up on the NE corner of Sharp and Hamilton, ENCO was the brand (I think) originally. There was another at about the NE corner of Ermina and Hamilton, it was also a Chevron or perhaps a Standard (it might have been the replacement for the tiny one on Mission and Hamilton) Ray Amicarella ran that one, he was JHoops uncle IIRC. There was one more on the SW corner of Baldwin and Hamilton (I think), I can't remember the brand, but it might have been an ARCO. There was also one other old one up around the bend on Illinois on the right, it was either a Signal or a Flying A. Something tells me I'm missing one, I'm pretty sure there was also a Mobil somewhere near, maybe on the SW corner of Indiana and Hamilton?

[Dogtownkid]

Is that a guy thing--remembering the locations of all the service stations? You have amazing recall!

[Birddog]

Is that a guy thing--remembering the locations of all the service stations?

Maybe so. They were important social/economic milestones back then. The infusion of new stations went along with the middle class becoming more affluent, buying cars with fins, and sometimes even a 2nd car for the wife, and becoming more mobile. As a kindergartner, I walked from Sinto to Logan School, so I was pretty familiar with all the businesses along the route. As I grew older the service stations started popping up, replacing vacant lots and old residences. Back then as you probably recall, many of the stations had the operators name across the building or canopy like "HARRY FRAZIER CHEVRON", or "ERNIE DAVIS SHELL". Families tended to trade at a particular station for many reasons. It could be the service or perhaps the owners church affiliation along with the convenience. They were of course "full service" back then. Remember that? The simple answer is yeah it probably is a guy thing. I whiled away a few hours a week at the local stations when I was a pre-teen and teenager. I also spent a little time in Leonard's Machine Shop which was right next to Bernie's on the alley, and of course we all spent time at the "Freeze" and across the street at Bill Stephens Pharmacy and Drug Store. I guess in away, the strip of Hamilton from Boone N to Mission and maybe even to Augusta was our version of a mall.

Starting at Boone and going N on the W side of the street there was a Phillips 66, then Shoe Repair, Marshall Wells Hardware, and the IGA. Off the street was the Medical Building housing Wendle, Morton, Nishimura, et. al., then on the corner was the Dairy Freeze. Across Sharp was the Bulldog Tavern (originally about 60' W of the corner), a 2 story apt house (wood) then Johnson's 24 Flavors (The Chef). N across Sinto was another 2 story apt building (brick) that later was razed for a Bank, Leonard's Machine Shop, Bernie's Tavern, then the Chevron which later became a dry cleaners. N across Mission, was the Shell station and a small frame building that also housed a dry cleaners (I think, but it may have been a beauty parlor not sure about that though). N across Augusta was the area's first modern laundromat and self service dry cleaners, then the old frame building that was Locust Foods.

Going S from Mission on the E side was the Safeway, then Sprouse-Ritz 5 and 10 (the buildings were later combined to make a larger Safeway). The next building housed a variety of restaurants, but most notable were August's which later became Genos. Next S was a small building that housed a Barber Shop. The block between Sinto and Sharp was notable because it didn't have any businesses for a long time until around 1960 when the Norge laundromat was built on the SE corner of Hamilton and Sinto and at about the same time the ENCO was built on the NE corner of Sharp and Hamilton. S of Sharp was the building housing the University Pharmacy and Joey's Tavern with the apartments upstairs. S of the alley was another building that housed yet another dry cleaners and off and on a restaurant, the Daley Burg for one. We had it all, 3 service stations, 3 taverns, 3 eateries, 2 or 3 laundry/dry cleaners, 2 grocery (3 if you count Locust), variety store, barber and beauty shops, hardware store and shoe repair. The only essentials you were hard pressed to buy in the area were shoes and clothes, for those you had to catch the bus and go downtown.

[Angelo Roncalli]

A little research produced this. It mentions that there was an original Crimont Hall.

http://www.zagsonline.org/s/829/index.aspx?sid=829&gid=1&pgid=534

I thought maybe those were run by HNA. Marion Hall was built around '57 and was for HS girls IIRC. I'd forgotten the name Loretto Hall and you may well be correct. I do know that later a family moved in and lived there (Boone and Hamilton) for awhile. Their name was Davis.

The Davis family still owned the house in the late '70's when I was at GU, though I'm not sure they still lived there. I think it was being used as some kind of group home then, but I'm a little foggy.

BD, where the Martins living at 808 E. Sharp when you were in the neighborhood? That house is now been converted into apartments.