New Britain herald., 1927-12-17
Basketball Transformers Need
 Broad Sense Of HuTn0r

lection. X few examples will serve
 to illustrate this. They are culled
 from the experience Of two local
 teams and are not at all necessarily
 inc most outstanding instances Of
 basketball under difficulties.
 Three years ago the Boys club
 had a championship team which
 consecutive wins, but the string
 camc perilously close 10 the break
 Ing point when tho club made a
 memorable trip to Poquonock. Here
 the crowd was found 10 be compose q
 of farm and mill hands who were
 ready for murder 10 help their team win, and the hapless referee had no
 recourse but 10 favor the home team 1T he hoped to escape with his life. In fact. upon at least one Of the
 few occasions when thc official made
 a decision against the home team.
 one of the players punched him in
 the neck for it, and the referee dar-
 ed not penalize him for il. A wild
 New Britain pass went into the
 crowd. and the man it hit came
 right out on the floor seeking ristic
 satisfaction. Several local rootrrs
 were driven down from the gallery oy hostile remarks, while a row of
 husky Poquonock cnthusiasts. by threats of violence, kept the New Britain substitutes from roofing for thelr own team. To cap the climax, lhe homo timer stopped his watch
 m order that Poquonock might have , tune 10 catch up. but he was caught. All in all, New Britain was cyrced-
 'ngly lucky 10 win that game by q
 point.
 Th" club met another amusing set Of circumstances in SpringfieIl,
 when fl played in q boys club where
 the superintendent was away. The youngsters held up play continually. on several occasions q file of them would dart across the floor and run around in circles. while once or twice they even took boss, ssion of the ball. The boys were so obstrepcr ous that New Britain had no oDpor- tNh>ty 10 practice and the game was interrupted time and again.
 Several local teams. including the state Trade school and the Sor,h church have had occasion to play on the unlqu" court in the West crom- well school Only about three quarters Of the room is available for play, as the other fourth is occupied by staircase leading down 10 the ground floor. This made play in the narrow half difficult. while the game had 10 he held mp every few min utes as 'hc ball bounded downstairs and into classroom. One South church player broke a light on the low ceiling while shooting q foul , and another put his foot through q window while making a basket.
 This church team, playing in q Nounty " tournament. once play | cd two games in three gymnasums. US tlrst round contest vas played u ! Jewell hall al the Hartford '. N. C. ' A.. with hackboards lcss than half Inc required size. The second- . round game was started in another small gym, but the second half was played in the large gymnasium at at the Hartford "Y."
 Another weird floor encountered by this quintet was in Manchester church. There was trip Carpct on he floor, and the edges of this were used as the sidclincS One basket was fiat against wall. with a beam breaking up th" continuous surface of the plaster which served as oackboard The other basket was ,n a wheeled platform which was moved into piac" as the game start d and which of it's own accord roll ed out of the way whenever the play became furious around it.
 The blainyille "Y" team Usod 10 play in small remodelled store 'oom which had no heat. The South 'hurch played there on the cold.st light of the winter. It was necns- ary 10 run about 100 wards through he snow from the dressing room to n" gym, and then the players prac- Iced with their overcoats on. The of the court was barely boNc tin" zero mark, and the ref rec took it tupon himself 0 el!min- te tn" rest between halves in order hat the players might not freeze to cath when they rested
 What is believed to be the only in- tance of q freak play occurred in
 game th" South church played in 'olllnsvillc. The court there is en- los"d in n nAtting and the home layers had been grabbing this and olding New Britain men against it nd out of the play. Their style Of lay resulted ill numerous fouls. and . he fourth and disqualifying foul on ne man came simultaneously with ne whistle ending he game. As the hardware City man took q shot 'on the 1 5 foot line the samc Col nsville man grabbed his arm, and mother foul was called for this. therefore, to sum up the triple niqueness Of the play. man com littcd his fifth personal foul after le game was over on a player mak- E free shot.
 All these instances pale before lat of a game in which q local in- pendent team played in the out iirts of Watertown. The home team as composed of negroes, and so as the crowd, and partisanship was ibid. New Britain managed to get le lead an1 hold it in spite of all amer of rough work on the part
 the home team and poor decisions : the referee. Finally, just as the ,me was about to close with New ritain leading by one point, a Wa rbury man took shot from the nter of the floor. As he did so meone pulled the light switch and c hall was in darkness. When the ,hts went on again the referee lmly announced that the ball had nc into the basket and that Wa "bury had won the game.