As we near the end of the season and get ready for the banquet , we thought we would give you some history about the origins of some of the trophy names that you will hear at the year end event. The descriptions are lifted from the book about the history of the league published for the 50th Anniversary season.
The first one is The Bucky Spencer Free Throw Champion.
Bucky Spencer was a very active member of the league executive throughout his years of involvement – an individual always willing to do what had to be done to keep things running. He was also an active player in the Border Basketball League with the Bordeaux Heaters and Mortons’ Record Bar, playing with Kingston and District Sports Hall of Fame members Wayne Norris, Charlie Pester and Neil Neasmith on some of the great Kingston teams of the 1960’s. Neil describes Bucky as a tough player who was an excellent rebounder. Bucky’s wife Janet told me that “Bucky knew Pete Petersen through basketball and other sports. He loved working with kids in the league – he had a real love for the game. When Bucky asked Pete what he could do to help out, Pete suggested that we could wash the uniforms – I agreed, but I had no idea what that would mean. It took me all week to get them washed!”
Janet added, “I remember Bucky telling me that when he was at QECVI Murray Osbourne put a pole across the gym and anyone that had to duck to go under the pole that divided the girls and the boys side of the gym was automatically on the basketball team. Bucky was reluctant to play at first but it became a game that he played with a passion for many years after that.”
The winners have been determined in a number of ways over the years. This has included approaches from one day ”shoot offs” to arrive at a champion, to the current format of having all players attempt free throws on game nights to determine the best free throw shooter in each of the league age groups.
Bucky died of a stroke in 1987, and lived by a personal philosophy of “never look back – always look to the future”. A great motto from a man with a big heart, who loved basketball, and helped a lot of children during his life through the Knights of Columbus Basketball League.
