Revisiting the Losers

The Losers were my intramural high school basketball team.  We had a lot of fun, but not much success, going a crispy 1-6.  We didn't score a lot (nor did we stop our opponents from scoring a lot), but that just made Jim Fisher's job easier.
Jim was our designated scorekeeper and probably our biggest fan.  I believe I invited him to join our team, but he declined, instead offering to keep score.  That was great, since we couldn't spare any of our players to perform that duty.  We needed every reasonably able body on the court.
I lost all contact with Jim shortly after graduation.  I'd love to know what the mighty Fish is doing.  Hopefully, he is well and enjoying life.  Jim was one of the good guys.

Jim Fisher (in black Losers shirt) in Mount Carmel gym in Chicago, IL-Spring 1983.

The Losers Sixth (or Seventh) Man

We can't get enough of the Losers. Today, I am featuring our Sophomore sixth man, guard John Fleszewski.
John was a couple years behind most of us, although not the youngest guy on our team. John certainly brought his youthful energy to the court. He played in every game and might have even started one (how did that happen?). John lit up the net for a crispy 33.33% shooting percentage, leading our team in that category. (Okay, so he only took 3 shots, 33.33% is still 33.33%!)
John and I stayed in touch throughout college. He is a proud grad of Northern Illinois University (Go Huskies).
Thanks to the wonders of the internet and the intrusive world of Facebook, John and I have reconnected a bit. He is alive and well, still living in the greater Chicago area.
Again, despite the graininess, I love the picture. On the right is Greg Nessinger, trailing the play, but always ready for action (in other words, playing defense when the ball is stolen or the shot is missed). John is making a nice move, worthy of comparison to Pistol Pete Maravich. Look at how he is splitting the defenders. Simply poetry in motion.

John Fleszewski (with ball) and Greg Nessinger (black shirt on right) in Mt. Carmel gym in Chicago, IL-Spring 1983.

Revisiting the Losers

Now that the Bears season is officially over (it really was over several weeks ago), Chicago fans can concentrate on hockey and basketball. With the Bulls floundering, I figured I would pull out another "Loser" basketball team.
As I have written before, the Losers were my intramural basketball team back at Mt. Carmel high school. We weren't successful, but we were gritty and we had fun. We would have had more fun if we actually won a real game. We won one game by forfeit when the other team didn't show up (we must have scared them) and we won an exhibition game against a bunch of our girl friends (hey, they had us outmanned 7-5).
We had one major accomplishment however. We made the MC yearbook. Yep, right there on page 82, there was a picture of someone grabbing a rebound against us. Loser Mike Szotek (#42) appears to be boxing out his man, while Keith Urbon (far right) was ready to grab the rebound and is perhaps ready to go for a steal. Okay, the guy probably put it right back in for another score against us, but that is pure speculation. I like my story better.

Mike Szotek (#42) and Keith Urban (far right) in Mt. Carmel gym in Chicago, IL-Spring 1983.

The Original MC Hammer

A while ago, I wrote a piece about meeting Stanley Burrell in his pre-MC Hammer days. I have also written about a great old friend, Tom Skalski. I was with Tom, when I met Burrell. Tom read that piece and reminded me of an obvious point that I completely missed.
Back when we were at Mt. Carmel High School, Tom was nicknamed 'The Hammer'. This would be before Burrell started using the Hammer moniker.
Could it be mere coincidence? Burrell meets us at a baseball game. He hears that the Hammer is going to Mt. Carmel (aka MC). Then, just a short time later, Burrell starts calling himself MC Hammer.
I think it is a clearcut case of Moniker Infringement. Clearly, Tom Skalski is the original MC Hammer! I think Skalski has a case against Burrell. I was witness to the whole series of events unfolding. I even have old Geometry books with Skalski's trademark Hammer drawn (in his attempts to get me to crack up in Mr. Gorches' class). The proof is all there.
Tom, if you need me buddy...I am there!

Tom "MC Hammer" Skalski (left-ish with wristbands) in Mt. Carmel gym in Chicago, IL-Spring 1983.

Another Loser

Dave Plonczynski was one of the most spirited members of my intra-mural basketball team, the Losers. Mooner always brought a great sense of humor to the games and with a 1-6 record, we needed humor.
Plonczynski and I became friends in our Junior year at Mount Carmel. We spent many weekends at Friar Tuck's and Wright's Barnyard, two great video arcades in the Calumet City-Lansing (IL) area. Bowling was another great time-spender, although Plonczynski was a bit of a ringer, as he was on MC's bowling team.
Plonczynski was a natural choice for the Losers. He wanted to win and tried to win, but he didn't take losing too hard. That was the spirit of the Losers! Whether slotted at guard or forward, Plonczynski gave it his all. Plonczynski scored 8 points in 5 games.
I have recently reconnected with Plonczynski. He is a father of 4, doing well, living in the western suburbs and is anxious for a Losers reunion.

John Fleszewski (top left) attempts to pass to Dave Plonczynski (white stripes) in Mt. Carmel gym in Chicago, IL-Spring 1983.

The Losers:Origins

I have written a few posts about the Losers, my intramural basketball team back at Mt. Carmel High School. As the name suggests, we were not very good, but we had a lot of fun.
I don't remember why I even put together a team. At a school like Mt. Carmel, clearly we would be at a disadvantage athletically. None of us played any varsity sports. Some of us played a year or 2 on various teams in our 1st and 2nd year. I gimped my way through one season of track, for instance.
Anyway, I decided I wanted to put together a team and I wanted my closest friends, of course. The team consisted of Tom Skalski (a friend since 1st grade), Keith Urbon, Greg Nessinger, Mike Szotek, Dave Plonczynski, John Fleszewski, Todd Kruk, Jim Fisher and me.
We went 1-6, winning our only game on a forfeit. We lost our 1st game 70-8. but vastly improved over the season, losing our last game only 42-18.

More Losers:Keith Urbon

Long before their was country music great Keith Urban, there was Keith Urbon, a Mount Carmel high school friend and one of my teammates on the Losers. While Urban has won 2 Grammy Awards, Urbon would probably have won the Losers MVP Award, if we had one. Urbon is a native of Hegewisch (IL) and sat in front of me through most of high school (alphabetical order ruled back then). Urbon was a huge fan of the White Sox and picked his Losers #10 in honor of then-manager Tony LaRussa.
Urbon's versatility (or the Losers lack of formal strategy) paid off as he played every position on the basketball court. Although he started slow, over the last 3 games of our season, he averaged 7.66 points, on the way to leading our team in total points with 27.
I am not sure why Urbon is clapping in the photo below. My guess would be that the buzzer sounded ending our final game and our dismal 1-6 season. It's an odd photo all around though. One of our opponents (in green) seems to be looking up, perhaps at a rebound. I am semi-running into the play from far left court.

Keith Urbon, me and an opponent (green) in Mt. Carmel gym in Chicago, IL-Spring 1983.

More Losers

Wow, look at this great action shot of the starting off-guard of the Losers, namely me (although it is definitely pre-Johngy). I love this photo because it has so much to offer. My hair. My glasses. My athletic form. My 80's clothing style (hey at least it wasn't a jogging suit).
The ref to my right is Fr. Mike O'Keefe, one of our teachers. He was a real tough guy, who once challenged me to a bathroom brawl for some classroom indiscretion on my part. I don't even remember what I did, but assuming I was wrong, I still think a fight in the bathroom was not a way to build my character.
Also in the shot (although barely visible to my left) is Fr. Gavin Quinn. Ironically, he bore a resemblance to Gavin MacLeod. I attended a basketball game after graduation and ran into Fr. Gavin. Shortly after, he dropped my name to an alum who was looking for some part-time office help. I landed the job at CWO&O, which I kept all throughout my college years. I also met friend and future client Fran Gallagher of Global Traveler magazine at that job (but that's a story for another day).
With that crisp inbounds pass, I am sure we scored quickly (or more likely it was intercepted and slammed home by one of our opponents). I think I managed to score a crispy 2 points per game, but had there been a 3 point shot back then, it would have been 2.5 points per game!

Fr. Mike (the ref) and me in Mt. Carmel gym in Chicago, IL-Spring 1983.

A Bunch of Losers

The NBA basketball season starts today. Who knows what kind of season my Chicago Bulls will have? They have been very inconsistent over the last few years.
One team who was consistent was the Losers. They...we were consistently bad. The Losers were my intramural basketball team during my senior year at Mt. Carmel. I was the starting off-guard (accent on off), although I am not really sure we had positions, except for Tom 'Hammer' Skalski. He was definitely our big man in the middle (and our enforcer, a role he gladly filled).
Other Losers included Dave 'Mooner' Plonczynski, Greg 'Ness' Nessinger, Keith Urbon, Mike Szotek, John Fleszewski, Jim 'Fish' Fisher, Todd Kruk and Ed Mann. We had a great time and even won 1 game. Each Loser will have his time to shine here, but for today, Tom Skalski gets his turn.

Dave Plonczynski, an opponent (in blue) and Tom Skalski in Mt. Carmel gym in Chicago, IL-Spring 1983.