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A moment in time
Event at Mansfield gym typifies small-school relationship with community
Event at Mansfield gym typifies small-school relationship with community
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By Steve McCloskey
Mansfield University of Pennsylvania
Mansfield University of Pennsylvania
The following story exemplifies the unique bond NCAA colleges and universities share with their communities and is reprinted with permission from the author.
I wish Norman Rockwell was still alive.
No artist has been as successful at capturing the values in the everyday lives of Americans as was Rockwell. He would have had a field day March 10 at Mansfield’s Decker Gymnasium.
I wish he could have been there to capture the spirit that makes life in a small town so rewarding for so many, including myself.
Perched on a hill overlooking both the university and town, Decker Gymnasium is named in honor of Marion “Spotts” Decker. Spotts was born and raised in Mansfield where he was a standout basketball player at Mansfield High School before a stellar career at Mansfield University — then known as Mansfield State Normal School.
Spotts moved from his hometown after he graduated but returned after World War II to serve as the university’s athletics director. He had seen the big-city lights, but wanted to get back to somewhere he could make a difference.
The building that bears his name has hosted many special events over its 36 years.
It’s been the site of an NBA basketball game with the old Buffalo Braves, a performance from the world-renowned Harlem Globetrotters, and concerts from Johnny Cash and dozens of other nationally known musical groups. It’s even hosted President Gerald Ford and First Lady Barbara Bush.
But nothing in that long and proud history matched the anticipation or drama of the recent Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class A Boys District IV championship game between the Mansfield High School Tigers and the North Penn High School Panthers.
The game had been the talk of the Mansfield and Blossburg communities even before the two schools earned a berth in the final. Mansfield-North Penn is a big game any day, but it took on even more meaning in that contest at Decker. For the first time in more than 30 years, one of those two schools would be crowned the District IV champion.
The two communities have a lot in common, as do the basketball players from each team. Three months ago, 17 of them — 10 from North Penn and seven from Mansfield — had played together on the North Penn football team, coming just short of winning the District IV title. Teammates just three month ago, players on both teams would be rivals at Decker.
Mansfield and North Penn, along with Liberty High School, are part of the Southern Tioga School District. Because of their small size, the schools combine to play certain sports in a jointure program. North Penn fields a football team on which Mansfield and Liberty players participate. Mansfield has soccer and baseball squads — both championship programs — on which North Penn students play.
Covington is midway between Mansfield and Blossburg, and the talk at the Colonial Inn on Friday night was all about Saturday’s game. Former players remembered every detail of the games from their playing days, and everyone knew all the players from both teams. The debate about who was going to win the game was as lively as the talk about when to arrive to ensure a good seat. After all, it was reported fans would be coming from as far as Florida for the big event.
Although the game wouldn’t start until 2:30, Decker was almost filled to capacity by the start of the Mansfield girl’s third-place game against Sayre. The Mansfield girls enjoyed widespread support after winning the last two District IV titles but had been upset a game earlier by Benton and needed to take third place that afternoon to advance to the state playoffs.
The North Penn fans joined the Mansfield faithful in cheering for the Mansfield girls, who would go on to win the game. But the loudest and longest cheer of the game came when the North Penn boys got off the team bus and walked into Decker.
As the girls’ game was in full tilt, the North Penn fans rose from their seats and gave their team a standing ovation as they strolled into Decker in their street clothes on their way to the locker room. Although I tried to remain neutral, that gesture of support made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
As I looked around the now full arena I couldn’t help but notice how many people I knew. Every facet of small-town society was there. Teachers, bankers, business people, doctors, craftsmen, salesmen, mechanics, the guys from the foundry, and lots and lots of families. Kids were everywhere, dressed in their school colors with the player’s names and numbers written on their shirts. Some of the most rabid didn’t even have shirts — they painted their entire upper torso in school colors.
The mayor of Mansfield sang the national anthem, and the game was covered by four newspapers, two television stations and radio. It seemed at that moment nothing in the world was more important than the game.
North Penn was considered the favorite. The Panthers were the top- seeded team in the tournament and had beaten Mansfield in their two regular-season meetings.
They certainly represented the spirit and pride of their old mining community when they took the court during pregame introductions. The players and their fans were in a frenzy as the starters were announced.
Mansfield, although enthusiastic, was a little more reserved, perhaps reflecting the community’s 150-year history as the educational center for the county.
As the buzzer sounded to start the game, no one represented the conflicting interests more than Tom Dickinson. The official game clock and scoreboard operator for the playoff game, Dickinson is also the head football coach and teaches at North Penn. He had loyalties to players on both teams.
The place was electric at tip-off, with roars coming from both sides on each and every play. Mansfield took an early lead and maintained it for most of the half before North Penn rallied to take a one-point lead at the break. The second half was just as tight before Mansfield hit 10 straight shots in the fourth quarter to pull off its first District IV championship since the days of Tom McMillan in 1970.
The Mansfield student section stormed the court. The area under the basket resembled a mosh pit as bodies flew high in the air. In the stands, parents, fans and former players openly wept with tears of joy.
There were tears on the North Penn side, too. Although the players’ heads were bowed, they could still hear the standing ovation they received from their proud fans. Win or lose, their fans were — and have always been — proud of them.
The fans from both schools applauded the players from the other when the medals were awarded.
After capturing their first District title in 37 years, no one was going to deny Mansfield the opportunity to celebrate by cutting down the nets. As everyone milled about waiting for a pair of scissors, I couldn’t help but marvel how alive I felt and how much pride I had in both communities.
I knew that it was a special moment, and it reminded me why I chose to live in a small town.
Now I know why Spotts came back.
Steve McCloskey is the sports information director at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. He can be reached at smcclosk@mnsfld.edu.
I wish Norman Rockwell was still alive.
No artist has been as successful at capturing the values in the everyday lives of Americans as was Rockwell. He would have had a field day March 10 at Mansfield’s Decker Gymnasium.
I wish he could have been there to capture the spirit that makes life in a small town so rewarding for so many, including myself.
Perched on a hill overlooking both the university and town, Decker Gymnasium is named in honor of Marion “Spotts” Decker. Spotts was born and raised in Mansfield where he was a standout basketball player at Mansfield High School before a stellar career at Mansfield University — then known as Mansfield State Normal School.
Spotts moved from his hometown after he graduated but returned after World War II to serve as the university’s athletics director. He had seen the big-city lights, but wanted to get back to somewhere he could make a difference.The building that bears his name has hosted many special events over its 36 years.
It’s been the site of an NBA basketball game with the old Buffalo Braves, a performance from the world-renowned Harlem Globetrotters, and concerts from Johnny Cash and dozens of other nationally known musical groups. It’s even hosted President Gerald Ford and First Lady Barbara Bush.
But nothing in that long and proud history matched the anticipation or drama of the recent Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class A Boys District IV championship game between the Mansfield High School Tigers and the North Penn High School Panthers.
The game had been the talk of the Mansfield and Blossburg communities even before the two schools earned a berth in the final. Mansfield-North Penn is a big game any day, but it took on even more meaning in that contest at Decker. For the first time in more than 30 years, one of those two schools would be crowned the District IV champion.The two communities have a lot in common, as do the basketball players from each team. Three months ago, 17 of them — 10 from North Penn and seven from Mansfield — had played together on the North Penn football team, coming just short of winning the District IV title. Teammates just three month ago, players on both teams would be rivals at Decker.
Mansfield and North Penn, along with Liberty High School, are part of the Southern Tioga School District. Because of their small size, the schools combine to play certain sports in a jointure program. North Penn fields a football team on which Mansfield and Liberty players participate. Mansfield has soccer and baseball squads — both championship programs — on which North Penn students play.
Covington is midway between Mansfield and Blossburg, and the talk at the Colonial Inn on Friday night was all about Saturday’s game. Former players remembered every detail of the games from their playing days, and everyone knew all the players from both teams. The debate about who was going to win the game was as lively as the talk about when to arrive to ensure a good seat. After all, it was reported fans would be coming from as far as Florida for the big event.
Although the game wouldn’t start until 2:30, Decker was almost filled to capacity by the start of the Mansfield girl’s third-place game against Sayre. The Mansfield girls enjoyed widespread support after winning the last two District IV titles but had been upset a game earlier by Benton and needed to take third place that afternoon to advance to the state playoffs.
The North Penn fans joined the Mansfield faithful in cheering for the Mansfield girls, who would go on to win the game. But the loudest and longest cheer of the game came when the North Penn boys got off the team bus and walked into Decker.
As the girls’ game was in full tilt, the North Penn fans rose from their seats and gave their team a standing ovation as they strolled into Decker in their street clothes on their way to the locker room. Although I tried to remain neutral, that gesture of support made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
As I looked around the now full arena I couldn’t help but notice how many people I knew. Every facet of small-town society was there. Teachers, bankers, business people, doctors, craftsmen, salesmen, mechanics, the guys from the foundry, and lots and lots of families. Kids were everywhere, dressed in their school colors with the player’s names and numbers written on their shirts. Some of the most rabid didn’t even have shirts — they painted their entire upper torso in school colors.
The mayor of Mansfield sang the national anthem, and the game was covered by four newspapers, two television stations and radio. It seemed at that moment nothing in the world was more important than the game.
North Penn was considered the favorite. The Panthers were the top- seeded team in the tournament and had beaten Mansfield in their two regular-season meetings.
They certainly represented the spirit and pride of their old mining community when they took the court during pregame introductions. The players and their fans were in a frenzy as the starters were announced.
Mansfield, although enthusiastic, was a little more reserved, perhaps reflecting the community’s 150-year history as the educational center for the county.
As the buzzer sounded to start the game, no one represented the conflicting interests more than Tom Dickinson. The official game clock and scoreboard operator for the playoff game, Dickinson is also the head football coach and teaches at North Penn. He had loyalties to players on both teams.
The place was electric at tip-off, with roars coming from both sides on each and every play. Mansfield took an early lead and maintained it for most of the half before North Penn rallied to take a one-point lead at the break. The second half was just as tight before Mansfield hit 10 straight shots in the fourth quarter to pull off its first District IV championship since the days of Tom McMillan in 1970.
The Mansfield student section stormed the court. The area under the basket resembled a mosh pit as bodies flew high in the air. In the stands, parents, fans and former players openly wept with tears of joy.
There were tears on the North Penn side, too. Although the players’ heads were bowed, they could still hear the standing ovation they received from their proud fans. Win or lose, their fans were — and have always been — proud of them.
The fans from both schools applauded the players from the other when the medals were awarded.
After capturing their first District title in 37 years, no one was going to deny Mansfield the opportunity to celebrate by cutting down the nets. As everyone milled about waiting for a pair of scissors, I couldn’t help but marvel how alive I felt and how much pride I had in both communities.
I knew that it was a special moment, and it reminded me why I chose to live in a small town.
Now I know why Spotts came back.
Steve McCloskey is the sports information director at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. He can be reached at smcclosk@mnsfld.edu.
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