Apparently it was announced a few weeks ago, but since I don’t pay that much attention to BC it took me a while to notice.
BC head coach Al Skinner finally got BC to bail on their annual game with Holy Cross.
The teams first met on the court in 1905. BC dropped basketball following the 1924-25 season, not resuming until 1945. They have played every year since, with annual home-and-homes being a featured part of each school’s schedule from 1947 through 1981. Holy Cross dominated at first, winning 21 in succession before BC finally won in 1957. For the first decade, the Crusaders were a national power, winning a national championship in 1947, filling Boston Garden the next three years with Bob Cousy as a star attraction, then winning the then highly prestigious NIT in 1954, the marquee players being Tom Heinsohn, Togo Palazzi, and Ronnie Perry Sr.
BC began to establish some semblance of parity when The Cooz himself took over as coach in 1963, and as time went on, the fortunes of the teams shifted, the turning point coming when BC joined the new Big East Conference in 1979 and Holy Cross did not. BC is, of course, a much larger school and it probably made sense for Holy Cross to pursue a more modest athletic path (this viewpoint is not a universally held Holy Cross alumni opinion, of course). It has culminated in recent BC dominance, at least in terms of final scores. The Eagles have won 14 of the last 15 contests.
Dropping the Crusaders from the schedule is no casual matter. The athletic rivalry began on the football field in 1896. For the first 70 years of the 20th century, the schools regarded themselves as equals in every way. There are vast numbers of alums on both sides who harbor fond remembrances of great games in both sports, and Lord knows there are innumerable instances of, shall we say, ”mixed” marriages featuring Eagles and Crusaders, not to mention fathers who went to one school and the offspring to another. I mean, I’m working with one right now. Dan Shaughnessy went to Holy Cross, but his son, Sam, will be playing baseball for Peter Hughes at BC next year. These schools have an unbreakable bond, it seems to me.
‘Believe me, I understand,” says DeFilippo. ”My father was Holy Cross, ’49. I grew up pulling for the Crusaders. I understand the history of the teams, but the schedule should be mutually beneficial, and, in my eyes, it’s not beneficial for us to play Holy Cross the next couple of years.”
If that sounds fuzzy and vague, you’re on the right track. ”It’s the continuation of a trend, I guess,” maintains Crusaders coach Ralph Willard, Holy Cross Class of ’67. ”The BCS conferences have a magic formula. They need X number of wins, and they need to schedule outside schools at home they can beat.”
But BC is beating Holy Cross. Fourteen out of 15, remember? So if the Crusaders don’t mind showing up, shouldn’t BC be willing to keep playing them for the sake of, oh, you know, tradition?
Not if you’re Al Skinner, apparently.
”Al told me right away,” recalls Willard. ”He said it was a no-win situation for him.”
Maybe there’s some rule I’ve been unaware that when you join a conference, you sever a traditional game. Damn the history as well. Then you look for any excuse you can find to justify it.
In the last couple of years, Skinner has raised another objection to the game, one the Holy Cross folks find amusing.
”He says BC kids are getting hurt,” says Regan. ”He thinks we’re too physical.”
”I like Al,” says Willard. ”Don’t get me wrong. But I was not happy when he said the referees weren’t protecting his players from the ‘less talented’ players.”
Skinner isn’t backing down on this one. ”I’ve heard them say that their kids were getting hurt, too,” he says. ”So you start asking yourself why you should be playing.”
Yes, the big, bruising BC Eagles of the last few years feels it was getting manhandled by the Crusaders. No wonder Al Skinner could never beat Pitt.
