Tradition
Since the year after its founding, on an abandoned asparagus field in 1937, Siena has boasted amen’s basketball teamthat has captivated audiences in the Capital Region and beyond. In the original glory days of the late 1940s and early 1950s, the then-Indians advanced to the National Catholic Invitational Tournament four straight years, winning the title in Albany in 1950.
time, the Saints played in the longest game in NCAA history, a six-overtime loss to Niagara in 1952-53 (now the second longest). The following year, the player who provided the brightest moments during the “dark years”, Bill Kirsch a 5-8 guard who was described as a “set-shot artist,” supplied one of the most memorable moments in program history, sinking a 60-foot shot at Madison Square Garden to beat Iona at the buzzer. Sportswriter David Eisenberg described the shot as “the most sensational basketball shot in Madison Square Garden history, a three-quarter courter from 60 feet out.”
Billy Harrell was a United Press Honorable Mention All-American in 1952.
In 1972, the former set-shot standout took over as head men’s basketball coach and athletic director. It was under his leadership, and through his imagi- nation, that Siena was given Division I status in 1976. After a brief incubation period, the program began to flourish, and has since periodically experienced the national acclaim Fitzgerald dared dream of over 60 years ago.
Howie Tucker was a member of Siena’s first team in 1938. He was the first person inducted into the Siena Sports Hall of Fame.
The Rev. Marcus Fitzgerald served as the department’s first athletic director, publicizing his vision “that one day Siena would gain the same national fame in basketball that has been achieved in football by Notre Dame.”
Following the success of the early 50s, the program was well on its way, as the Indians found themselves ranked in the AP top-20 in successive seasons, catapulting as high as 11th following an upset of Seton Hall in Albany’s Washington Avenue’s Armory.
Siena Hall of Famer Billy Harrell was a big part of the team’s success in its teenage years, drawing the praise of national publications on his way to
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George Bruda helped the Siena Indians to the National Catholic Invitational Championship as a senior in 1950.
being drafted by both the National Basketball Association (Minneapolis Lakers) and Major League Baseball (Cleveland Indians). “The Flash” was a United Press Honorable Mention All- American as a senior in 1952.
Over the next 20 years, the program struggled, winning no more than 14 games in any season. During that
Bill Kirsch starred at Siena in the 1950s before returning to his almamater in 1972 as head coach and athletic director. It was under his leadership that Siena obtained Division I status in 1976.
Head Coach Mike Deane guided Siena to the promised land of college basket- ball, the NCAA Tournament, for the first time in 1989 — the year after the programmade its initial NIT appearance. After capturing the nation’s attention throughout the season as a result of a measles outbreak on campus that forced several games (including the North Atlantic Conference Tournament) to be
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