GREAT BALL PLAYERS OF SPARTA 
Their stories are untold; there are no books to read, no movies about their
deeds to watch! In fact, only they and those who lived those memorable
moments of their times can give you actual accounts of their wonderful
feats. Even the greatest historians with the most hauntingly vivid memories
of their time, when asked often find it difficult to give a clear account
of the dynasty that reigned for decades in Liberia. But whenever you encounter
a person who lived in Liberia during the 70's and 80's; mention the names: Grisby,
Watts, Dunbar, Kiawu, Diggs, Smith, (Bad Ken), Harris (Toyuwa), Cummings,
Ricks, Walker, Cephas, Eastman, Gabbidon, Gooding, Adigibe, Russell, Purser,
Williamson, Goodrich, et al,- the expression that suddenly appears
on that person's face tells a lot! And all of a sudden, you begin to hear
stories; stories that can only be told about heros and heroines; stories
that can only be told about LEGENDARY FIGURES. Personally,
I lack the words to write about these GREAT MEN AND WOMEN; and
it is simply because I don't think I have enough adjectives to describe
what I saw while growing up. I do remember however, that it was always
a dream to be like these men; to wear the uniform of a Spartan; and to
dominate the court as they did during their time, and to enjoy the fame
and glory they enjoyed. Just one minute of that glory, would have sufficed.
And while I, like many of my classmates did wear the uniform like we had
dreamed, one thing was lacking; we weren't as dominant against other teams
as our predecessors were. Yet, other teams were cautious of us; some even
worked harder because of what their coaches told them-that Spartans are
very resilent; that you can have a comfortable lead of 20 points, and they
will come back to beat you; even with a minute left in the game. That was
simply because those coaches had played against GREAT SPARTANS
like KC Diggs, who made a shot at the buzzer while being defended by two
of the greatest defenders in Liberian basketball history. They
felt the wrath of GREAT SPARTANS and warned their players!!
Some say these men would have all made the
NBA had they lived in the United States during their time.
Some say that the first African basketballer would have come
from Liberia, from Sparta. Others say that, were the NBA
rules the same back in the 70s as they were during the advent
of Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Motumbo and other African
players, there would have been at least 20 Liberian
basketball players in the NBA; and 18 of the 20 would have
been from SPARTA. I'd say the entire New York Knicks,
New Jersey Nets, Washington Bullets, and the Philadelphia
76ers would have consisted of GREAT BALL PLAYERS OF SPARTA.
The Spartan glory lives on and while a few
of the GREATEST BALL PLAYERS of Sparta and
of Liberia have passed on (may their soul rest in peace),
many of those great heros still live. As time goes by, these
men will always be remembered; songs will be sung about
them, and our children will hear more bedtime stories about
their great moments. And they (our children),
will aspire to be like these men.I hope and pray that these
GREAT BALLERS will tell their stories (as few of them have
done below)so that the next generation of Spartans will be
motivated-just like we(88) were- to maintain the dominance
that these great men held during their time. And when this
happens, other teams will say, "THEY ARE COMING,
THE SPARTANS ARE COMING" and Spartans will say, "TO
VICTORY WE MARCH, and WITH VICTORY WE SHALL RETURN".
- Darren Wilkins, `88
GREAT
Moments remembered by GREAT BALL PLAYERS
GBP
Handel Diggs remembers:
"In 1978, B.W.Harris
defeated Monrovia College. That was the year when MC had
players like Jimmy McCritty, Reginald Reeves and Ernest Reeves.
The most memorable moment of that year was when I dribbled
the ball to the corner, and took a sweet jumper to win the
game at the buzzer! This proves that before Michael Jordan
was making buzzer-beating shots, it had been done in Liberia!"
- Handel K.C. Diggs, GBP-Class of '78
Toyuwa
Harris, also a GBP remembers:
Game against St. Patricks High- THE SAINTS
John T hit a shot at the buzzer to beat St pats in his last High School Game
Henry “buku”Eastman made a shot from the center to win against
St. Patricks
Game against Wells H.S.-
" I remember a game against Wells H.S. I had fouled out and the late BK,
'Taxi Driver' came off the bench upon orders of ' SOSO' (Melvin Deshield)
who put BK in to replace me. BK went to the hole(basket) 3 times in a row right
in Big Suku's face, and tied the score. Subsequently, 'Bad Ken' (Kenneth Smith)
hit the jumper to put us up by one.We fouled Big Suku as time expired and he
was sent to the line. He missed both foul shots and that led to another Spartan
Victory."
Game against Monrovia College
"I also remember what I consider My best game as a Spartan. We were playing
MC in the American Cooperative School's (ACS) gymnasium. They had beaten us eailer
that year at the YMCA. I was in early foul trouble so I wasplaced on the bench.
We were down by 10 points. I was put back into the game with 10 minutes left.
I got hot and hit 5 jumpers in a row. We tied the score. On the last play
I stripped the guard off the ball and took it to the hole(basket)..WOW ,,,what
a Spartan WIN!"
Game against Ricks Institute
Another Spartan highlight for me occurred when playing against Ricks. My
Brother Leo Eastman was blazing hot.....the man could not miss…..LEO
hit 10..yes..10 jumpers in a row for a Spartan win."
Toyuwa remembers others:
"The Great Ball Players' history cannot be written without the mention of
Big burl and " Detroit". Detroit on the drums gave us the Spartan Spirit.
Big Burl the cordinator, made sure everthing was right; from the bus charter..to
clearing the door for the Boys to come in. Oh...I forgot EB Sowah..our Number
One " Grommo" man. Sowah is the cause that ACS banned High School games
at their gymnasium."
- Toyuwa Harris, GBP, Class of `80
Kenneth
Smith remembers:
Wells H.S. game
"As for the 80 team, we had so many wins including 7 trophies with only
3 losses the entire year. We beat Wells H.S. by one point after we were down
by 11 points with 59 seconds left in the game...
The game against ACS
I remember the 80 team whipping ACS by 65 points margin. We wanted to send
a message to ACS that they were not in the same league as the Spartans.
We could have whipped them by 85 or more points. SOSO took the starters
out of the game to keep the record of the 75 team which had won by 75
points.
The game against Zion Academy-1980
We whipped Zion I think about 55 points that year.
The Catholic School in Grand
Bassa County
We beat the Catholic School in Bassa by 35 points without 3 of the starters
playing..We were just too damn good that year.
The game against St.Patricks High School
Another memory, in a game against STP, they had a play call “blue moon”.
They forgot the Spartans had more shooters. We copy their play and used it
against them for the victory….
The LTI Saga
We were just too darned good that year. We spoiled the school by winning
too many games. When we lost to LTI, T and I were accused of selling the
game to be with our friends...
Another person we never got to see
his full basketball potential was my brother Winfred Clark.
Winfred was the first pro-like person on the team. He came
with all his gears (knees, elbow, back, etc…) in
a gym bag. I remember my brother dressing for the game
in Bassa and didn’t play…He was so darned
pissed all the way back to Monrovia.
Other people (muscle men) who played important parts: L. Jenkins, P. Malcolm
Wright, Jenkins Cooper, et al …I just want us to remember the days
of Big-Burl and Tom Cole. Although, these guys didn’t play the game,
without their singing of the Spartan spiritual fight songs, we wouldn’t
have had the dynasty for over a decade. I remember those guys singing us
to victories when people taught we were down and out. What good memories…"
- Kenneth "Bad Ken" Smith, GBP `80
Leo Eastman Remembers:
"Fellow Spartans, remember that we won all sporting
events (Championship) in 1976: Men's basketball, Women
basketball, JV Men's Basketball, Soccer, Volleyball,
Track & Field, Kickball, Table Tennis (Shaft), JV
Women's basketball and more."
- Leo Eastman, GBP
Horatio Bernard remembers:
"Does anyone remember guys like Winston Harmond,
G-Funk (late Gabriel Farngalo), just to name a few.Those
were the good ole days! Whenever we won a game, we walked
from YMCA on Crown Hilll back to the school; singing in the
streets.The list goes on and on...........we can never finish
telling the stories or the history so many of us were part
of. We had love for each other and we had lots of fun."
- Horatio Bernard - `80
Gail Farngalo
remembers:
"I know I am late on this, Horay, but my brother(Gabriel
Farngalo) had game; guys don't forget Ervin Boayue, and
the Dunbar siblings, Joseph and Celestine (Tofun)."
-Gail Farngalo, `80
Charles Johnson
Remembers (Soccer)
The game against Cathedra
H.S.
"We had always lost to Cathedral H.S. and were expected to loose again this
time. But we surprised exveryone. That day, I think I played my best because
not a single goal was scored on me even though there were many attempts."
-Charles Johnson, GBP '88
Ben
Purser Remembers (Basketball)
" I remember playing at B W harris was as good as
balling in the pros. I remember a championship game in 1975:
B W Harris vs MC, the defending champs. In the second half
I scored all of B W Harris points to take the game into overtime.
During the overtime Alvin Jones made two free throws and
Irvin Boayue got a tip in on a missed shot. When the buzzer
sounded B. W. Harris won their very first championship! That
day was the beginning of the Spartan dynasty. The next year
in 1976 was a cake walk; that year for the first time a high
school basketball team in Liberia scored 80 points. Yeah,
B W Harris beat CWA 80 to 50. That year, the CWA team included
Mabu Freeman and Ricky Ross; both of whom had a darned good
game! B. W. Harris went on to win it second championship.
Another "first" in high school basketball in Liberia
was the game between B W Harris and Wells Hairston High School.
In this game, I remember making a steal and running down
the floor for a dunk. That was a new thing because everybody
ran on the floor; it took about 10 minutes to clear the floor
and got the game started.There was dunking in Liberia but
never during the game specially in a high school game.
Meet
The Great Ball Players
In any sport, there are those players who
are sparkly, those who shine, and those who glow. So it is
in basketball. Every so often, a player comes along who changes
the game and makes his opponents work even harder. That player
always rises to the top because of some extraordinary skill
or ability; he or she stands above the rest! Then comes another
player, who might gain his or her glory as a result of one
memorable game; a game in which he or she did something that
has never been done. That game becomes his or her glory-
forever. Then there are the others who shine for the entire
season, and there are those who sparkle all through their
athletic career. Ultimately, all of these players go down
in history as GREAT BALL PLAYERS! The table below shows the
names of a FEW OF SPARTA's GREATEST PLAYERS of all time.
Each and every member listed below, deserver to be inducted
into the basketball, soccer, and kickball, HALL OF FAME!
1970
|
Name of Player
|
Position
|
Unique Skill
|
Most Memorable
Moment
|
Bruce Williams - 69
- 70
Phillip Louder 69
- 70
|
|
|
|
1971
|
Name of Player
|
Position
|
Unique Skill
|
Most Memorable Moment
|
| Rupert Hoff 69
- 71 |
|
|
|
1972
|
Name of Player
|
Position
|
Unique Skill
|
Most Memorable Moment
|
| Henry Williamson - 71 - 72 |
|
|
|
1973
|
Name of player
|
Position
|
Unique Skill
|
Most Memorable Moment
|
|
Stephen Cephas 70 - 73
|
|
|
|
1974
|
|
|
Position
|
Unique Skill
|
Most Memorable Moment
|
|
Irving Boayue 74
- 75
|
|
|
|
1975
|
Name of Player
|
Position
|
Unique Skill
|
Most Memorable Moment
|
Melvin "Soso" Deshield 73
- 75
Ishmael Goodridge 74 - 75
Isaac Whisnant
Sam Collins
Clemencure Urey
Wilhilmina Martin (Gurley)
Mardea Williams
Wilhilmina Stuwart
Celestine Dunbar
Albert Gibson
|
|
|
|
YEAR
PLAYED UNKNOW
|
Name of Player
|
Position
|
Unique Skill
|
Most Memorable Moment
|
Ebenezer "SKY" Grisby(deceased)
Henry Eastman
The late Boimah Kiawu (deceased)
Micheal Doe
Lamb Phillips
Alfred Harris
FB Dunn
Ken "Bad Ken" Smith
Johnathan Cummings
Kahon
Justin Yango
jr Dunbar
Eric Watts
John Tay
PK Dennis |
|
|
|
1976
|
Name of Player
|
Position
|
Unique Skill
|
Most Memorable Moment
|
|
Ben Purser
Eric Watts
Alvin Jones ("Iron man")
|
|
|
|
| |
1977
|
Name of Player
|
Position
|
Unique Skill
|
Most Memorable Moment
|
|
|
|
|
1978
|
Name of players
|
Position
|
Unique Skill
|
Most Memorable Moment
|
John T. Gabbidon
Handel K.C. Diggs
Joseph Dunbar
Bonzy Capehart
|
|
|
|
1979
|
Name of Player
|
Position
|
Unique Skill
|
Most Memorable Moment
|
|
|
|
|
|
1980
|
Name of Player
|
Position
|
Unique Skill
|
Most Memorable Moment
|
Leo Eastman
Ken "Bad Ken" Smith
Toyuwa Harris
Ebenezar "SKY" Grisby
Papi Gbarbea
Ebenezer "The Big E" O'Connor"
Alfred "The Ice man" Harris
Baby Kiahon
Boima Kiawu
Michael Doe
|
|
|
|
| |
1981
|
|
|
Name of Player
|
Position
|
Unique Skill
|
Most Memorable Moment
|
| |
|
|
|
|
1982
|
Name of Player
|
Position
|
Unique Skill
|
Most Memorable Moment
|
| |
|
|
|
1983
|
Name of Player
|
Position
|
Unique Skill
|
Most Memorable Moment
|
| |
|
|
|
1984
|
Name of Player
|
Position
|
Unique Skill
|
Most Memorable Moment
|
| |
|
|
|
1985
|
Name of Player
|
Position
|
Unique Skill
|
Most Memorable Moment
|
Martin Cephas
Joseph "J-Free" Freeman
Samuel Brisbane
|
|
|
|
1986
|
Name of Player
|
Position
|
Unique Skill
|
Most Memorable Moment
|
Jelico Bright
Mathew Gbarmo |
|
|
|
1987
|
Name of Player
|
Position
|
|
Most Memorable
Moment
|
GbiGbi Richards
Arthur Pennoh
|
Center/Forward
Center |
|
|
1988
|
Name of Player
|
Position
|
Unique Skill
|
Most Memorable Moment
|
Arthur "RAP" Pennoh
Marvin "Casoo" Cassell
Samuel "Chuck" Norris
Charles "Blackman" Blamo
Abramham "Brotha" Johnson
Victor "Production" Fares
Stephen "6'10" Wreh
Darren "Dominique" Wilkins
Lamine "Desporado" Kaba
Godwin "Willie" Williams
Burgess "Bee-Que" Mustapha
James "Chuchu" Minor Jr.
Ritchlieu "Lou" Mitchell
Charles "Butless" Johnson
(Soccer)
Abraham "Sergio"Ellis (Soccer)
|
Center
Guard/Forward
Forward
Guard
Guard
Forward
Forward
Forward
Center
Center/Forward
Forward
Guard
Forward
Goalkeeper
Midfield
|
Strength/Power
Attack mechanism
Rebounding
Athletic dunking
One-hand Shooting
Strength/Power
Defense
Vertical jump
Shot blocking
Power rebounding
3-Point shooter
Dribbling
Vertical jump
Sprinter
Scoring
|
Game in Grand Bassa County- 1988
|
1989
|
Name of Player
|
Position
|
Unique Skill
|
Most Memorable Moment
|
Flomo Telewoda
Pittman Harmon
Ritchlieu Mitchell |
Forward
Center
Forward
|
|
|
