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!