Hockey Puck's Finest Moment
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    I have covered sports since the fall of 1971. Very simply, no story I have ever written got a bigger reaction than this one. Phone calls, letters. More phone calls, more letters. "Hock" was in his glory. It was so much fun to see him revel in the attention. This story, by the way, caused big problems in the office. Our sports editor at the time was livid that I wrote about Tom. "This is a serious newspaper! We can't have stories on him!" He said if he ever tried to pull a stunt like that again, he'd try to get me fired. Needless to say, he wasn't from Philly. He just didn't understand the beauty that is "Puck."

MAN ABOUT SPORTS McKENNA BUILDS A CHAMPION
4/16/1987

By TED SILARY, Daily News Sports Writer

    His nicknames range from "Hockey" to "Puck" to "Nutman" to "Head
Fakes," and his fame extends, literally, as far as he has traveled.
    He keeps statistics for the Daily News, Drexel basketball and the Sonny
Hill League. He hawks beer and hot dogs at Phillies and Eagles games.
His name is Tom McKenna. If you live in this city and play, coach or watch
sports from the high school level on up, you at least know of him.
    It is July 1980 and information is being gathered for a story on people who
play basketball all night.
    Our first stop, about 1:30 a.m., is a playground at 8th and Cumberland
streets in North Philadelphia. Only "vandalism lights" illuminate the
playground, and the steps leading to the elevated court are completely dark.
    "You crazy," McKenna keeps saying. "You go up. If you ain't dead in a
minute, then I'll come up."
    "Just come, will you," I say.
    "We dead," McKenna says, as we ascend the steps. "I know it."
    Finally, the top step. As we stride onto one end of the court, a voice
rings out from the other.
    "Hockeeeeey! What's up?"
    "Hey," McKenna says. "Somebody know me here?"
    Everywhere, actually.
    This past winter, McKenna accompanied Roman Catholic's basketball team to
Hawaii (he earned the trip by selling 100 chances at $10 a pop), flew to
Kansas City to witness the opening round of the NAIA Tournament ("I always
wanted to see 16 games in two days," he said), and made his annual pilgrimage
to Cumberland, Md., for the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament, where
he provided non-stop entertainment in the hospitality room.
    Then came last night, the "happiest moment" in McKenna's life.
The team he put together, Austin's Sports Center, used a tip-in with 0:02
left by 6-5 Harold Mobley (George Washington) to defeat Whelan Associates,
88-87, in the championship game of the 18-team Albert C. Donofrio Classic in
Conshohocken. It was a game delayed 41 minutes in the first half when 6-6,
220-pound hulk Harold Brantley (Harrisburg High, bound for Fairfield), of
Whelan, uncorked a dunk that shattered a glass backboard and caused the
basket to fall to the floor.
    "It was cool," McKenna said. "I went over to their bench, like I was
working with them. I wanted to hear everybody talking about it. And slap hands
with Brantley.
    "Then I started thinking. That was the time of the game where we were
moving. We had the momentum. We just went up one, 34-33. We didn't think we
could get it back together (after the delay). We were right. We went back
down and we were losing the rest of the game."
    It is simply amazing that Tom McKenna was able to assemble a team capable
of the winning this high-powered tournament. The Sonny Hill League long has
maintained a stranglehold on most of the area's top players, and groups them
into three teams by class. This year, local organizations that compete in AAU
tourneys - the Delaware Valley Sports Association and the Hunter Basketball
Association - entered five and two teams, respectively. An AAU team from
North Jersey (Roadrunners) also participated.
    "To put this team together," McKenna said, "I first looked at who Sonny
had, then I tried to get the next best players available."
    En route to four tourney wins, Austin's employed an eight-man rotation
consisting of Roman guard Clayton "Stink" Adams (co-MVP with 21 points, 7
assists and 3 steals) and forward Chuck Veterano, West Philadelphia swingman
Mike Monroe (13 points, 5 assists) and guard Dwayne Jeter, Murrell Dobbins
Tech forward-center Larry Stewart (14 points, 10 rebounds), Monsignor Bonner
junior forward Brian Daly, Ridley sophomore guard Bobby Robinson and Mobley,
a center.
    "I messed up, really," said McKenna, who also assembled the Austin's team
that made it to last year's final. "I had Marc Whaley (6-7 junior from
Overbrook) and Will Scott (6-3 All-Scholastic forward from Southern) on my
original roster. I forgot to put their names on the final roster."
    Traditionally, McKenna merely keeps statistics ("Oh, man. Who got that
block?" he's forever asking anyone within earshot) and brings smiles to the
faces of referees with bellowed comments such as, "C'mon. That call was
horrrr-ible."
    But last night, Marvin Kilgore, who coached the team to its first three
wins, was unavailable because of work. He arranged for Mel Dubin, a friend of
Mobley's, to fill in, and Dubin and McKenna ultimately worked in tandem.
    It was McKenna who called for situational substituting involving Jeter
(offense) and Robinson (defense), in the last 2:00.
    "Jeter was giving me what's-with-you? looks, but it worked," McKenna
crowed. "Bobby got two steals, including the game-saver."
    With 1:28 left, Monroe made the front end of a one-and-one to cut Whelan's
lead to 87-86. Robinson then made his first steal, although no points
resulted. At 0:45, co-MVP Brantley (14 points, 13 boards) missed both parts
of a two-shot foul and Austin's wound up holding for one.
    The shot was taken by Veterano (who signed with St. Peter's after the game)
from 13 feet on the left baseline. The ball kicked high and Mobley was able to
execute the tip-in from the front, left side.
    Robinson then intercepted Jack Hurd's inbound pass to end it.
    "First, I went to set a pick for Chuck, so he could get a jump shot," said
Mobley, for whom the tournament produced interest from Monmouth and Hofstra.
"I wasn't sure whether he'd miss, but I went up for the rebound strong. It
was instinct. I just tapped it."
    Soon, McKenna was being swarmed by college and high school coaches,
reporters and well-wishers of various descriptions.
    Most shook his hand or slapped his back. But Ron "Fang" Mitchell, coach at
Coppin State in Baltimore, planted a big kiss on his cheek.
    McKenna's reaction?
    "Ewwwww. You crazy? Get away from me, man."