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Topic: How Pistol Pete ended up at LSU

Topic: How Pistol Pete ended up at LSU

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giacomo
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Member Since: 11/20/2007
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How Pistol Pete ended up at LSU

Posted: 3/15/2018 1:22:17 PM

Joe Starkey: Pete Maravich's legend lives on in Aliquippa — and in his old college roommate
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/joe-starkey/2018/03/15...

Great story with some interviews.

bornacatfan
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Member Since: 8/3/2006
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RE: How Pistol Pete ended up at LSU

Posted: 3/15/2018 8:43:36 PM

Really good story. Pistol was my hero growing up and I continue to give kids copies of and links to his "homework basketball" when they ask what they can do to get better.

Tragic life but he leaves his legacy. Good story, thanks for posting

never argue with idiots, they bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.

Winter comes and asks how you spent your summer.....

The game loves and rewards those who love and reward the game

brucecuth
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Member Since: 12/21/2004
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RE: How Pistol Pete ended up at LSU

Posted: 3/16/2018 7:15:14 AM

And there's a Bobcat connection. Pistol Pete's dad and coach, Press Maravich, returned from the service after World War II to play basketball with the Youngstown Bears in the National Basketball League, forerunner to the modern NBA.

His teammate was Pete Lalich, a Bobcat basketball star and a member of the Ohio Athletics Hall of Fame. They'd been acquainted since playing against each other in the '30s.

Pete would have 2 sons. Todd was a star basketball player for Jim Snyder in the early 70s and was said to have patterned his game after Pistol Pete.

His other son, Pete, should be well known to many fans. Active in Democrat politics and a retired teacher, he attends every Bobcat home game and is the team's academic advisor.

Last Edited: 3/16/2018 8:02:50 PM by brucecuth

Bobcatzblitz
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Member Since: 7/21/2010
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RE: How Pistol Pete ended up at LSU

Posted: 3/17/2018 7:14:05 PM

Pete Jr is a great guy loves Ohio

OhioCatFan
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Member Since: 12/20/2004
Location: Athens, OH
Post Count: 14,016

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RE: How Pistol Pete ended up at LSU

Posted: 3/17/2018 10:03:00 PM

Agree about Pete Lalich Jr., who I call the Bridgeport Flash, but that's a long story.

However, though this is an excellent story that I really enjoyed reading, I'll have to say that the part of the story about how Pete ended up playing for his father seems far-fetched to me. If he hadn't played for his father, he clearly would have still been a legendary player, but I seriously doubt he would have put up the numbers that he did at LSU. Press' offense was basically pass the ball to my son and let him shoot. At another school the offense might have keyed on Pistol Pete but it would have been somewhat more spread out. Pete must have known that. I always figured that's why he played for this father.

Last Edited: 3/17/2018 10:08:05 PM by OhioCatFan

The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA

"It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right."

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OUcats82
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Location: Cincinnati, OH
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RE: How Pistol Pete ended up at LSU

Posted: 3/19/2018 9:50:58 AM

I cannot get enough Western PA sports stories that have the old steel towns like Aliquippa, Beaver Falls etc. as the backdrop. The hard nosed, blue collar culture contributed to much to creating many famous athletes.

It's such a fascinating and depressing tale to see how those communities contributed so much to America's industrial backbone for so long-only for the bottom to fall out as manufacturing has dwindled over the decades. How it gave so much to immigrant families only to be taken away for their children and future generations.

Those who know me well know I often say "If I had a time machine..." Well I would love to have seen some of these towns humming in their heyday. The work ethic put in at the steel mills probably 6 days a week showed up in incredible spirit and support in the grandstands and bleachers on Friday nights. I've been able to travel through Beaver and other counties to see the remaining infrastructure and you can tell how much more they once were. Those who still remain definitely have lots of pride even if the best of times are likely never coming back.

Definitely learned a few new things about Pistol Pete and his legacy in this article. Also had never heard the origins of how Press got his name. I assumed it was based on his basketball coaching style or something along those lines. Glad people never started calling me Northwest (Press) as I too was a paper boy for several years.

Ohio-The State University

giacomo
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RE: How Pistol Pete ended up at LSU

Posted: 3/19/2018 11:40:28 AM

OUCats82, I agree. I always love to get off the beaten path and drive through some of these towns. You can see what they once were, with a few blocks of commerce, a bank building or two and reminisce about the old days. It's especially stark in coal country near the WV border. You'll be driving and it seems you are in the middle of nowhere and come upon a town like Langeloth or Slovan. There will be remnants of a 4 story bank building and a street, like a little downtown. You know if they had a bank, it was a happening place for a while.

Last Edited: 3/19/2018 11:40:52 AM by giacomo

bobcatsquared
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RE: How Pistol Pete ended up at LSU

Posted: 3/19/2018 11:47:34 AM

And the two posts above remind me of:

"Youngstown"

Here in northeast Ohio
Back in eighteen-o-three
James and Dan Heaton
Found the ore that was linin' Yellow Creek
They built a blast furnace
Here along the shore
And they made the cannonballs
That helped the Union win the war

Here in Youngstown
Here in Youngstown
My sweet Jenny I'm sinkin' down
Here darlin' in Youngstown

Well my daddy worked the furnaces
Kept 'em hotter than hell
I come home from 'Nam worked my way to scarfer
A job that'd suit the devil as well
Taconite coke and limestone
Fed my children and make my pay
Them smokestacks reachin' like the arms of God
Into a beautiful sky of soot and clay

Here in Youngstown
Here in Youngstown
Sweet Jenny I'm sinkin' down
Here darlin' in Youngstown

Well my daddy come on the Ohio works
When he come home from World War Two
Now the yard's just scrap and rubble
He said "Them big boys did what Hitler couldn't do."
These mills they built the tanks and bombs
That won this country's wars
We sent our sons to Korea and Vietnam
Now we're wondering what they were dyin' for

Here in Youngstown
Here in Youngstown
My sweet Jenny I'm sinkin' down
Here darlin' in Youngstown

From the Monongahela valley
To the Mesabi iron range
To the coal mines of Appalachia
The story's always the same
Seven hundred tons of metal a day
Now sir you tell me the world's changed
Once I made you rich enough
Rich enough to forget my name

And Youngstown
And Youngstown
My sweet Jenny I'm sinkin' down
Here darlin' in Youngstown

When I die I don't want no part of heaven
I would not do heaven's work well
I pray the devil comes and takes me
To stand in the fiery furnaces of hell

brucecuth
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Member Since: 12/21/2004
Post Count: 1,794

Status: Offline

RE: How Pistol Pete ended up at LSU

Posted: 3/19/2018 12:42:21 PM

I think everyone viewing this thread would enjoy Mark Kriegel's excellent biography, "Pistol: The Life and Times of Pete Maravich".

https://www.amazon.com/Pistol-Life-Maravich-Mark-Kriegel/...

Last Edited: 3/19/2018 12:44:25 PM by brucecuth

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