Was golden ’83 season one of the best ever at Reading High?

By Tony Zonca — MikeDragoSports.com senior contributor

Pat Tulley began organized sports as a 7-year-old when he strapped on a football helmet for the Rising Sun A.A. Mites.

Fifty years later he remains involved with fun and games as he nears a 20-year span as athletic director at Gov. Mifflin.

In between he has been a player, coach and an administrator, the latter as A.D. at his alma mater, Reading High.

But it was as a high school senior that Tulley, now 57, experienced arguably the most remarkable year that any Red Knight athlete ever has.

His 1982-83 basketball team won league and district titles, finished 32-2 — setting the Berks record for wins in a season — and lost to a tall and talented Chester team in the Eastern finals.

His 27-2 baseball team — Tulley was a four-year starter at shortstop — won league and district titles before capturing the state crown, at the time the third in any sport in school history.

Tulley possesses a vivid memory of it all.

“I was lucky,” he said. “I played four years at the Geigle and four years at George Field; it doesn’t get any better than that. I was 59-4 my senior year and I can remember all four losses. I was very lucky to play with great teammates. Both teams really got along.”

The pattern for the year may have been set up when the visiting Red Knights shocked Chester 49-47 on Rodney Hodge’s layup at the buzzer on a feed from Tulley.

“I think we began to know we were really good after the first six or so games,” he said. “We won at Chester, beat Overbrook and handled Msgr. Bonner in a scrimmage.”

It was a team with a seven-man rotation and six seniors. Its tallest player was Don Juan Cooper, barely 6-5 and an overachiever. The team got a lift when the 6-3 Richie Williams joined the team as a senior. The other starter was Charlie Chisholm. The first big man off the bench was 6-4 Tim Yanuskiewicz. Darren Sheriff, a junior guard, saw a gang of playing time.

It was a versatile team with no superstars and no egos. They could execute in the halfcourt set or get out and run, and boy could they run.

They ran past the Runnin’ Rollers, Steel-High, by 14 at its place, which was like outrunning a jackrabbit.

“This was the fastest team we ever had,” Red Knights coach Rick Binder said afterward. “I wanted to see our guys run. The fastbreak beat them. That and good defense. This team can fastbreak with anybody.”

The Red Knights were unbeaten through 23 games with Allentown Central Catholic coming into the Geigle for the regular-season finale. They had walloped Conrad Weiser by 51 points the previous night and were ambushed by ACC 51-50.

“After we lost I think the entire team expected Rick to blast us,” Tulley remembered. “Instead he told us to focus on the playoffs and asked us all to dedicate the next few weeks to do the right thing on the court, off the court and in the classroom.”

Reading could run, but its trademark was shutdown defense. The whole team could sneak up on a squirrel. Tulley, in particular, could steal the enamel off your teeth.

He was at his defensive best in the county championship game against 25-1 Hamburg and 6-4 scoring machine Troy Williamson. Williamson scored four points, all from the foul line. He managed three shots. Finished 16 points below his scoring average.

Reading won 54-31.

“I just tried to deny him the ball,” Tulley said. “When he did get it I got up on him and made him put it on the floor. When he did that there was always someone there to help.

“I always took pride in defense. When Richie joined the team I didn’t have to score as much. This allowed me to really focus on defense.”

Reading walked off with the school’s 16th District 3 championship after a 56-38 romp past Conestoga Valley. The Knights knocked off Upper Moreland, Penn Wood and Abington. A new and improved Chester team awaited.

“I felt we lost to the best team in the East,” Binder said. “We would have had to play our best game to beat that team.”

Final score: 63-53.

“There was only one way that season could have been better,” Tulley says. “We had great crowds at home games and packed houses when we were away. We were a true team; everyone could score, run and defend. We got along on and off the court.”

Four days after the Chester game Tulley was playing shortstop for the Red Knights, another veteran team of mostly seniors.

After a couple of early one-run league losses the Red Knights put it into another gear.
They would knock off Oley Valley in the county championship game, but before that the real drama started.

It culminated in the district final at Ephrata against Lower Dauphin. The game was scheduled the same night as Reading’s Senior Prom.

Coach Cooter Jones had been faced with the prospect of forfeiting the game. Reading sought a 4 p.m. start. Lower Dauphin was in the middle of final exams but agreed to a 6 p.m. start.

A distraction? Not likely. Reading romped 12-1. It was the first district baseball title in 33 years.

“The prom was in the back of their minds,” Jones said, “but these kids are winners. They knew the importance of this ballgame. They had a job to do first. The fun would come later. They were determined. There’s not enough adjectives to describe them.”

“We were late to the prom,” Tulley says. “Yes, I went.”

His date was Heather, who happens to be Mrs. Pat Tulley. Cute story, huh?

Geez, the only thing Tulley didn’t do that year was save somebody from a burning building.

Reading’s first state playoff opponent was 21-3 Berwick, the District 4 champion. It was time to start the bus; the Red Knights were down 7-0 before they came to bat.

“The Berwick game was so crazy,” Tulley says. “Coach Jones did not allow us to quit.”

They scored five runs in the second inning and won 8-7. After that comeback inning the Bulldogs became unhinged. Fire-balling Dave Hangen pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, the final on a groundout to Tulley.

Next up was Boyertown. Reading had defeated the fearsome Bears 3-0 in the regular season behind lefty ace Eric Edwards.

Catcher Jeff Kantner, who put on an offensive show all year for the Red Knights, slammed two home runs at Municipal Stadium and the Knights rallied 6-5.

“Boyertown’s pitcher was Darrell Schoenley,” Tulley says. “When we beat them at George Field he did not pitch.

“When we walked through the line to shake hands after the game he was saying, ‘It would have been different if I had pitched.’ We remembered that.”

The drama continued. This time the opponent was Bangor in the semifinals. The site was Shippensburg. The game was the same day as Reading’s graduation ceremonies.

Reading prevailed 5-3 in a morning game. Its seniors hopped on a bus, collected their diplomas and were off to Shipp an hour later.

The next day Rolland Green, who was an overweight jayvee the year before, pitched the game of his life and the Knights outlasted Beaver 2-1 to capture state gold.

“We did it with pitching, defense and experience,” Tulley says. “All but two of our position players had started the year before. We knew we could be good. The year before we lost to Hershey 3-2 in districts in a game we should have won. Hershey went on to win the state title.”

Tulley, who compiled a 56-24 record and one county championship from 1996-99 as Reading’s basketball coach, talked about the coaches he played for that storied senior year.

“They both were demanding,” he says. “Rick was very outspoken, charismatic and full of energy. Coach Jones was more laid back but could still motivate the team. Both were able to get the most out of their players and their teams. You wanted to play hard for them and not disappoint them.”

There were few disappointments that year in Pat Tulley’s athletic life. He played in five championship games and won all of them, including the most cherished of all.

It doesn’t get better than that.