COMMENTARY
Bruce Andriatch: A half-court hoop dream: forever 1-for-1
When you think of the big baskets that were scored at Memorial Auditorium, the names that come to mind are legends. Lanier in the lane. Two for McAdoo. Murphy from downtown.
But for me, nothing will ever match the shot made by Clay Schroeder—from waaaaaay downtown.
It was March 13, 1973, and nearly 13,000 fans turned out to see the Buffalo Braves take on the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers the previous season had won a record 33 straight games en route to the NBA championship. The Braves were on the rise.
No one came to the Aud to see Schroeder that night. Why would they? He was a 14-year-old freshman at Starpoint High School, sitting in the last row of the Oranges with his friend and his friend’s family.
Three of them had bought game programs, and each contained a lucky number. Early in the second quarter, Schroeder heard the public address announcer direct the fans to check their programs. He had the winner.
Schroeder’s “prize” was the opportunity to shoot the ball from half-court at halftime. If he made it, he would win a brand-new 1973 Dodge Colt. His friends offered him this bit of encouragement: “Make sure you don’t embarrass us.”
Seventy-nine people before him had taken part in this promotion and failed. There was no reason to believe the streak was about to end.
The promotion was held near the end of halftime so that both teams were back on the floor and most of the fans were back in their seats. If he wasn’t intimidated enough by the thought of sinking a 43-foot shot in front of the throng, he was aware that he was being watched by his Braves heroes and by future Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Gail Goodrich from the Lakers.
Schroeder went to center court. He took the ball, dribbled a couple of times and launched a jumper, left-handed.
In the photo shot by Buffalo Evening News photographer Robert Smith, the ball is in midair and Schroeder is in his follow-through. A second later, the ball hits nothing but net. The Aud erupted in cheers for more than a minute.
Schroeder was momentarily stunned and began wandering toward the assembled players. Goodrich was the first to approach him, with a huge smile, extending his hand in congratulations. He won similar greetings from other players and coaches. His feat was announced that night on “Eyewitness News.” He saw his story told from the local newspapers to Sports Illustrated.
“Everybody gets 15 minutes of fame. I shot it when I was 14,” he said last week with a smile.
Because he was only 14, Schroeder couldn’t drive off in his prize. He and his dad picked it up from the Hamburg dealership and kept it in the family garage in Pendleton. He started driving it shortly after his 16th birthday. It got him through four years of college at the University at Buffalo before he traded it in for a Mustang.
Schroeder, who has worked for RadioShack for 27 years, is 50 years old now and living in Gasport with his wife and two daughters. His memories of the night are vivid, thanks in part to the photos and clips he saved.
When I met with him last week, he seemed to enjoy reliving his moment of hoops glory.
We talked about the odds of making that shot under those circumstances. He guessed that if he was given 10 chances, he could make another one. So I invited him to come back to my driveway to see if he was right.
“That’s OK,” he said. “I think I’ll stay 1-for-1.”
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