A Thousand Words
By Jock Lauterer
Two of my childhood heroes, UNC basketball legends Lennie Rosenbluth and Pete Brennan, were in town last week, but I wasn’t able to break away from work to get this photograph. Happily, Allison Russell, Citizen intern and Carrboro Commons co-editor, got the shot. Here’s what she wrote about the photo: “Lennie Rosenbluth, left, laughs as Pete Brennan tells a story to WCOM host Bill Hendrickson about his car that became a good-luck charm for the 1957 national championship men’s basketball team.†When I asked Allison for the back-story on the photo, she added, “I didn’t really know where to find the WCOM station, but as I was walking through the Cat’s Cradle parking lot I saw two tall, older men get out of a car. I recognized them as Lennie Rosenbluth and Pete Brennan, and I turned around to follow them through the door. I was greeted by Rocco and then introduced to Pete and Lennie, who were very polite. Once we settled into the little orange studio, Pete and Lennie started talking to Bill, the host, and Rocco about their days at UNC. I learned that basketball players used to play in Woollen Gym, that they used to get only one pair of shoes for the entire season and that Coach McGuire’s office used to be located in the ticket box office. Also, that on the night of their championship win in March 1957, they were given only a few dollars for after-dinner spending money as they walked through Kansas City still in their uniforms. I got to wear two pieces of UNC history when they let me try on their championship rings – they were so heavy that I had to make a fist to keep them from falling off my fingers! Throughout the show, they kept stressing the point that they were so good simply because they had the fundamentals down: passing and shooting. I enjoyed listening to their New York City accents during the one-hour show; their pronunciations of ‘water’ and ‘north’ reminded me happily of my grandfather. When the show ended, I asked them for their autographs and Pete Brennan signed his ‘With warmest regards.’ I then proceeded to tell anyone who would listen that I just met and hung out with two of UNC’s legendary basketball players for an hour.†(Notice that Allison cleverly put herself in the photo; there she is in the studio window reflection.)
A THOUSAND WORDS
Do you have an important old photo that you value? Email your photo to jock@email.unc.edu and include the story behind the picture. Because every picture tells a story. And its worth? A thousand words.
More “A Thousand Words”
Bill Hendrickson regularly books terrific guests on his WCOM radio program, Time Out, airing Mondays at 5. You can “find” WCOM, Carrboro and Chapel Hill’s community radio station, on the radio dial at 103.5fm, and on the web at wcomfm.org.
Thanks for this article on Pete and Lenney. Pete was a great friend of my family’s when I was a teenager and I was Kay and Pete’s babysitter in the late 60″s when they lived in Charlotte. I remember when the ’57 UNC team came to Gastonia to play a benefit game in the old Groves gym. What a treat! I have tried for years to find out where Pete is these days.
Best to all,
Jennie Thomas Stultz, Mayor
City of Gastonia