Attendees of the Harry James Summer Basketball League's 50th reunion gather together. The reunion took place on Saturday, Aug. 15, at Elmwood Park.
EAST ORANGE — The Harry James Summer Basketball League’s 50th reunion saw a tremendous turnout on a beautiful Saturday, Aug. 15, at Elmwood Park.
More than 200 people attended the event. Mayor Ted R. Green and the East Orange City Council, in partnership with Clyde Bradshaw, hosted the event that lasted from noon to 8 p.m.
The attendees were treated to food and music, as well as basketball, as players from the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties were celebrated.
The Harry James Summer League in East Orange, which stopped operating several years ago, was extremely competitive every summer, featuring standout players from East Orange and the surrounding communities, including a few NBA players, such as Rod Strickland and Anthony Mason. Other legendary NBA players who participated in the league wree Julius “Dr. J” Erving and Nate “Tiny” Archibald.
The games were played on weekends in the summer, mostly at Elmwood Park and at East Orange High School.
Among the attendees at the reunion was Rodney Williams, who delivered a touching speech about how the league thrived and made such an impact on the participating players.
A 1975 East Orange High School graduate, Williams played basketball at EOHS, helping the Panthers to four Essex County Tournament title appearances, winning it in 1974 and 1975, as well as four state sectional tournament championships (North 2, Group 3 in 1972, 1973 and 1975 and North 2, Group 4 in 1974) and three straight state championships from 1972-74. The Panthers’ bid for a four-peat state title and an undefeated season was denied in the Group 3 state final, when they fell to Lakewood on a controversial ending.
The Panthers went on to win four straight ECT titles from 1974-77 under legendary head coach Bob Lester.
Williams also founded the East Orange High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.
The Tripucka brothers, Kelly and T.K., who played at Bloomfield, were also at the reunion. Kelly was a star player at Bloomfield High School and Notre Dame, before enjoying a long career in the NBA.
James was a standout East Orange High School football and basketball player. He later became the athletic director at EOHS and East Orange Campus High School. He died in December 2010 at the age of 64.
Photos Courtesy of Laurie Williams
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