Rutherford Biddy Basketball Clippings
For several years, starting as early as December 1978 but mainly from the 1981-82 to 1987-88 seasons, I kept score and ran the clock for the Rutherford, N.J., Recreation Department youth basketball program. This league, which was affiliated with the national Biddy Basketball program out of Louisiana through the 1985-86 season, featured a division for boys aged 9-10 and one for boys aged 11-12. In order to encourage development of proper shooting techniques and more competitive play, the league used an 8˝-foot basket height with the backboard placed at 12'10" from the foul line (as opposed to the standard dimension of 10 feet from the ground and 15 feet from the foul line to the backboard).
For reference purposes, the 9-10 teams used names of college teams, while the 11-12 teams used names of NBA teams. (It was easier to call a team "Duke" or "the Sonics" than "Team 1.") There was, of course, no affiliation between those clubs or institutions and the Rutherford Recreation Department.
On a somewhat irregular basis, I submitted summaries of league play to the local newspapers, much as I also did with the Rutherford Little League baseball program. These are scans of actual clippings from the papers from those seasons. Some of these clippings also reference the 8th-grade travel teams sponsored by the Recreation Department, the "Flyers" boys team and the "Rockets" girls team.
Please note that many articles have been lost; others were either not submitted, not run by the local papers, or not run in their entirety due to space constraints. I have posted everything I have.
1982-83 Season
The South Bergenite, Rutherford, N.J.
9-Feb-1983: "Seattle beats New York in Biddy play"
16-Feb-1983: "Ahearn free throws ice Biddy win"
1984-85 Season
The News Leader of Rutherford, Lyndhurst, N.J.
20-Dec-1984: "Illinois wins second in Rutherford biddy"
10-Jan-1985: "Indiana last undefeated team"
17-Jan-1985: "Piegari leads Biddy comeback"
24-Jan-1985: "Indiana first loss"
31-Jan-1985: "Bobby Jones scores 54 points"
14-Feb-1985: "Phoenix clinches league title"
21-Feb-1985: "Biddy regular season ends"
28-Mar-1985: "Rockets Winners"
The Herald-News, Passaic, N.J.
26-Jan-1985: "Rutherford boy scores 54 points"
9-Feb-1985: "Suns clinch championship in Rutherford youth league"
16-Feb-1985: "Youths score upsets in Rutherford league"
23-Feb-1985: (untitled item about foul shooting and 2-on-2 contests)
23-Mar-1985: "Area adults and youths shoot for league crowns"
The South Bergenite, Rutherford, N.J.
12-Dec-1984: "Rutherford Biddy League starts"
23-Jan-1985: "Indiana suffers first Biddy League loss"
27-Feb-1985: "Foul shooters are perfect"
13-Mar-1985: "Biddy Basketball begins tournament play"
3-Apr-1985: "Indiana captures Biddy League crown" (includes team photo)
3-Apr-1985: "Muller leads Phoenix's win of Biddy title" (includes photos of 8-year-old champions)
1985-86 Season
The News Leader of Rutherford, Lyndhurst, N.J.
12-Dec-1985: "Biddy basketball starts again"
16-Jan-1986: "Rutherford biddy action resumes"
23-Jan-1986: "Leaders suffer losses in biddy play"
30-Jan-1986: "Rutherford biddy races stay close"
6-Feb-1986: "Brinksma keeps Lakers on top"
27-Feb-1986: "Lakers foil Nuggets in playoff opener"
6-Mar-1986: "Upsets prevail in biddy playoffs"
13-Mar-1986: "Portland, Syracuse head playoff fields"
20-Mar-1986: "Biddy basketball titles decided"
The South Bergenite, Rutherford, N.J.
11-Dec-1985: "Rutherford Biddy League off to fast start"
18-Dec-1985: "Chorbajian's basket bails out Celtics"
19-Mar-1986: "Biddy League titles to Syracuse, Portland"
9-Apr-1986: "Town Champs" (photo of Syracuse 10-year-old team)
1986-87 Season
The News Leader of Rutherford, Lyndhurst, N.J.
11-Dec-1986: "Season opens with bang"
18-Dec-1986: "Stone's 39 Lead Lakers"
24-Dec-1986: "Flyers place in tourney"
31-Dec-1986: "Recreation basketball action continues"
15-Jan-1987: "Flyers win, Rockets lose in league openers"
22-Jan-1987: "Team gets its first win in league"; "Bucks down the Suns"
29-Jan-1987: "Bucks reach win column"
5-Feb-1987: "Tech edges out Perdue (sic)"
26-Feb-1987: "Rebels surge to win over Louisville"
5-Mar-1987: "Playoffs on next"
12-Mar-1987: "No major surprises in openers"
19-Mar-1987: "Battle of sexes ends basketball season"
26-Mar-1987: "League winds up season"
2-Apr-1987: "Rutherford recreation"
The South Bergenite, Rutherford, N.J.
10-Dec-1986: "Rutherford Biddy League off to quick start"
17-Dec-1986: "Matt Stone scores 39 points in Biddy League game"
21-Dec-1986: "Flyers finish second in tournament"
21-Dec-1986: "Defense prevails in boys basketball games"
7-Jan-1987: "Rockets edge Jazz in recreation play"
18-Feb-1987: "Brinksma nets 24 in Rutherford Rec. basketball"
18-Mar-1987: "Hawks, Rockets win playoff games"
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Copyright 1983-87 by the respective newspapers and Charles O’Reilly.