Jack Leaman Legacy

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tom mclaughlin
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Jack Leaman Legacy

Post by tom mclaughlin » Mon Jan 30, 2023 12:36 pm

As you know Sat game vs Duquesne was the Jack Leaman Legacy game and as a former player for Coach Leaman I think it’s important to keep Jack’s memory alive. Jack was more then a coach he was a devoted husband to Rita, a proud father to his wonderful daughter Laurie and he was a friend to so many players, fans and coaches at UMass. He was one of those guys that always had a big smile and a friendly welcome. He made everyone feel important and that you meant something.
When I got home I sent a group message out to about 20 former players from the 70’s telling them about the halftime event and the video of Jack. Now here’s the
impressive thing of all the players contacted from Al Skinner, Julius Erving, Charlie Peters, Dick Samuelson, Rick Vogeley, Jim Town, Dennis Chapman, Chuck Olsen, Bill Greeley, Sam Provo, Jimmy Burke, Billy Endicott and Bob Dempsey every single one of them had their own personal response and said what Coach Leaman meant in their lives.
What is simply amazing is 50 years later these teammates are still just that proud UMass Basketball teammates. Jack knew how to find good people and put them together. He brought Julius and Al Skinner to little old Amherst and many more quality people. During the 70’s we had two of the top 6 teams in UMass basketball history as pointed out to me by a teammate. Jack was a great coach and deserves that statue outside the Mullins Center as well as his name on the court. His spirit will always be around UMass basketball and his former players are proud to have played for him and the University of Massachusetts.
When you play for UMass there is a proud history from
Jack Leaman to Julius Erving to John Calipari to Marcus Camby and we need to remember that history once in awhile. Go UMass!

tdmass
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Re: Jack Leaman Legacy

Post by tdmass » Mon Jan 30, 2023 1:20 pm

That's quite a tribute to Coach Leaman, as you said it shows how long he has touched people's lives after all
this time! Tom, I believe you are/were instrumental in keeping his spirit alive and want to thank you and all
the players you mentioned that I had the pleasure to watch in the 70's! You guys were the catalysts in what
I consider great times for UMass Basketball!

harbo
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Re: Jack Leaman Legacy

Post by harbo » Mon Jan 30, 2023 3:59 pm

I recall the first few games of the '72-'73 season at the Cage and I was hooked for life. While there were a few occasions where you could hear Leaman's high- pitched raspy voice when things were not going the right way, I don't recall anything in the way of histrionics that are the mark of too many coaches. Instead, he put his effort into figuring out what adjustments needed to be made to overcome the issue at hand. As always, thanks Tom for your insights. If I may, I'd like to add in Leaman's decade of radio coverage as part of his legacy.

BillGASox1
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Re: Jack Leaman Legacy

Post by BillGASox1 » Mon Jan 30, 2023 4:07 pm

Tom,
YOU, and all of the men you mentioned were the exact reason we, the student body, would stand in line for what seemed like hours, outside the Cage, with eager anticipation for what was about to occur...UMass basketball under the tutelage of Coach Leaman!
Myself, and a number of returning veterans were probably a little more serious than others, but fun was had by all! It was also a great place to "socialize"
with my future wife (48 years next month).
We especially liked it when you often demolished the Storrs bunch!
Thanks Tom!

69MG
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Re: Jack Leaman Legacy

Post by 69MG » Mon Jan 30, 2023 5:00 pm

Tom, I'm glad I had a chance to chat with you and your wife at The Spoke on Saturday. It was nice to hear some of those stories in person and we always appreciate your input on the message board. Those were truly "The Good Old Days".

Juice Stand
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Re: Jack Leaman Legacy

Post by Juice Stand » Mon Jan 30, 2023 5:19 pm

harbo wrote: Mon Jan 30, 2023 3:59 pm If I may, I'd like to add in Leaman's decade of radio coverage as part of his legacy.
Absolutely! Listening to Coach Leaman on the radio broadcasts was my introduction to UMass basketball.

bobolink
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Re: Jack Leaman Legacy

Post by bobolink » Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:46 pm

Great to read these tributes to Coach Leaman. Great to know his legacy lives on in the outstanding players he coached, among other ways. Good to see his statue, his name on the court and that events like the one Saturday are there to cement his legacy.

https://twitter.com/UMassMBB/status/162 ... twcon%5Es1

vanmeter
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Re: Jack Leaman Legacy

Post by vanmeter » Mon Jan 30, 2023 8:11 pm

Excellent post.
All true

GOODY
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Re: Jack Leaman Legacy

Post by GOODY » Mon Jan 30, 2023 8:54 pm

During the Cal years I was a court club elite 100 member or whatever the exact name was. . Lol Back then the donation amount wasn’t that bad to achieve One perk was an event at the coaches house. I recall sitting in Cal’s basement and Jack came in. I told him I was at Umass during his later years. We talked for awhile. My favorite memory from any of those events I attended.

tom mclaughlin
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Re: Jack Leaman Legacy

Post by tom mclaughlin » Tue Jan 31, 2023 3:50 pm

These are 3 stories that will let you know just how down to earth coach Leaman was.

John Calipari at the statue dedication told how when he first got to Amherst and went on trips to away games if it snowed and their cars were covered with several inches of snow Jack Leaman would come by before their return and clean off their cars for them. Rita Leaman joked “Jack never cleaned her car off in the driveway.”

Billy Endicott a great UMass player from the 70’s told me this gem. Billy was a great player from Sommerville who was somewhat a Boston hero. Billy was attacked by kids from a rival high school the night before a Championship game in the old Boston Tech Tournament at the Boston Garden. Billy was bedridden in a Boston hospital but being a tough Boston kid he somehow made it to the Garden and played against doctors orders. Another tough kid that Jack brought to UMass.
Billy called Jack to tell him bad news that he was going to Georgia to play for famous Hugh Durham. Jack tells Billy don’t sign anything I’ll meet you tomorrow before school at a donut shop near school. Billy shows up and Jack sits down and has coffee and a donut with Billy Jack begged him to come to Amherst. Now here is the funny part. The bill comes and Jack in his rush to get there forgot his wallet. Billy being a kid from Sommerville has his last $10 in his wallet and he can’t believe he’s paying. Billy said he felt so sorry for Jack he changed his mind and went to play for Coach Leaman. Only Coach could do this he was just a normal guy.

Last story is I get a call from Gary Brokaw a former ND All-American and NBA player. He’s looking for someone to scoit the NBA Summer League at UMass Boston. I tell Gary I got the perfect guy. I call Jack and he’s thrilled he always wanted to do something like this. I go down to Boston and there is Coach Leaman all decked out in an Orlando Magic polo shirt and huge credentials around his neck. He is in his glory diligently scouting NBA prospects for the week. Funny part to the story about a week later I get a call from Gary Brokaw and he tells me Jack was terrific but he didn’t need to send him volumes of information on each player- a sentence or two would be fine. That was Jack being Jack he always went above and beyond. He was a good guy. May he RIP!

capezona
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Re: Jack Leaman Legacy

Post by capezona » Tue Jan 31, 2023 5:43 pm

Love those inside stories, Tom. Thanks.

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LS71
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Re: Jack Leaman Legacy

Post by LS71 » Tue Jan 31, 2023 7:25 pm

Great stuff! Thanks Tom!

You mentioned Cal. I used to listen to Mike and The Mad Dog regularly. Cal was a regular guest and always seemed to find a way to make part of the conversation about Jack….his knowledge and influence on him etc.
"Win without boasting, lose without crying." -- Julius Erving

vanmeter
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Re: Jack Leaman Legacy

Post by vanmeter » Tue Jan 31, 2023 8:33 pm

Mike and Mad Dog spoke at the 1991 UMass basketball banquet.

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LS71
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Re: Jack Leaman Legacy

Post by LS71 » Tue Jan 31, 2023 9:32 pm

Man, how did I miss that! :?
"Win without boasting, lose without crying." -- Julius Erving

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SignMan
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Re: Jack Leaman Legacy

Post by SignMan » Wed Feb 01, 2023 3:02 am

I'm sure I posted this before, but worth repeating...
My campus years with UMass Basketball/Jack were '65-'69.

Jack was the first person I met in Athletics, when I showed up as a walk-on for the Frosh Men's Soccer team he coached. I had never played the game, save for a crude version of it during gym, on a paved parking lot, @ Parlin Jr. High, in Everett. We skirted the parked cars, had makeshift goals, made up rules as we played, ...

The only thing I was prepared for was to try to learn the game and extend myself as much as possible. I was a Size 8 shoe/cleats. I was issued size 9 cleats, because they were out of 8s & out of 8.5s. I couldn't afford to buy a new pair.

Needless to say, I was tripping over my own feet, catching the cleats too often in the practice field dirt and grass, sometimes all alone in front of the goal, missing badly.

Throughout this failed experiment of mine, Jack no only never complained, but always treated me like I was a GBL ALL-STAR, something I never forgot, and leading to our long-term relationship until his passing. Same could be said for everyone who played for Jack, be it Basketball, Soccer, or Golf.

I am sometimes asked what my favorite sign is, among the maybe 850 of them over the years. There are many near #1, but the multi-signature sign of Jack, visually referencing these three sports, with the words
A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, says it all for me.

I am so thankful that a couple of years before Jack's passing, during one of our chats ... Jack always called me about once/month to chit/chat, always asking me "Anything new, Fast Eddie?" in his wonderful gravelly voice; and, I used to stop by to visit with him virtually every time on Campus, which was sometimes as many as 3 times/week during the '90s, ... always the highlight of my Campus travels... I told Jack my story about experience meeting him Sept '65, soccer, the cleats, and most important, how he treated me (and everyone else). I shared the same story with Rita and Laurie two years ago, at the time of the statue dedication.

Jack was the Frosh basketball coach my Frosh year, needed an additional team manager, and that's how I became just that after my failed experiment as a wannabe soccer team member. Wouldn't change anything about this history.

Jack was the best, and always will be the best, in my heart, forever.
The angle of incidence = the angle of reflection: REBOUND!

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