Laney College - Oak Log Yearbook (Oakland, CA)

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1 Spirited cheerleaders Yvonne Smith, Nina Susana Doug Garrison, and ,lim Kreihel produced noise and enthusiasm. The Roekmen went Bear Cuh hunting in Santa Rosa and carrie hack with the hides they wanted, 74-47. ,loe ,lohnson's 22 tallies led the onslaught. Another big one against the CCSF Hams saw the 'Birds out on top 55-51. However it looked had for the East Bayers until the arrival of the tradition-earrving liass drum, pictured on page 55. The booming sounds of the dflllll, which lieeanie known all over the league. pieked up the T-Birds and pushed them to victory. Four of the Oakland starters hit for double figures. Hawkins led the Captain Wfayne Olson accepts his team trophy from smiling Bill Rockwell at the liar-ketlrall Award Uinnt r way with l8. Another rout was on the agenda for the 'I'-Birds as they found the scrappy San filateo Bulldogs no match and muzzled them T8-51. The st-oring was evenly distributed with Ed fStork1 Donahue getting l6 points and 15 re- bounds. Revenge was on the mind of the VQVCC Comets as they visited the Nlerritt Gym in an effort to derail the unde- feated express of the Blue and Colders. The surprising play ol' lioh Laird and Steve Higgins. plus the usual good George Spowart presents the First Plat-e Trophy to the team for is inning the l95T San Bernardino Invitational Tournament in December. E 1 1 K '11 X Q, Qjv V V' :ig , 1 J t 5 f an 3' F1 P 11 , t tl s , V '-7, ..,- XYIP3 v 1,s .1 si'

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Santa Rosa's Bear Cubs were the next to feel the bite of the 'Birds, as they were downed 57-43 on the Merritt court. Ed fStorkl Donahue potted 23, and spring-legged Hawkins, 14-to lead the host team. Perhaps the turning point of the season came in the '4Thundering', Birds' third league encounter. Oakland played host to a strong City College of San Francisco five. The T-Birds needed this must game and they got it in a most dramatic finish. Down 44-40 with but 1:10 left, the 'Birds came on strong behind playmaker Wayne Ol- son's intercepted pass-scoring play, Buss Wickwirc's two clutch free throws tying the score, and Joe ,lohnson's jumping set shot with only six seconds left. Needless to say, pandemonium reigned and the score read Oakland 46 . . . City College 44. A tougher than expected College of San Mateo Bulldogs opposed the Oaklanders next. Once again behind the 23 points of Hawkins and some spirited fan support finclud- ing the now famous, explosive bass druml the high flying T-Birds were victorious 61-51 at the 'Dogs gym. The big one was next. The rivalry with West Contra Costa has grown since 1954. Both the 1957 T-Bird-Comet contests did nothing but substantiate the feeling of the schools toward each other. Shades of the S.F. 49'ers were visible in the visiting Oaklanders, 52-51 victory in the first encounter between the two. Once again the clutch performances of Olson, Johnson and especially Wick- wire led the way. Wick's free throws with twenty seconds remaining turned the tide in Oakland's favor, and left them all alone in first place. Trainer Ken Coleman flefti and Coach Bill Rockwell fright! cast smiles toward their 24-4 season record. Stocktonis Mustangs invaded the compact gym of Oak- land next, only to be corraled by a 63-49 count. Minus the services of forward Wickwire, who managed to obtain the mumps, the Blue and Gold Baskcteers headed for Sacramento to do battle with the Panthers of the capitol city. Despite the officiating, the visitors came out on top, 54-39. A return engagement with Modesto proved just as dis- astrous to the Pirates as the first meeting. The host team scored 73 to the hapless Pirates' 36. HRock cleared his bench and played Hank Wellington, Fran Friedman, and Don fTech. foulj Melen most of the game. The ten-man squad which finished the season are fl-ri! : Rufus Hawkins, guard, Wayne Olson, guardg Don Melen, forward, Steve Riggins, center, Russ Wi4'kw'ire, forwardg Ed Donahue, forwardg Joe Johnson, centerg Fran Friedman, forwardg Bob Laird, forwardg Hank Wellington, guardg Paul Waar, manager. Coach Rockwell and Trainer Coleman are kneeling.

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job by the starters overwhelmed the Comets in the second match, and OJC squeaked by 62-61. This victory clinched the title for the new champs. Final wins against Stockton 64-53 and Sacramento 74- 49 were anticlimactic. The league champs became the first team to capture the championship undefeated. Going on to the state championships the T-Birds finished with a 24-fl season record, chalkcd up the most wins for any UJC basketball team, won 20 games in a row for another ree- ord, and hroke the national defensive record set by Cam- eron, Oklahoma, hy allowing their opponents only 48.5 points per game. More individual honors came 0akland's way as Rufus Hawkins, who wound up as Oaklandis top scorer with 444 points and a 15.8 season average, and Gflulllping Joei' Johnson, the rehounding center, were named to the first string All-Big Eight team. 4 23 get as ,Y-cf ,-if-P-... '33 to 2 if Top Left: Steve Riggins shovels two points up and in as the upstart OJC Thunderbirds downed the Modesto Pirates, 78-41. Bob Laird f52 waits for a rebound. Top Right: Russ Wickwire f14l, Ed Donahue 1152, .loe Johnson fpartullly hiddenl, and Hank Wellington anx- iously await a high flying rebound as the Oaklanders overran the San Mateo Bulldogs, 78-54. Center: Rufus Hawkins I-41, ,loe Johnson f16j, Bob Laird f52, and Wayne Olson f6j watch a Long Beach Viking take a jumper in the state tournament action. Lower Right: Ed Donahue 1152, and Joe Johnson fface hiddenl, fight for backboard control as the Thunderbirds whipped the WCC Comets in a thriller, 52-51. C if 6 if ,Ni img .,,,. I 538' Fw