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Show I ' 1 1 i ..... -' . .t J I ---..;, V... ........ . . - , "I I , , ' s . x J I f , ' ,iV..x i 1 ' 1. i 1 -v. r ; J . ( , j ,: f 1 .' i ......... ...... ; ;a -., V . ., ' L ' "- ." .. . f """V f . rv; f x" ., ;s r f -: 1 0 , I-"' f - . x- V: i I ' 4-; ' 1 r x 4 THE HARLEM CLOWNS' James "Cricket" Sheppard, 20, roars to the hoop for two points as Vernal All-Stars, Tad Coon and Steve Can non, look on. The Uintah High School gymnasium gym-nasium was jammed packed with fans. Fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, big brothers, big sisters, little sisters and little brothers packed the Uintah High School gymnasium gym-nasium to witness the antics of the Harlem Clowns. The stands were jammed packed and other hoop fans were forced to sit and stand in the balcony and the crowd spilled over into the sidelines. Fans who weren't able to find a seat created seats that were only a few inches from the playing surface, but even though some of the fans were forced to sit on the floor they seemed to enjoy the comical routines of the Harlem Clowns. The Harlem Clowns' Bob Harrell gave his team a 4-0 lead when he fired in a field goal. Michael McWilliams of the Clowns treated the crowd to an earthshaking block of a shot by the Vernal All-Stars, but Rick Gardner of the Vernal team connected on a field goal to cut the Harlem Clowns' lead to two points, 4 to 2. A 14 to 6 lead was gained by the Harlem Clowns and Harrell scored a two-pointer on a most unusual play. Harrel stopped to say hello to his opponent op-ponent and then pushed him out of the way and put in an easy shot. McWilliams connected on four outside out-side bombs and James "Cricket" Sheppard put in two long shots to help the Harlem Clowns to a 30 to 16 lead at the end of the first quarter. One of the Harlem Clowns was called for walking and heshouted, "How do you expect me to get down there?" Harrell used a unusual defense to stop his opponent, Gardner, as he grabbed Gardner's shirt. The referee called him for holding and Harrell remarked, "Are you jealous?" The Harlem Clowns had unusual ways of scoring and they were extra special in the passing department. Harrell was standing near the middle of the key with his back to his basket and he fired a pass between his legs to Sheppard for an, easy layup. Sheppard, McWilliams and Daryl Stafford struck for long bombs which helped to give the Harlem Clowns a 61 to 29 lead at the end of the second quarter. Stafford treated the crowd to a powerful stuff shot which shook the backboard violently, Harrell was alone by his team's basket and he received a full court pass, which would have been good for an easy basket. However, he fired the ball down the length of the court toward the Vernal basket. His teammates shouted, "What did you do that for?" Harrell responded, respon-ded, "I thought I saw a bird." Dave Lundberg and Gardner put in a number of field goals for the Vernal All-Stars All-Stars early in the third quarter to cut the Harlem Clowns' advantage to 63 to 33 and then the Clowns gained a 65 to 33 lead on a field goal by Harrell. The field goal was an extra special two-pointer to the crowd as Harrell fired the ball through a hoop on the south side of the gymnasium. The backboard was folded up and was right above the top row, which made for a highly difficult shot. Gardner added three more field goals for the Vernal All-Stars to make the score at the end of the third quarter: Harlem Clowns, 74 and Vernal All-Stars, All-Stars, 55. The fourth quarter featured a purse snatching, baseball game, a little boy from the crowd becoming a foul shooter, a player becoming a referee and a dribbling show by Preston Howard of the Harlem Clowns. A purse was taken from a little girl in the crowd and the Harlem Clowns emptied the contents on the floor. A wig was taken from the purse and was placed on a bald man's head, who according to the Harlem Clowns was causing a glare. Earl "Big Mac" McKelvy decided that he had had it with the officials, so he fired the referees and took over the job. However, all his calls went against his teammates and the Vernal All-Stars quickly cut the Clowns' lead to nine points, 86 to 77. Howard dazzled the crowd as he took on all five Vernal players and turned in an amazing dribbling show which resulted in a number of easy baskets for the Clowns. The Clowns showed a youngster an easy way to make a foul shot. Three of the hoopstcrs lifted the youngster up to the hoop and he put the ball into the basket. Time out was called and the sport was changed from basketball to baseball. Howard was up to bat and the umpire called pilches down the middle high and low. Howard connected with the ball for a base hit. He circled the bases and was heading for home plate, but the catcher already had the ball in his mitt. However, Howard faked out the catcher with a new dance step and scored the winning run. The final score in the basketball game was: Harlem Clowns, 92 and the Vernal All-Stars, 83. The Vernal All Stars who saw action in the game were Wayne Caldwell, Jim Wright, who scored a number of field goals on long outside shots; Finley Horrocks, Gardner, Lon Handley, Lundberg. Steve Cannon and Tad Coon. The Harlem Clowns were sponsored by the Uintah County Sheriff's Search and Rescue. About $4,000 was raised in the Harlem Clowns event and $3,200 to $3,300 was cleared after expenses, according to Ken Stringham. The money was presented to the Uintah County Sheriff's Search and Rescue for buying equipment. Woodey B. Searle auctioned several autographed basketballs during dur-ing halftime. "It was one of the biggest crowds they have ever had at Uintah High School," said Stringham. The Uintah Uin-tah drill team performed during halftime. |
