Summary
Lloyd Gilmore likes to kid that he was an "ecumenical" basketball player; he would play for any team because of his passion for the game.
"I loved basketball and still do," said Gilmore, a 1951 graduate of Vernon High School in North Belle Vernon now living in Pikesville, Md. "I had the opportunity to play for many teams. It was fun and it offered opportunities to make lasting friendships that continue today."See the full content of this document
Extract
Gilmore's Basketball Legacy Courted Teams Near and Far
Competing with and against top teams and players helped Gilmore carve his niche as one of the best basketball players ever in the area, first at Vernon High, later at California State Teachers College and with top-level U.S. Army teams.
Gilmore got his first taste of organized basketball when he was in fifth grade."Mr. (John) McVicar would open the gym for us on Saturday and teach us the fundamentals," he recalled. "I fell in love with the sport, and from then on every chance I got I had a basketball in my hands. I would shoot for hours, even by myself. I remember playing in the snow and trying to shoot a wet leather ball to an 11-foot basket in our back alley."When North Belle Vernon and Belle Vernon school systems merged in 1946-47, Gilmore played junior high football and basketball for John E. "Ernie" Strem and Jack Flora, then in senior high for coach Pete Balog as a sophomore and Flora as junior and senior.Vernon High School, which eventually became part of Bellmar, existed only five years but won its baske...See the full content of this document
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