Our friend, Bill Taylor, turned 70 this past Wednesday, June 3rd , 2009. Bill is a phenomenal person and the only person that I’ve ever known to play basketball at the tender age of 70. I feel truly honored to know him, I ‘m hoping that his physical command over the years is not genetic, but some sort of air-born virus that I can catch. Unfortunately, the evidence contrary to my hope and dreams is manifest in his family’s attributes. His younger brother runs marathons and his Mother, who is 90 years old, just took him out for his birthday the other day.
We have all anxiously anticipated this historic milestone in our group. Mike Fox, Virgil and Eric Tate arranged a special day for Bill. They contacted all of those that once participated in the Saturday morning games and invited them to a morning hoops extravaganza and a morning brunch. So on the morning of June 6th, a multitude of the faithful from old times, dropped in for a morning of basketball that consumed three of the courts at Chaparral. After the hoops, we all gathered at the Diamond Bar Country Club for brunch and lively conversation. We caught up on the lives of those that haven’t been participating for a while and talked about spouses, children, grand-children and about all the current events. But, we also heard from Bill about the origins of this Saturday morning gathering. Apparently, it started with Bill playing basketball with his brother. They felt a need to find another venue for their activity and put an ad in the paper. What followed was a venture that was nomadic in its beginning, and jumped from sites in Orange County to Diamond Bar High School, through Ayala High School in Chino Hills and finally came to stability at Chaparral Middle School.
Part of the early problem was with stragglers that would come to play with their own agenda. Bill had a vision with the Saturday morning basketball that involved an equity of talent that resulted in a more competitive experience, rather than one that allowed “stacked teams” to drop in and dominate the day. Hence, talent is always evened out for the games, at least with the first game. Then, profanity, fighting and gloating were not allowed. Bill’s vision, I think, is what fosters the “brotherhood” and kinship felt among the participants. We always know that Bill is watching and that there is a higher expectation for our behavior. Therefore, it has become a place of retreat of sorts where we can bring our kids and friends, secure in the fact that no inappropriate behavior will occur. Therefore, the man with the vision, Bill Taylor, has come to be known as the “Commish”, the first Commissioner of the WBA, the Weekend Basketball Association.
At the brunch, Eric Tate presented Bill with a signed basketball set in glass with signatures from all the guys. We have spent the past couple of months gathering all the signatures. At times the ball would literally bounce from one guys house to another to help facilitate the gathering of signatures. Finally, the day was closed out with many smiles, remembrances, group photos and choco cake with candles.
Look for the top slideshow on the side for the latest pictures.
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