MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Last week, West Virginia University athletics announced a partnership with Artsman to create collections of distinctive items made from the old Field House floor for Mountaineer basketball fans to enjoy.
 
Among those enjoying this one-of-a-kind collection is WVU men's basketball radio analyst Jay Jacobs, who grew up in Morgantown and used to sneak into the Field House to watch Leland Byrd, Fred Schaus, Clyde "Hard Times" Green, Bobby Carroll, Eddie Sterling, Eddie Beach and other Mountaineer greats play.
 
"The old city policeman, Red Jolliffe, used to leave the door open, and he knew me pretty well and would look the other way," Jacobs recalled. "One time, when we were playing Duke and everything was really tight, we climbed up on top of the building, opened one of those big doors out there and came down from the top.
 
"We ended up right smack in the middle of Duke's pregame meeting! (Duke coach) Vic Bubas kicked us out of there, and I hid in the shower for a long time, but we did end up getting in once we got up into the concourse where all of the people were," he laughed.
 
Lee Patton had Mountaineer basketball rolling by the late 1940s with NIT teams in 1946 and 1947 and winning seasons in 1948 and 1949. Jay remembers going to his father's clothing store on High Street where they parked (parking near the Field House was almost impossible then), and they would walk up Beechurst Avenue from downtown to the Field House with a horde of WVU fans.
 
"We could be down on Beechurst pretty quick. I just remember there being very long lines to get into the Field House," he said.
 
In the other direction, there was additional parking down at Chico's Dairy and fans walked together and talked about the game or something they saw "Chop 'Em Down" do to antagonize visiting coaches and players.
 
"Chop 'Em Down" was a lay minister named Frank Henderson who used to run around with a mini-hatchet and heckle opposing players and coaches and scare the hell out of small children. When athletic director Roy "Legs" Hawley attempted to ban "Chop 'Em Down" from attending games, the students found a way to smuggle him in and eventually Hawley relented.
 
The Field House was configured in a way where most of the seating was on three sides with a sliver of seats located along the river side of the arena. Above was a narrow balcony that also served as a runway for the gymnastics team to practice their vault routines.
 
For many years, the benches were situated behind the south basket, nearest to downtown, with the student section located directly behind West Virginia's bench. When the players were introduced, they ran down a carpet parallel to the main seating section along Beechurst and stood at the center jump circle.
 
Jerry West was always announced last because the applause was so loud that it would drown out the applause for the other players, which he disliked. He always wanted his teammates to be treated with the same respect and affection.
 
When Bucky Waters became coach in 1966, he discarded the carpet and had the players enter the floor through a hoop from the opposite side running toward the fans. By then, the team benches were moved along the Beechurst Avenue side of the Field House, separated by a scoring table that included clock operator Jack Roberts, official scorer Al Babcock and public address announcer Frank "Doc" Stevens.
 
Above them, on a balcony between the two sections of bleachers, sat the sportswriters and it was also where legendary "Voice of the Mountaineers" Jack Fleming broadcast games.
 
In 1947, the arena's capacity was expanded by nearly 2,500 seats at a cost of $75,000, which included the installation of a new floor. Therefore, there are two floors Artsman has made available for purchase – the original floor from 1929 to 1947 and a "Golden Era" floor that was used by Mountaineer Legends Hot Rod Hundley, Jerry West, Rod Thorn, Ron "Fritz" Williams and Wil Robinson until the facility was retired in 1970.
 
Jay said the first game he remembers watching was against Washington & Jefferson, sometime in the late 1940s, but he vividly recalls Pitt coach H.C. "Doc" Carlson and his antics before, during and after games.
 
Carlson was quite a character who once said the initials "H.C." in his name stood for "high class." When his Pitt teams were not quite as good as West Virginia's, he would instruct his players to hold the ball near midcourt and let the clock run down while West Virginia fans shouted insults and voiced their displeasure.
 
Carlson just sat back in his chair, ate popcorn and laughed while watching a closer-than-expected game remain close.
 
"One night, Doc Carlson came in with an umbrella because they used to dump soft drinks on him while he was sitting on their bench," Jacobs said.
 
There is even a picture in the University archives of Carlson once donning a gas mask while coaching a game, pictured to the right.
 
Jay recalled the annual Morgantown-University boy's game being played in the Field House during his junior and senior seasons.
 
"That was a pretty big deal," he said. "My eyesight was so bad that I had terrible games down there because of the glare behind the baskets. We would draw 3,000, 3,500 for those games."
 
When Hawley pried away the state high school basketball tournament from West Virginia Wesleyan in the early 1950s, the Field House turned into a cherished destination for high school basketball fans and players.
 
It proved a great recruiting advantage to WVU, too, and soon Marshall demanded that the tournament be rotated on an annual basis. Jerry West played in the Field House during the 1956 state tournament, and one of the epic games in state tournament history took place in a packed Field House in 1964 when Logan upset Weirton 81-73 in the Triple-A title game.
 
Fritz Williams, Weir's star player, fouled out and WVU fans were concerned that it could have an impact on Williams' recruitment. 
 
Their fears were not unfounded.

"My mom was unsure about me going to WVU," the late Williams once recalled to local Morgantown author and historian Norm Julian. "We lost in the state high school finals at Morgantown. I got 35 and could have got 50, but I fouled out and we lost the game. Most of the fouls were offensive calls, and mom thought maybe they were singling me out, so mom said I wouldn't got to school down there.
 
"Coach (George) King assured me I wouldn't have any problems, and I really didn't," Williams added.
 
Jay watched Williams play at the Field House, and he also remembered WVU legend Ira Errett Rodgers teaching golf class on the Field House floor when he was a WVU student in the late 1950s.
 
"People don't realize that Field House was big for the city of Morgantown," Jacobs explained. "There were a lot of events besides basketball that took place in that building. I once saw Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond play in there. We watched track meets."
 
Of course, you can't discuss the Field House without mentioning something bizarre that Hundley did to entertain the crowd. The wildest story you've ever heard about Hundley is true, and probably understated.
 
"I remember Hundley once making a basket, running outside and coming back in on the other side drinking a Coke while the game was going on. The fans loved that," Jacobs laughed. "He was a real character."
 
Jacobs also remembers watching 6-foot-8 All-American center Mark Workman perform in the Field House. WVU just didn't have players as big and as skilled as Workman was in those days.
 
"Mark Workman was 6-foot-8, which is very common today, but back then he was like a giant to us. He was such a wonderful player," Jacobs said.
 
Wonderful players, wonderful coaches and wonderful memories, for sure.
 
The Artsman collection of Field House items are currently available for pre-order through the website https://www.artsmansport.com. Most pieces come in a decorative box featuring vintage West Virginia University logos and colors used during that era.
 
Production is underway and delivery is expected within four weeks.