The New Entertainers Basketball Classic Begins
story written by Sim Facey
With the move from Mt. Morris Park to 139th Street park there were a few newfound obstacles to be overcome by the EBC. The tournament at the old park was always under control and there weren’t ever any problems with running the tourney, but from the first day that Greg showed up at 139th street and saw the crowd of guys who used the park as their unofficial “office” he knew that it was going to be a different experience. Even before he got to the new park he had to obtain permits from the Parks Department which he never had to do previously. After navigating the paperwork to get the legal permission to use the park, the last thing that Greg wanted to deal with was neighborhood interference in the park. The guys who used the park didn’t care anything about the EBC or the benefit of having the tournament in the park for the community’s enjoyment. All they saw was something coming in to stop their flow and they weren’t having that.
As chance would have it, Charles “Chuck” Valentine who had worked with Greg previously at AJ Lester was able to exercise his own special influence on the guys in the park and there were never any incidents. With the arrival of that year’s tournament came an increased level of competition due to the fact that there was no longer a requirement that teams fielded players with music industry affiliation. That meant that there was a huge rush to field the best talent in order to win that year’s championship and there was a ton of talent imported into the EBC.
The EBC Finals saw Chick’s All-Stars facing off against (AJ Lesters) later known as Poppy’s All-Stars with Chick’s team coming away with the win. EBC legend Steve Burtt remembers Sam Worthen being a monster in the game and feeling that he would have earned an EBC title if Worthen didn’t play in the fFnals.
Speaking to Steve Burtt from AJ Lester’s Poppy’s All-Stars squad, he remembers the time well because it was his first entry into the EBC. Prior to that year he was turned away from the tournament when it was at Mt Morris Park for being a legitimate basketball player. With the new change in rules he was part of a wave of talent that graced the EBC courts in the beginning days that included Pookie Wilson, Sam Worthen, Gary Springer, Malik Sealy, John Morton, Malloy “Future” Nesmith and many others. Even as a professional basketball player, for Burtt, the highlight of his offseason was measuring himself against the level of competition in street ball tournaments like the EBC.
He remembered being a young player looking up to the likes of NYC street ball legends Artie Green, Angel Cruz and Phil Walker and learning how to play hard to make a name for himself and prove his worth. The tradition of, “Got game, Earn a name” has been in effect at the EBC since the early days and players have always sought to test themselves against the best and prove themselves to the savvy fans in the crowd.
The EBC wants to remember some of the great names of the glory days of street ball talent in New York who showcased their talent at the EBC. RIP to two names that brought two great teams together in the 1985 Finals of the EBC, “Chick and “Poppy” R.I.P.!!!
