Never Forget: Pyramid…The 3-Year Dynasty

Story written by Sim Facey

After huge crowds at 139th street and Lenox Avenue, both the Parks and Police Departments insisted we move the tournament to another location to accommodate the ever growing tournament. We had two choices, 145th street and Lenox Avenue and 155th street and 8th Avenue.

Now if you know anything about Harlem you knew to choose the park that had several entrances and exits over the park that only had one, so we chose 155th street and 8th Avenue, Holcombe Rucker Park.

So with the move to the bigger park set heading into the 1986 Entertainers Basketball Classic (EBC) season, Edward “Tookie” Allen was finally ready to realize his wish of taking part in the legacy of streetball at Rucker Park. As a child he remembered making the trip to the park to see Rucker legend Joe “The Destroyer” Hammond and Julius “Dr. J” Erving play and not being able to see them because the park was overflowing with people hanging from the fences, watching from the bridges and project rooftops. Tookie wasn’t ever even able to get into the park and that only fueled his desire to become a central figure in the history of the park as he grew up.

At the conclusion of the previous season, Tookie approached Gerald Spencer (RIP) the coach/owner of the defending champion Chick All-Stars about talking to some of the players on his team. To his surprise, Gerald told Tookie that he could take control of the team for the next EBC tournament. With the stage set for the defense of the team’s title, Tookie changed the name of the team to Pyramid and inherited a roster that included some of the best street ball talent in the city with players like Terminator, Pookie Wilson, Smiley, Rambo, Troy “TNT” Truesdale, Julius and Alabama.

With such a collection of talent, Tookie was the coach/owner of a team that had high expectations for the season with him at the helm. Running through the regular season competition without even having a close game, Tookie felt confident that his team would be the favorites to repeat and win it all and was not surprised when they ended up in the finals against the Mosley All-Stars led by Master Rob and Doogie. The Pyramid All-Stars continued their winning ways and earned Tookie his first EBC championship. After becoming EBC champions, the players on the team were heroes in Harlem and the whole city. Earning citywide bragging rights, the players celebrated at the famous The Rooftop skating rink and Pyramid club for the next year and enjoyed the fame that came with participating in the first tournament established in collaboration with the pioneers of Hip-Hop’s Golden Age.

Little did anyone know (besides maybe the Pyramid All-Stars themselves), that the team was in the middle of winning three consecutive EBC championships from 1986-1988. With the players committed to the team and receiving bonuses for their play from Tookie that depended on their production and status, the team completed another undefeated regular season (1987) and faced the Poppy All-Stars with EBC legend Steve Burtt and NBA champion Kenny “The Jet” Smith in the finals for the EBC crown. Collecting their second trophy in a row, the Pyramid team became the absolute rulers of the EBC universe and enjoyed the fruits of their success for another year. For Tookie and the players, partying with music industry stars like Doug E. Fresh, Chaka Khan, Kurtis Blow and Teddy Riley was like being on the same level as them in the hearts of the community. The Pyramid All-Stars won their unprecedented third EBC championship after yet another undefeated season beating the Poppy All-Stars for the second straight year and completed their trifecta of championships and continued their run as stars at the Pyramid club.

When asked what the standout game of the 3 year run was, Tookie had to think for a minute or two because there were literally so many moments to choose from before settling on the time when NBA champion “Downtown” Fred Brown was playing against him and the Pyramid team was aiming to put 200 points up on the scoreboard. With 198 points and less than a minute to go, Tookie told the team to let the opponents score so they could get the ball back and score for the 200th point.  The crowd was going crazy in the park so the atmosphere was set for a special EBC moment. After scoring, Fred Brown threw the ball over the park fence onto 8th Avenue trying to end the game and avoid giving up the score. Tookie, who by this time had become a full blown Bobby Knight in terms of bullying players and officials, demanded that the game continue. Somebody from the crowd went and got the ball that was thrown, the game continued and the Pyramid team scored to achieve the milestone. The park exploded in cheer and excitement and Tookie and the players were mobbed on the court.

1988 was the last year that the team would win the tournament as it was assembled and the next season was one of frustration for Tookie as the team won less than half of its games.  Looking back at at that time in his life from the perspective of being an ordained deacon in the Church of God in Christ, Deacon Edward Allen acknowledges that he was deserving of his eventual suspension and expulsion from the EBC for violating personal conduct rules.

He also realizes that he did not see the vision that Marius had for the tournament when he began establishing larger corporate sponsorships and the requirement that teams had to again be affiliated with a record label. In the present day, Deacon Allen understands the significance of aligning with Bad Boy records and the Ruff Ryders crew in their respective heydays, but back then he was among the many who were giving Greg a difficult time about switching from street partnerships to corporate ones. Although he appreciates the heights that the tournament has now reached, Deacon Allen left the EBC disappointed at how everything ended up with him being banned from the tournament. During a time in his life when he was traveling around the world and enjoying the finest things money can buy, the highlight of Deacon Allen’s year for a few years during the 80s was his annual run through the competition at the EBC every summer at Rucker Park. With possible plans to return for the 30th anniversary, Deacon Allen might be able to witness this generation of EBC players who are making their name in the tournament that his team owned for three years.