The Game Played on the Wrong Side of Midnight

=============================

Back in 1975, The New York Hawks (an elite AAU "Minor" Team from the US) were touring Europe. They had played top teams in countries such as Portugal, England, Wales and Scotland ( over powering them all). The next stop was Ireland. They were scheduled to play in the St Vincent's New Park International Tournament but also scheduled "friendly" exhibition games in Cork and Sligo.  

After finishing up their last game in the UK , they where ready to head off to Cork to play a game scheduled for 8:30 PM up in Parochial Hall.  Unfortunately they ran into flight delays. The match coordinators in Cork didn't get the news until a couple of hours before the scheduled tip-off.  Too late to do anything. The crowd started to show up in great numbers. The Hall was going to be packed. Announcements were made about the delay but a decision was made to wait and see when the Hawks might arrive before cancelling the match. The crowd was disappointed but many waited to find out if there was going to be a game or not.

Finally the match coordinators were advised that the Hawks should be touching down a little before 11:00 PM and would be ready to play. An announcement was made that the game should be able to start around midnight.   Messengers were sent out to all the pubs in the area where much of the crowd had retreated to entertain  themselves while they waited. Meanwhile a convoy of cars left Gurranabraher headed to Cork Airport on the Southside of the city.  The flight landed as scheduled and the players and their gear were rushed to the Northside.

When they showed up a little before midnight they were amazed that Parochial Hall still had a great crowd waiting for them. As they warmed up in their layup lines, the crowd was thrilled by their "above the rim" athleticism and their opponents ( a Cork Select Team) realized they were in big trouble. From the "tip off" ( a little after midnight) the Hawks were entertaining and over powering. The final score was "something like" 116-68. Again these "teen aged" Hawks were amazed at how few of the crowd left before the game was over ( between 1:30 and 2:00 PM).

 So the Hawks were shuttled off to a hotel down around MacCurtain Street for a well deserved rest and then rushed off to Dublin the next morning.  So per one of the Hawks ( Joey DeSantis) who helped reconstruct the details of this story, the Hawks returned home to New York undefeated. The highlight of the trip for many of the players was that "wacky" night in Cork when they played in "The Game on the Wrong Side of Midnight".

NY Riverside Hawks Wrap Up Their Tour in Sligo

===========================================================

Turn the Calendar 12 Months to 1976 and the Hawks Return to Defend Their Title

 in the St Vincent's Newpark International Tournament in Dublin

Some Backgound Info on the New York Riverside Hawks 

Joe DeSantis - Went on to have a stellar collegiate career at Fairfield University. Although he was drafted by the Washington Bullets in the 2nd round of the 1979 NBA Draft, he decided to pursue his career in Italy and later in the CBA. Joe continued his career coaching at the Division 1 and 2 levels most notably as the long time coach of Quinnipiac University.  See Link >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_DeSantis 

Albert King - Rated the No 1 high school player in the country before becoming an All American at the University of Maryland. Drafted # 10 by the New Jersey Nets in the 1981 NBA Draft . Had a very successful 9 year NBA career.. See link >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King_(basketball) 

Here is a little video link for Albert and his older brother Bernard (an NBA Hall of Famer)

Wayne McKoy- Rated as No 1 big man coming out of high school. Speculation had him skipping college and entering the NBA Draft. Instead he played at St Johns University and due to knee injuries drafted in the 3rd round of 1981 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks but signed with a team in Spain. .See link >> https://www.thedraftreview.com/index.php... 


Gary Hooker - Played at Murray Sate and Mississippi State. Drafted in 1980 by the Seattle Supersonics See Link >> https://www.thedraftreview.com/index.php...


David Underwood Played for East Carolina University See Link >>https://www.sports-reference.com/.../david-underwood-1.html 


Mike McDuffen Played for Murray State ( undrafted )
See Link >> https://www.sports-reference.com/.../mike-mcduffen-1.html


Thomas Louden Played for University of Hawaii ..See Link >>https://www.sports-reference.com/.../thomas-louden-1.html

========================== 🅾🅾🅾 ===========================

And Finally... Here is a Link to the Glen Abbey / New Park Tournament