By Michael Letendre
In the winter of 1979, the Bristol Eastern girls basketball program had a new coach.
His name was Tony Floyd.
And fast forward to 2020, that same guy is still running the Lancers’ team – yelling away, putting together game plans and teaching his players all the ins and outs of the basketball world.
But even though it seems like Floyd has been the coach of the Eastern squad since the beginning of time, there was a period in school history when somebody else was running the show.
The program was extremely successful under former mentor Joann Galati but after 11 successful campaigns, Floyd – a former player himself at Bristol Eastern – was tasked to lead an inexperienced Lancers’ roster into the decade of the 1980s.
Floyd was young, hungry and looking forward to building a basketball program from the ground up.
Now about to enter his 41st season as the Lancers’ coach, his very first contest on the Eastern sidelines came around this time in 1979.
While Floyd was putting together his first practices at BEHS, consider the sports climate of the world on both a local and national level that year:
The Pittsburg Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 35-31, to take Super Bowl XIII.
The National Hockey League and World Hockey Association merged as the Hartford Whalers became a member of the NHL.
Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson and Michigan State defeat Larry Bird and Indiana State, 75-64, to win the NCAA men’s basketball championship in the most watched college game ever.
The Seattle Supersonics, behind ‘Downtown’ Freddie Brown, Gus Williams, Jack Sikma and future Boston Celtics star Dennis Johnson defeated the Washington Bullets 4-3 in an epic seven game challenge for the team’s only NBA title.
ESPN hits the airwaves and is the first cable sports channel in America.
Then there was Bristol Eastern boys basketball coach Jim Bates, who all the coaches at Eastern learned a little something from over the years, and guided the team on its most successful three-year stint ever in program history – going 54-21 over that stretch which included a run to the state Class L title game in 1981.
With that backdrop, Floyd opened his first ever scholastic game in 1979 against St. Paul high school in a classic city series confrontation.
The season opener saw Eastern take an early lead in the contest but the Falcons proved to be the better team than night, defeating the Lancers 51-42 from the Maltby Street Gymnasium in Bristol.
St. Paul’s Lisa Ricci led all players with 16 points while Leslie Nixon and Gretchen Chiasson each collected double-doubles for the victors.
Nixon had 14 points and 12 rebounds while Chiasson flipped in 10 points and also collected 12 boards.
Also for the Falcons, Tracey Amodio scored seven points while Joan Pikiell and Kathy Crowley added two points apiece to the winning effort.
Joy Potz zipped in 16 points for the Lancers while Kathy Klett added eight.
Kathy Zeranski had seven points, Ann Cullina hit for six, Mary Mazrek scored all five of her points in the second half and Cindy Lacouture added a hoop to lead the Eastern offensive charge.
Behind a balanced scoring attack, the Lancers led 10-6 after one period of play while Potz scored eight second quarter points as Eastern held a 22-15 advantage at the half.
St. Paul eventually captured the lead in the third quarter as the team exploded for 22 points to seize the edge.
Ricci notched eight points and Chiasson scored seven to make it a 37-35 contest as the Lancers trailed on the scoreboard.
Eastern’s offense sputtered in the fourth quarter, tallying just seven points, as Nixon dropped in eight while Ricci netted four to help the Falcons secure a nine point victory – moving to 1-1 on the campaign.
Foul shooting woes led to doom and demise for the Lancers as the team went 8-for-21 from the line – assuring the Lancers a tough practice the following day.
The Eastern program ended the season at 6-12 and did not qualify for state tournament play.
St. Paul ended up ranked 16th in the Class M fray but lost a heartbreaking 52-51 decision to No. 17 Jonathan Law from Cheshire high school on February 19, 1980.
After that season, Floyd and his program had more than a decent run of success – missing the state tournament only once over his next 39 years as coach.
The Lancers also captured four state championships, several of Floyd’s players had successful collegiate careers, and nearly 580 wins later, Eastern has been the CCC South’s top program under the outstanding coach.
1979-1980 Bristol Eastern opener – at St. Paul
Bristol Eastern Roster
- Joy Potz
- Kathy Zeranski
- Ann Cullina
- Kathy Klett
- Mary Mazrek
- Cindy Lacouture
- Glennie MacDonald
- Lori Eberhard
- Eleanor Wipfler
- Robin Greenlaw
- Penny Brackett
- Lori Carrier
St. Paul Roster
- Carol Keelan
- Tracy Amodio
- Leslie Nixon
- Sharon Hamel
- Gretchen Chiasson
- Lisa Ricci
- Lisa Miller
- Michelle Bilodeau
- Joan Pikiell
- Kate Phelan
- Kathy Crowley
- Kathy Hamel
