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Stegeman superlatives: Pistol Pete, a perfect ‘40′ and Elton John
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Stegeman superlatives: Pistol Pete, a perfect ‘40′ and Elton John
Stegeman Coliseum had a birthday this week, with fans savoring 59 years of memories.
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I met Frank Zappa before his show there in 1972-3(?). The IFC brought him in, oddly enough. Nice feller.
Another nice read Bill! I also walked across the stage of Stegeman Coliseum as member of the CSHS graduating class of 1980.I've also attended many events over the years there as well. From basketball games, rodeos, concerts (Stevie Ray Vaughn with the Fabulous T-Birds opening the show , Atlanta Rhythm Section on Halloween night, Greg Allman, who opened for the Beach Boys) to name a few, and other exhibits/events. Stegman holds many special memories for me also..GoDAWGS!
Great article Bill - Thanks!!
Great memories Bill! Thanks! I never spent too much time in the Steg when I was a student, but I sure would love it if we could field a decent basketball team!!
Great article, Bill! One of my favorite visits to the steg was when my sister Emily and I were there for "The stall" game against Adolph Rupp's Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky led 8-6 at the half, before the Dawgs ran away with a 49-40 victory. My other favorite time was when my brother-in-law Billy Harper let me keep the shot charts for a game against either Rollins or College of Charleston. It was fun to be courtside (especially as a CCHS student). However, both coaches complained because I did a terrible job of plotting the shots. Apparently there were a lot of 35-foot shots that night, at least according to my charts!
Thanks for bringing back so many memories. I remember the "cattle call" of registration at the Steg. Especially the trek onto the stage by going through the "tunnel". Fortunately, I only had one fall quarter of that. The next year, I was in the College of Veterinary Medicine, and all our cards were already in an envelope, and we were allowed to come in the "back door" onto the stage and get to "break" in line to get our student ID photo made ( I guess that was the result of having Fred Davis, DVM as President of UGA ). And I think you left off a great concert by the group "Yes" from you list of superlatives. And I went to many basketball games that I enjoyed, including Adoph Rupp's last time coaching in Athens.
I could have sworn Pistol Pete's swishing hook was from at least 40 feet. You also left off in your recollection of concerts one of the last Lynyrd Skynyrd concerts (before the crash took place) at the Steg in 1977. I know because I was back stage and talked with Ronnie Van Sant that night.
Thanks for the memory lane walk. When I was a student, and lived in married housing, I'd walk from campus towards home and stop at Stegman to see the lady Dawgs play, led by Theresa Edwards (who later won a gold medal in the Olympics) and Katrina McClain. Tickets were free for students. Later in life, I judged a few science fairs, there. All that said, the Steg is a dinosaur of a venue and uga deserves much better. One can never expect to build an elite basketball program when you are playing in likely the worst b-ball facility, in the SEC. Time to retire the Steg and give the round ballers and fans an elite facility.
To Popeyethesailor: Needless to say (if you read my Blawg all the way to the end), I very much disagree with you. The size or age of the arena does not make a basketball program elite. When UGA gets a coach (and I'm not saying they don't already have him) who can both direct game strategy and recruit like Kirby Smart, then they'll be elite. Not before, regardless of the arena.
To bogarttad: No, Skynyrd's in the concert blog at https://billkingquickcuts.wordpress.com/2023/02/24/sitting-in-the-stand-of-the-sports-arena/
To jrmdvm1: Yes is mentioned in the concert blog.
Was sorry to hear the sad news about your Brother in law.RIP Mr Harper, he was a good man.
You were far ahead of the times, with your plotting of 3 point shots back then 🤣
Great write up, Bill. I was drawn to this article by the recent reports of concrete raining down from the ceiling! Thank goodness no one was hurt! It could have been a true disaster. That said, I agree with you that the facility has had tremendous upgrades and once the ceiling is fixed and secured, and with a new scoreboard in place, there will be absolutely nothing wrong with it. And, with millions already spent and a program still in the building stage for both men and women, it would be foolish to spend the enormous sums required to build a new arena. Maybe someday that could be justified, but not for the foreseeable future! I mean, do folks think we need a new football stadium too? It's almost 100 years old. Crazy talk.