Basketball was once a sport played between November and February––after football season ended, and before baseball season began. These days the NBA championship final extends to late June. And don’t forget women’s professional basketball whose regular season kicks off in early May concluding in August with playoffs stretching to mid-September.
In 1927, when this photo was taken, the Black Diamond High School basketball squad consisted of six players identified as follows. Back row L-R – Ron McLean, Joe Paglia, Coach Bowen, Don Corning. Front row: L-R – Max Page, Oren Lile, Gordon Gray. Joe Paglia was a sports legend in Black Diamond. After graduating from high school, Joe attended Santa Clara University. They called him “Diamond” Joe and after college he went on to coach a number of local teams including St. Martin’s College.
This photo, taken on the steps of the old high school and was originally provided by Colin Page, father of the player, Max Page. It comes courtesy of JoAnne Matsumura, an Issaquah historian and frequent contributor to When Coal Was King. Next week, a story about the 1929 team which won that year’s league cup.
