In 1984, the Chicago Bulls drafted the greatest basketball player to ever grace the NBA scene, Michael Jordan. Everyone remembers Jordan for his memorable playoff shots, game winners, and scoring moments, but who remembers his first ever game? Who knew his first ever home pre-season game, was actually in a high school gym?
According to Sportsnet:
According to Chris Garfien of CSN Chicago:
Washington High School in East Chicago, Indiana, was the lucky institution that hosted Jordan and the Bulls that night, and those who were there still can’t believe it actually occurred.
“We were very excited. I mean, to have Michael Jordan playing at your high school gym? He was coming off the Olympics. Everybody was crazy about it,” said Michael Puente, a reporter for WBEZ-Radio who in 1984 was a sophomore at Washington High School. “It’s near the top as one of the biggest events that ever occurred in the city of East Chicago.”
The Bulls beat the Bucks 100-87. Jordan led all scorers with 22.
Stopping the Bulls’ rookie on the court was a challenge, but getting him out of the building safely afterwards was an even greater one.
“Back then, we didn’t have the security that we do now, and playing in a high school gym presented a lot of problems,” Hallam said. “After the game
, the security was not even close to what it would be today.”
What was the security?
“There was none.”
Hallam vividly remembers running down the hallway with Jordan trying to get to the locker room before a sea of fans nearly crushed them.
“There was nobody to stop them and they were so excited. They would have done anything to get up and touch him,” Hallam said. “That was the beginning for me to see that he was indeed like the Pied Piper. It signified, ‘Wow, this guy is really going to be something.’”
As time goes on, more Michael Jordan stories will appear, but this one was interesting, because NBA team’s now a days, rarely play in high school gyms.
