THE GOBLIN PITCHER
by Paul Lonardo

Phenomenal Friar point guard, Ernie D (DiGregorio)

Homegrown: The Making of the 1972-73 Providence College Friars" is part sports book and part history book. It is a retrospective of that team's remarkable season as well as a history of the school's basketball program, which was itself responsible for drawing the local talent of Marvin Barnes and Ernie DiGregorio which propelled the 1972-73 Friars to their celebrated season. It is a snapshot in RI history of a time when a local college basketball team meant so much to this state.

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HOMEGROWN: The Making of the 1972-73 Providence College Friars (click HERE to access HOMEGROWN book page)

Providence College has a long history of great basketball teams and beloved players, but there has never been anything like the talent and allure of Coach Dave Gavitt's 1972-73 Friars.

With the 50-year anniversary of the 1972-73 Providence College Friars basketball team a couple years away, this book is a celebration of Providence College's basketball program and a tribute to Coach Dave Gavitt, the players, and all the fans of 1973 Friars.

STRIKE IX - The Story of the Big East College Forced to Eliminate its Baseball Program and the Team that Refused to Lose (click HERE to access STRIKE IX book page)

It has been more than twenty years since the last game of baseball has been played at Providence College, a program that had produced numerous Major Leaguers, including Lou Merloni and John McDonald. This book was written as a tribute to the 1999 Friars baseball team. The players, knowing they would be the last to wear a Friar baseball uniform, went out and had the best season in the 80-year history of the school's baseball program. Playing with a lot of heart, talent and emotion, the Friars won the Big East Championship and entered the NCAA Division I Tournament with a lot more to prove.

FROM THE ASHES - Surviving the Station Nightclub Fire (click HERE to access FROM THE ASHES book page)

On the night of February 20, 2003, a crowd of nearly five hundred people were packed inside a small nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island to listen to the music of 80's rock band, Great White. During their opening song, a pyrotechnic display ignited a stage wall. A rampaging fire spread quickly, engulfing the interior and trapping many people inside before they could escape. Within minutes, the incident became the fourth deadliest fire in U.S. history, killing 100 people and injuring 200 others.

From the Ashes is Gina Russo's personal story of survival and the aftermath of the worst catastrophe's the state of Rhode Island ever suffered.

HOMEGROWN: THE MAKING OF THE 1972-73 PROVIDENCE COLLEGE FRIARS

Fans couldn't get enough of the Marvin Barnes & Ernie D show

It's hard to believe that in just a couple of years, we will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the PC Friars' magic carpet ride to the 1973 Final Four of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. In fact, those Rhode Islanders who were around at that time will recall that PC was within a whisker of making it to a Finals showdown with the mighty Bill Walton-led UCLA Bruins. Unfortunately, in a semi-final game against Memphis, in which PC jumped out to an early lead, the Friars' dominant big man, Marvin Barnes, went down with an injury, short-circuiting PC' fast break offense, which was jumpstarted by Barnes' otherworldly rebounding ability.

What made this Friar team so remarkable was that it was led by two superstars players who were both local, homegrown talent. Both Marvin Barnes and Ernie DiGregorio turned down opportunities to play for larger, more prestigious colleges, choosing to stay close to home and play at Providence College instead. Not only were these two players Rhode Island natives, but so was their coach. Although Dave Gavitt grew up in Peterborough New Hampshire, what even some ardent Friar fans may not know is that he was born in Westerly, RI. When he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts in 2006, for all that he did in the game of basketball, but particularly for his role in the creation of the Big East Conference, he became the first Rhode Islander to be enshrined.

Despite being an "outsider," from Queens, NY, Kevin Stacom's path to Providence was the direct result of a connection he had with a former Friar player. As a Crusader on the Holy Cross basketball team, Stacom had a solid sophomore season. However, when he felt growing uncertainty with the direction of the school's athletic programs, he confided in a friend suggested he transfer to PC. The friend was Mike Riordan, the late 1960s Friar star who also hailed from Stacom's high school. Stacom was unquestionably a great Friar and a supremely talented player, and even though he may not have been assigned superstar status à la Ernie DiGregorio and Marvin Barnes, no one could dispute that he was a vital component to the success of 1972-73 team. In fact, he was considered by many to be the glue that unified all the talent that Providence possessed that season, helping the team solidify their place in history.