最艰难的院子
1970年，湖人队的前身，新生队迎战爱奥尼亚囚犯队
Brian vernellis的故事
历史照片由大学档案馆提供
Head west along Main Street out of downtown Ionia and inevitably you will come upon an imposing structure sitting on a bluff.
Michigan Reformatory and its 30-foot-high brick facade overlook the intersection of Main and Wall streets on Ionia’s west side. 最初被称为爱奥尼亚州的州立监狱, the prison opened in 1877 and was built by prisoners from Jackson institutions who were transported by train to construct the prison.
在服役145年后，这座监狱于2022年11月13日关闭. 气势恢弘的旋转门限制了主入口和辅助入口, 禁止车辆及访客接近设施.
它曾经是密歇根州最古老的监狱. At one time, it was also the site of one of the earliest games in Grand Valley football history.
湖人队上场
当名誉校长结束. 卢贝尔斯1969年来到大峡谷大学校园, there was one thing noticeably missing — a sense of community among students.
吕贝尔斯在佩拉的中央学院待了10年, 爱荷华州, before accepting the president’s position for the nascent Grand Valley State College. He said he realized the developing campus needed to build school pride among the undergraduates. 他想，还有什么比组建足球队更好的办法呢.
“I was really into football and was ever since I was a child,” Lubbers said. “我喜欢这项运动，尽管我从来都不擅长.
“大峡谷需要更多的人 大学生的感受和校园生活. 比尔·塞德曼(GVSU创始人)和董事会都非常支持.”
在Lubbers的全力支持下, 塞德曼, 以及学校董事会, 体育总监查克·欧文去找教练了. 他在一位老同事身上找到了一个:罗伯特·“里普”·柯林斯.
“大峡谷需要更多的人
大学生的感受和校园生活.”
名誉主席结束. •吕贝尔
“大峡谷需要更多的人 大学生的感受和校园生活.”
名誉主席
D。艾伦. •吕贝尔
“里普是一名二战海军老兵,前湖人队摔跤教练吉姆·斯科特说, 他是柯林斯手下的助理. “他和大多数从战场回来的人一样. They’d seen and done things nobody else had done, so he was pretty hard on the team.”
1970年的湖人是一群新生的大杂烩, 走卒和高年级学生, 谁在别的地方踢过高中或大学橄榄球. 加里Sprecken, who played in high school and at Albion College before transferring to GVSC, 是少数几个有大学打球经验的球员之一吗.
因为缺乏才能和经验, 从技术上讲，1970年的湖人队是一支新生球队, 不是大学项目, 在NCAA的眼中. 设施和设施的缺乏突出了这一事实.
“We had jerseys that were hand-me-downs from high schools,” Sprecken ’73 said. “They were these heavy, cotton practice jerseys like I wore in high school and at Albion.
1970年的湖人是一群新生的大杂烩, 走卒和高年级学生, 谁在高中或大学踢过橄榄球.
1970年的湖人是一群新生的大杂烩, 走卒和高年级学生, 谁在高中或大学踢过橄榄球.
1970年的湖人是一群新生的大杂烩, 走卒和高年级学生, 谁在高中或大学踢过橄榄球.
1970年的湖人是一群新生的大杂烩, 走卒和高年级学生, 谁在高中或大学踢过橄榄球.
“那是1970年的季节初，外面还很暖和, 从夏天开始，我们就一直穿着这些衣服汗流浃背. 我们甚至没有更衣室来挂衣服, 很多时候, 直到比赛前，球衣才被洗干净.”
The Lakers’ first practice field — now paved over by tennis courts and a Hail Mary throw from the Lakers’ indoor practice facility, 凯利家庭体育中心——更多的是泥土而不是草地, 斯科特说.
斯科特说:“我们训练时穿什么球衣，我们就穿什么球衣。. “In our team picture, you can see half of them didn’t have their socks or shoes on yet.
湖人队将前往爱奥尼亚的大房子
Sprecken remembers Collins telling his teammates that it was Michigan Reformatory offering the cash to host a game between the Lakers and the prisoners.
It wasn’t uncommon for the prisoners to square off against visiting “civilian” teams, 凯尔·卡明斯基说, 密歇根监狱的公共信息官, 但扮演一群大学生是独一无二的.
Sprecken recalled Collins telling the team that the money would be used to purchase new jerseys and equipment.
“It came around because coach Collins had coached at [Grand Rapids Junior College], 在某一时刻, 那支队伍已经去了那里,斯普雷肯说.
The lure of new jerseys was too good to pass up, especially for the fledgling program.
比赛日, Collins issued a dire warning that accentuated the gravity of the situation as the team bus pulled up to the prison.
“教练说，‘你可能会被脱光搜身. 他们会检查你的包，’”斯普雷肯说. “We were making sure we didn’t have contraband, so stuff like aerosol cans were out. 在那之后，一切都变得阴郁起来.”
Instead of a strip search, the players were patted down and their belongings searched. 在他们被清除之后, 运动员们被带进了监狱的圆形大厅, 他们最终在哪里体验到周围环境的强度, Sprecken说.
“We got into this rotunda, and it’s three, four stories high with railings around,斯普雷肯说. “囚犯们朝我们大喊大叫，向我们打招呼，嘲笑我们. 听到这话有点吓人.”
“The referee told us that at the 30-yard line is a manhole cover surrounded by cement, 所以尽量避免在那里被擒抱.”
加里说的是73年
“The referee told us that at the 30-yard line is a manhole cover surrounded by cement, 所以尽量避免在那里被擒抱.”
加里说的是73年
“I remember walking through one of the work areas where they were making clothes,” 斯科特说. “有一个拿着剪刀站在缝纫机前的人抬头看着我们, 你可以看到他在思考, ‘Oh, 这些可怜的孩子要自暴自弃了.’”
湖人队的更衣室很拥挤, windowless room that didn’t do much to shield the team from the prisoners’ taunts and jeers. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the game officials led the team onto the field.
斯普雷肯和他的队友们走进了运动场, 期待看到一个足球场, 迎接我的是一片荒芜, dirt patch with even less grass than their own practice field at Grand Valley.
“这基本上是一条车道，”斯普雷肯说. “到处都是石头. 门柱正对着监狱的墙. The referee told us that at the 30-yard line is a manhole cover surrounded by cement, 所以尽量避免在那里被擒抱.”
While the team went through its pregame warmups, the prisoners’ team was conspicuously absent. Officials and Lakers lined up for the coin toss, but there was still no sign of the home team.
“大约在开球前一分钟, 我们听到这么大, 一排人从监狱出来, 发出这种咕噜声,斯普雷肯说.
这个游戏类似于电影《博天堂官方网页》中的气候游戏,” the Burt Reynolds feature in which a football team of convicts takes on a team of guards. 对阵年轻的湖人队, the Michigan Reformatory prisoners looked to gain any physical or psychological edge they could, 斯科特说.
“我们的孩子会走出球场，说, 的男人, 我阻挡了他，或者擒抱了他, 然后他抓住了我,’”斯科特说。.
Then, there were other prisoners who didn’t want to even give the impression of rough or dirty play.
“The ball would be hiked, and they just kind of fell down on the ground and curled up,” 斯科特说. “The kids got into some conversations with some of them after the game and they’d say, “好吧, 我几周后就要出狱了, 所以我不想和别人打架.’”
Despite the dirty play by the prisoners and a barrage of injuries to the Lakers, 大峡谷有机会赢得这场比赛. Trailing 13-6 late in the contest, Grand Valley scored to make it a 13-12 game.
当队员们排好队准备最后一分时, 斯普雷肯说，一名官员走近球队的检票员, 鲍勃·丹尼森, 谁整个赛季没有丢过一分. 裁判提醒队员注意他们的处境.
有人听到站在旁边的裁判低声说, “把他们绑起来也不明智,’”斯普雷肯说. 丹尼森看着我们，我们都点了点头.”
斯普雷肯说，这一脚向右偏出，斜出了牢房.
“我迫不及待地想要开始，
但是我们没有足球场.”
名誉主席结束. •吕贝尔
“我迫不及待地想要开始，
但是我们没有足球场.”
名誉主席
D。艾伦. •吕贝尔
一个值得铭记的季节
1970赛季之后，湖人队在1971年获得了校队的身份. 柯林斯在1971和1972赛季继续担任主教练, 但作为该项目的第一任主教练，他从未赢过一场比赛.
Jim Harkema was hired as coach for the 1973 season and reset the foundation for the program. 在哈克马的10个赛季中，湖人队取得了68胜29负的战绩.
卢伯斯为湖人队建造体育场的梦想在1973年实现了. Lakers Stadium, as it was originally called, hosted its first football game on September 15, 1973. 大峡谷大学以27比14击败了卡拉马祖大学. 六年后，这座体育场以吕伯斯的名字命名.
名誉主席. Lubbers in pictured in front center with members of the 1970 Laker football team.
名誉主席. Lubbers in pictured in front center with members of the 1970 Laker football team.
“回想起来，我认为我犯了一个严重的错误，”卢贝尔斯说. “我非常渴望开始，但我们没有足球场.
“I should have been more patient and waited a few years before starting a football team, and we should have had the facilities that a football team needs on a campus. 里普面临着一些艰难的决定.”
至于答应给团队的500美元, 斯普雷肯说，它从未实现, 新球衣也没有.
“It was definitely the hardest and dirtiest football game I’ve ever played in,斯普雷肯说.
卢伯斯体育场的起源
当名誉校长结束. 卢贝尔斯第一次来到校园是在1969年, 他明白体育运动如何能在学生之间建立友情. 他的主要任务是建造一座足球场. 1973年开业, 这座体育场最初被称为湖人体育场, 这是橄榄球队的第一个设施. Over the next six years, amenities were added like permanent seating for visiting fans. 湖人球场在1979年以吕伯斯的名字正式更名.
Lubbers is third from right in this photo from the dedication ceremony in September 1979.
Lubbers is third from right in this photo from the dedication ceremony in September 1979.
