By Rich Wescott
Long, long ago, when I was starting out as a young sports writer with the Daily Times, we, as they do now, covered Chester High School. The only difference between the two vastly separate eras was that because the paper was then located in Chester, we sometimes covered more Clippers games in a given season than we did some of the other teams.
More often than not, those Clippers games were high-level affairs that featured outstanding teams made up of many talented players. That, of course, was a hallmark of Chester teams over the years.
To a cub reporter who had grown up in the basketball-rich city of Philadelphia — and who had even seen Wilt Chamberlain score 90 points in a high school game — covering Chester High basketball in the mid-to-late 1960s on a regular basis was a welcome assignment. Even today, it is not hard to recall the splendid Chester teams of that era. One in particular was the 1964-65 squad. That was a team that went undefeated through the entire season until losing in the Eastern PIAA finals to Steelton-Highspire, 84-82 in overtime. The Clippers ended the season with a glittering 24-1 record.
That team was loaded with outstanding players. Mike Marshall, Reuben Daniels, Ken Shamberger, and Danny Leake were all first-rate players who performed marvelous feats on the basketball court.
The fifth starter was William (Bo) Ryan, a dark-haired kid with a thin face and a serious demeanor.. While he may not have been the big scorer or rebounder that the others were, you couldn’t help but notice the way he guided the team on the court. Ryan was a point guard who ran the Clippers with great skill and intelligence.