A group of friends gathered with author Dan Wakefield for lunch in Broad Ripple recently. Dan is a 1950 graduate of Shortridge High School. Growing up at 61st and Winthrop Avenue, Dan had a basketball goal in his backyard and made many BB friends that went to Broad Ripple High School. Dan attended School 80, but ended up going to Shortridge because it had a daily school paper (BRHS only had a weekly).

At the lunch were Jack Hogan (1963 BRHS graduate and Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer), Bill Bastian (1948 BRHS), Jack Engledow (1949 BRHS), and your editor (1978 BRHS).

Three of the attendees were part of the Frank Baird Scholarship Committee (composed of Bill Bastian, Wally Cox, Jack Engledow, Jack Hogan, Dick Warne & Hugh Wolf) which was the recipient of the 2012 BRHS Distinguished Alumni Award. Frank Baird was the illustrious basketball coach at BRHS.

I don't think readers need any background on Dan, but if so, his books include Going All The Way, Kurt Vonnegut - the making of a writer, Island in the City, Under The Apple Tree, New York in the '50s, and the park at 61st and Broadway Street is named for him.

It was a fun lunch with many stories of the old basketball days at BRHS including the BRHS BB team that went to the 1946 State Finals.