Foxcroft Academy graduate Dave Albee honors 1975 state championship team with book
The Last One Out of Town Turn Out the Lights
DOVER-FOXCROFT, Maine (WABI) - 1972 Foxcroft Academy graduate Dave Albee has covered events like the Super Bowl, World Series, and Final Four in his sports writing career, but commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1975 Ponies state boys basketball championship in his book, The Last One Out of Town Turn Out the Lights, is close to his heart.
For Albee and Foxcroft Academy Ponies fans, the 1975 state boys basketball title is a special story for the first Gold Ball in program history.
“The first two people I interviewed were Kevin Nelson, who was the star player, and Skip Hanson, who was the coach. From there, it just took off, talking with other people. It just exploded with story after story before I knew it. I was hoping to get 100 pages. I think I wound up with something like 282 pages,” said Albee.
Albee was happy to tell his team’s story.
“It’s always been there in the back of my mind. It’s like your first championship is your best championship. That’s what it was,” said Albee.
The Last One Out of Town Turn Out The Lights is the title and a slogan during the team’s run.
“Pretty much everybody I talked to talked about that sign and the impact it had on what it meant to them. It encapsulated the spirit of the community and how obsessed they were with the team,” said Albee.
Nelson’s impact was remarkable for a team supported by a basketball-crazy community.
“Kevin Nelson was at that time the Cooper Flagg of that era. Then, there was this collection of players around him that were all really good role players with great skill. They had played together in eighth grade and were undefeated as a team in eighth grade. They reunited their senior year. They never lost a game as a group together in eighth grade and as seniors. We’re talking about something that happened 50 years ago that still sticks with you. It doesn’t get out of your mind,” said Albee.
Albee is glad to give memories back to Ponies fans.
Albee’s book releases on Tuesday.
You find links to buy it for $24.95 on TheLastOneOutofTown.com.
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