Remembering a sweet season

As the Port Washington High School boys’ basketball team rebuilds with hopes of being a heavyweight once again, memories of a past powerhouse percolate.

The Pirates won the Braveland Conference 50 years ago in 1973-74. That team ended a 15-year conference title drought by going 14-4.

The final league game in Port in front of an estimated 1,600 people sealed the title. Port took a 15-0 lead over Menomonee Falls North and hung on for a 56-48 win.

Guards Gary Gosewehr and Kim Mueller each had 14 points, and Mueller had seven assists. John Chronis had 10 points.

Goswehr ended as the conference’s top scorer with 328 points and was named to the first team. Forward Dennis Weber was second on the Pirates with 247 points (eighth in the league) and was named to the second team. Chronis led the team in assists with 84 and Mueller had 81.

Gosewehr died in 2019 at 63. A few of his teammates attending the 1974 class reunion in fall shared some memories that get sweeter by the season, and Weber shared some of his recollections with Ozaukee Press.

Weber said Gosewehr was by far the team’s most talented player.

“He was like a god to us back then, playing varsity basketball as a sophomore, red-white-blue head and wristbands at times, wild bushy hair, the incredible bulging quad muscles,” Weber said.

Gosewehr, or “Goose” as he was known, had a sizable repertoire of skills.

“The powerful drives to the basket, the outside shooting, the rebounding — he could do it all. Unstoppable,” Weber said.

Chronis, he said, “could shoot in amazing streaks” but was more consistent in other matters that mattered in high school.

“He had the thin but full head of hair flying around the whole time, driving the Port High girls crazy,” Weber said.

Weber remembers “Bonus” Chronis caught fire in a game against Nicolet the year before, “which could have been a title year also with Rick Schuknecht, Paul Cziney, Jim Bathke and gang. Their (our)success in 1973 really set the tone for our senior year,” he said.

Mueller, the point guard who went by “Millhouse,” “Kareem” and other nicknames, “had a stoic demeanor and was never rattled,” Weber said.

The team’s “floor leader,” he said, “had quickness, agility and eyes in the back of his head” and “a super combination of unselfishness and talent and seemed to bring it when we needed it.”

Al Maechtle was the team’s “coach on the floor,” Weber said.

“We played a lot of zone defense, and Al would ‘kick our asses’ if we strayed from the plan.”

Weber said Maechtle played through pain and remembers seeing a “purple muscle” from rear to knee in the locker room, but he never missed a game.

Weber said his growth spurt from 6 feet to 6-3 sped his skill development.

“I spent four years wearing out the backboard, rim, and driveway in my Saukville home. I was obsessed with scoring, almost to a fault, and took on every kid in the neighborhood,” he said.

Among the role players that contributed were defensive force Phil Isaacson and backup big Pat Loesch, Weber said.

Port legend Al Urness, a member of the Wisconsin Football Coaches Hall of Fame, was the Pirates’ basketball coach as well. He was as important to Weber as anyone.

“Urness was like a father figure to me, as my father did not live with us very much during those years,” he said.

Port beat Cedarburg, 45-39, and West Bend East, 66-54, in the playoffs before Milwaukee Madison beat the Pirates in the state semifinal, 81-72. Milwaukee Madison won the state title over Rufus King, 67-66.

Back then, there was a third-place game, and Port beat Falls North, 67-65. Weber had a career-high 28 points on 14-for-18 shooting, mostly on jumpers. Mueller had 15 points and Maechtle had 12 points and eight rebounds. Port finished the season 17-5.