When Sam Alford landed the head coaching job at New Castle High in 1979, the first place he took his family to see in this basketball-obsessed Indiana community was the place that was being touted as the “largest and finest fieldhouse in the world.”
This was the place where Alford would be coaching and where his son, Steve, would be playing.
The Chrysler Fieldhouse, officially the New Castle Fieldhouse, was a world-renowned mecca boasting a seating capacity of nearly 10,000 and a glitz and glamour not found in the smaller gymnasiums sprinkled throughout rural Indiana.
And so when Steve Alford first stepped into that fieldhouse with his dad, both a little nervous, both embarking on a new journey, the moment became etched in his memory.
“It was love at first sight,” Steve Alford told IndyStar this week. “I was in complete awe of the place.”
And then that place became Alford’s second home. He spent hours upon hours in that gym, practicing with his team and practicing alone. As the coach’s kid, Alford had some perks.
“Having the keys to the gym as a coach’s kid is one thing, but having the keys to the largest and finest high school fieldhouse in the world? Wow,” he said. “(I was) truly blessed.”
Sam Alford has told many stories through the years of his son getting up at the crack of dawn to get shots in before school inside the fieldhouse. And he has told stories of his son staying late at that fieldhouse, shooting until he couldn’t shoot anymore.
“So many long hours of workouts. My love for the game and the fieldhouse grew together,” Alford said. “So many incredible memories. Playing in front of 10,000 people each game my senior year was a dream come true. I’ll never forget those experiences.”
Inside the fieldhouse, Alford became the all-time leading scorer for New Castle with 2,116 career points and averaging 38 points his senior year. He was named Indiana’s Mr. Basketball in 1983.
Inside the fieldhouse Friday, inside the gym IHSAA Commissioner L.V. Phillips called the “Largest and Finest High School Fieldhouse in the World” in his dedication remarks at the first game November 21, 1959, New Castle boy’s basketball will play its 1000th game.
Players and coaches from years past will be in attendance to witness the historic game at their legendary gym.
Alford wanted to be there, but he has a game to coach Saturday with his Nevada team taking on Boise State. But he leaves a piece of advice for those who will be attending Friday’s 1000th game.
“Take your shoes off when you enter,” Alford said. “Holy ground.”
Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on X: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via email: dbenbow@indystar.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Steve Alford on New Castle Fieldhouse: ‘Take your shoes off when you enter. Holy ground’
Reporting by Dana Hunsinger Benbow, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
