The opening of the new, state of the art Harold Alfond Center in
1999 closed a memorable chapter in Monks basketball history. From
the early seventies until February of 1999, Bernard Currier
Gymnasium, more popularly known as "The Chamber of Horrors," served
as the Monks' home and provided the Royal Blue with an imposing
home court advantage.
When Chris Kiernan, the Monks' first coach and Director of
Athletics, introduced men's basketball to the Standish campus back
in 1970, the gym was nicknamed the "Monster Building." There were
no bleachers, no locker rooms and no training room. The teams
playing would use the bathrooms in the front of the building to
change and for half time talks while the officials changed in the
boiler room. It was not until the mid 1980's under the direction of
President Anthony Santoro that a wing was added to the back of the
building which provided locker rooms, a small training room, a
weight room and coaches offices. Dean of Students Dick Bailey
arranged for bleachers to be installed and from then on the crowds
began to grow. Because of the proximity to the court, the fans
would, in big games, literally stand on the edge of the court and
the bleachers too, allowing little distance from the playing
surface.
For a period of two years, Saint Joseph's was legislated against
in terms of hosting play-off games unless the bottom row of seats
was pushed in.
Students began to dress up as the Monk, the Executioner or, most
notably, the young man who would don a dress, climb the girders and
dive into the outstretched arms of the other fans. During this
time, as the fans became more involved, the teams continued to
improve.
From January 25th, 1990 to February 2nd, 1995, the Monks went
undefeated at home, spanning a stretch of 50 contests. Local
television outlets ran features on the "Chamber" and interviews
centered on the bizarre turn of events which would turn games
seemingly lost into exciting victories.
Sports Illustrated visited the "Chamber" and chronicled its
personality in the December 16th, 1985 issue as did CBS Sports,
Sportstime as well as NESN in 1999. Certainly a lot of publicity
for a small building on a small campus!
"The Chamber of Horrors" was officially closed with a large
gathering of former players and personalities on February 19th,
1999, the date of the last regular season game. On hand were Chris
Kiernan, the founder of the program, Dick Bailey, who did so much
to improve the entire athletic offering, and dozens of others who
simply wished to be a part of the festivities.
The following week, on February 23rd, the Monks actually played
one more contest in the friendly confines of the Currier Gymnasium
- a first round Maine Athletic Conference playoff game versus
Thomas College. The Royal Blue defeated the Terriers that historic
night, 116-68.
This closed the book on the quaint little gym and truly marked
"the end of an era." The records show that beginning in 1979 - when
Head Coach Rick Simonds arrived at St. Joe's - until the "Chamber"
closed 20 years later, the Monks posted an incredible 192-14 (.932)
record at home.