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<P>On the night of December 28, 1901, almost a year into the new 20<SUP>th</SUP> century, the University of Cincinnati played its first intercollegiate game of basket ball (we might as well give the game its original spelling here) at the Armory Gym in Cincinnati’s West End. The squad went up against the might Yale team, a powerhouse at that time and known for initiating one of the early revolutions in the sport: dribbling the ball. UC lost 37-9.</P>
<P>Basketball actually had its start here in 1896 when Walter Durant Berry, a trainee of basketball’s founding father, James Naismith, came to the university and organized the game. It was the Pig Toes and the Dew Drops, two informal UC teams that played the first contest. There were the usual ups and downs of establishing basketball on campus, but by 1901 with the hiring of coach Henry S. Pratt, the varsity program was underway. Incidentally, that first intercollegiate loss was more than balanced in UC eyes by a victory later in the season over the University of Kentucky on February 14, 1902 – 32-21.</P>
<P>Now that another century is upon us, we are faced with any number of anniversaries – colleges, buildings, departments, and programs. History has a birthday every day. The 2000-2001 season has been designated as the centennial of men’s varsity basketball at the University of Cincinnati, though it is actually the 99<SUP>th</SUP> season played. We won’t quibble – close enough to 100.</P>
<P>The best way to acknowledge a long, illustrious, sometimes ignoble, always notable century of Bearcat hoops is to present a parade of faces, teams, and events. It’s sort of a fast-break, run-and-gun parade to be sure. But hey, it’s basketball. It’s fun. </P>
<P>Jacob Hand, a UC photojournalism major and student worker in the Archives & Rare Books Department, was given the assignment of marking the team’s centennial, something not too serious, and perhaps a little offbeat. Presented with a batch of images representing Bearcat basketball history along with a simple charge to tint them, he set to work. To give a sense of modernity to the project and symbolize the passing of time, Hand first had the images scanned by Jay Yocis of the university’s Photographic Services Department. From their original print format, the pictures were converted to 600 dpi TIFF files and archived in cd format.</P>
<P>With the cooperation of the UC Digital Press, Hand tinted the images using Adobe Photoshop 6.0, a process taking nearly two weeks. Yocis then printed the images from an Epson Stylus 2000P onto Epsom Premium Glossy photo paper cut to size. This online exhibit is taken from the prints on display from February 15 to September 15, 2001 in the Archives & Rare Books Department on the 8th floor of Carl Blegen Library. (Images in this online web exhibit have been resized to approximately 75 dpi.)</P>
<P>Hand had the freedom to tint however he envisioned the images, with one specific request: the photo of former Bearcat coach Gale Catlett must convey the sense of his outrageously colored ‘70s wardrobe.</P>
<P>Often what stood out to Hand was a player making a beautiful jump shot or the basketball itself. On other images the striking element was the "C" logo or the bearcat. Artistic liberty was taken with the Huggins image, a "blue in the face" explosion of exasperation and competitive spirit. And, in a 1903 team shot, the photo was given a nostalgic sepia tone.</P>
<P>So, enjoy. Later you can lace up your Chuck Taylors and find a game somewhere.</P>
<P>To read more about UC basketball history, have a look at these books:</P>
<P>	Grace, Kevin; Hand, Greg; Hathaway, Tom; Hoffman, Carey; Robertson, Oscar; and Souders, Lisa. <I>Bearcats! The Story of Basketball at the University of Cincinnati. </I>Louisville, Kentucky: Harmony House Publishers, 1998.</P>
<P>	Hathaway, Tom, ed. <I>University of Cincinnati Men’s Basketball Media Guide, 2000-2001. </I>Cincinnati, OH: University of Cincinnati, 2000.</P>
<P>	Huggins, Bob with Mike Bass. <I>Bob Huggins: Pressed for Success. </I>Champaign, IL: Sagamore Publishing, 1995.</P>
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