Bob Lester: A New Jersey high school legend looks back at a career coaching basketball at East Orange, Atlantic City and Montclair, and recalling some legendary games and players

If you were fortunate enough to watch Big 10 boys basketball in the 1970s and continuing with Essex County hoops into the 1980s, then you know how special that time was, in general.

In the mid 1970’s, the Big 10 was actually made up of nine schools. There were eight from Essex County and one from Hudson. A few years later, Essex Catholic would join the Big 10 for two years, before the league was disbanded in 1978.

When it came to the Big 10, however, a league many said was the best in the state, one school stood above the rest. East Orange would win four state championships in a five-year span (1972-1976), as well as four straight Essex County Tournament crowns, from 1974-1977.

All four county finals were classics, beginning with a win over top-seeded Orange, in 1974, resulting in Orange’s only loss in a 29-1 season, as well as an epic in 1975, versus Essex Catholic, and two wins over Bloomfield, in ’76 and ’77.

The architect of those great teams at East Orange High School was head coach Bob Lester, himself a Hall of Fame player at Montclair State College, who played his high school ball at Central High, in Newark. After working as an assistant coach at Montclair State, Lester would be the head coach at East Orange from 1971-1977, then spent two seasons at Atlantic City High, before coming back to Essex County, where he led Montclair High School to three county championships in a four-year span, from 1982-1985, as well as two appearances in the Group 4 state final, in 1982 and 1986.

Now retired from coaching and teaching, Lester a father of three, resides in suburban Atlanta. Recently the coach took some time to look back at a career which was, indeed, phenomenal.

Lester recalled playing high school basketball at Newark Central, as a senior.

“I decided to give it a try and did well,” recalled Lester. “We lost the county final that year (to South Side, now Shabazz), but won the state championship (defeating Hillside in the final for a second straight year).”

Lester admitted he wasn’t confident enough to play on those great teams until his senior year. But playing on that team, in 1964, would spur Lester to greatness on the collegiate level. After attending junior college, where he got his grades up, he would play three seasons at-then Montclair State College, and led the Indians to a record of 65-16.

A 1969 graduate of MSC (now Montclair State University), Lester scored 996 points and set the career mark for rebounds, at 1,271. He was the first player in the school’s history to record 1,000 rebounds, and set the school record for boards in a game, with 35, and in a season (516).

Inducted in the Montclair State Hall of Fame in 1981, he also led the team to the NCAA Tournament, for the school’s only appearance in the national final round, in 1969.

After a few years as an assistant coach at Montclair State, Lester would be named the head coach at East Orange High, in the ’71-72 season, and guided that Panthers team to a Group 3 title, over Lakewood.

The success continued for the next six years, with a host of county and state titles.

Ironically, Lester’s best team at East Orange, in 1975, didn’t win the state title after going through the season unbeaten. That squad lost a 72-71 stunner to Lakewood when Kelvin Troy hit two free throws after the final buzzer had sounded.

“I thought we had it won,” Lester recalled. “We were walking off the court and the official said he had called a foul. That was a tough one.”

East Orange was 29-1 in 1974-75.

“By far, the most dominant team I ever coached,” he recalled. “We had 15 players on the varsity and everyone could play. There were times I had no problem subbing five guys into a game. Telling one of our starters that they would sit wasn’t a problem, either. They knew everyone could play.”

That team opened its season with a hard-fought win against Lester’s high school alma mater, Newark Central, 81-73. What followed was six straight wins, with the Panthers scoring over 100 in five of those victories. And this was before the days of the 3-point basket, as well as the no-dunk rule.

“We were averaging well over 100 points a game in that early part of the season,” the coach recalled.

East Orange’s offense became a little more mortal after that quick start, but the team was still scoring about 80 points a game. There was a close game, at Camden, in an out-of-conference battle, in January, 1975.

“We traveled to Camden and that was a tough game,” said Lester, with a laugh. “We won 73-70. We also had some hard fought games with Bloomfield and Belleville gave us a good one, at our place (in January).”

Back then, playing in the Essex County Tournament was by invitation. Obviously, East Orange, the defending champion, would gain the top seed. Only 16 teams qualified, and the Panthers’ first-round opponent that year would be Belleville, which was having its best season in years.

“We had already played them twice,” said Lester. “And we knew how good (Belleville center) Abdel (Anderson) was.“

That first-round game was played at Bloomfield High, on Feb. 20, 1975, and the Bellboys seemed up to the task in the first half. At one point, Belleville had built a nine-point lead.

The ’72-73 East Orange squad, which won a second straight state title, under Lester’s leadership.

“We were playing well,” recalled Belleville coach Danny Grasso. “I made a mistake there in that I should have slowed the game down, in the second quarter. Both teams were really moving, and against a team that good, I could tell we were wearing down by the end of the second quarter. They had 10 to 12 guys who could just check in and continue that pressure.”

East Orange would gain the lead by halftime and then dominated the second half, winning 85-55.

That moved the Panthers into the quarterfinals, where it defeated Irvington, 73-54, setting up a classic semifinal battle with Barringer, at Walsh Gymnasium, on the campus of Seton Hall University.

“I’ll tell you what, that Barringer game was a battle,” said Lester. “I had no idea how good (Barringer center) Edgar Jones was. But did we ever find out.”

Jones, who went on to play on the collegiate level at the University of Nevada, in Reno, and then seven years in the NBA, would have 28 points, 26 rebounds and 12 blocked shots against East Orange.

“Edgar made a block in that game, and I just looked at my staff and said something like ‘how did he do that?’,” said Lester. “Couldn’t believe it.

“I like to think that the 75 ECT semi against Barringer gave Edgar a showcase. Few people had ever heard of Edgar. But after watching that game, seen by thousands of people at Walsh, people recognized him as a special talent.

“Who knows how many scouts were there to watch other players and saw Edgar. He went from Barringer to UN-Reno, to the NBA. That ’75 game may have been a springboard for Edgar to realize just how far he could go.”

Nevertheless, East Orange, led by Mike Booker and Cleveland Eugene, would win the game against Barringer, 83-75, setting up a dream final, at Walsh, on March 1, 1975, versus Essex Catholic, who was coached by Robert McNamara, known to many as Brother Mac.

“We knew coming into that final how good Essex Catholic was,” said Lester. “Both teams were undefeated. While there may have been times when I had to get on my team, a little, to amp up their game, that was never needed against Essex Catholic. If we hadn’t played at the level we did, for the entire game, we would have been blown out. That’s how good Essex Catholic was.”

The game was legendary, for the crowd size, the intensity of play, and a rumor that a police officer’s gun was stolen, during the game.

“I always wondered about that,” said Lester. “Did that really happen?”

Having been one of those people who couldn’t get a ticket for the game, I remember listening to it, on my transistor radio, while playing basketball near my home at Fairway Park, in Belleville. The man calling the game for Seton Hall radio did say that an officer’s gun was stolen during the game. Thankfully, nothing ever came of it.

When reminded about that game, Rich San Fillipo, a tremendous high school and later Division 1 college official, who also worked many Essex County finals, was quick to say, when reminded about the ’75 game, “they stole the cop’s gun.”

East Orange would pull ahead and won the game late against Essex Catholic, 90-85.

The 1973-1974 East Orange Panthers, which won the county title and later, another state crown.

The Panthers would win the state sectional title, but had a huge challenge in the final, before edging Rahway, 55-54. After defeating Union Hill in the semis, East Orange’s dream season ended with the one-point loss to Lakewood.

The Panthers would go on to win another state title in 1976, along with a third straight county championship, defeating Bloomfield in the final. The following year, a fourth straight county crown came once again against Bloomfield.

“(Bloomfield coach) George Cella did a tremendous job,” said Lester. “George could always make the most of the talent he had had. And when we beat them in the county finals in 1976 and 1977, we had to go against Kelly Tripucka, both times. To be honest, we had no answer for him. He averaged 44 points a game against us. He was the best player we ever went up against.”

Tripucka, of course, had a standout career at the University of Notre Dame and then a 10-year NBA career.

Lester’s later teams at East Orange also featured Clyde ‘Junior’ Bradshaw, who went on to an All-American career at DePaul University, including an appearance in the 1979 Final Four. He was drafted by the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and also played professionally for seven years, including a year in Europe and multiple seasons in the Continental Basketball Association.

“Clyde really came around in his junior and senior year,” said Lester. “I always thought he was a good player, but he really stepped up his game, and that was all from hard work.”

After the ’76-77 season, Lester was named head coach at Atlantic City High.

“There was a lot of talent in Atlantic City, and I enjoyed coaching there,” he said. “But I wanted to come back (to Essex County), and when I resigned from Atlantic City, I didn’t have a job. But I had heard of an opening at Clifford Scott (of East Orange) and then was encouraged to speak to the people at Montclair High.”

Lester and the administration at Montclair would agree on the opportunity to bring Bob back to Essex County, as an educator and coach, for the 1979-1980 season. Within two years, Montclair was a county champion for the first time since 1954. The Mounties would go on to appear in four straight county finals, winning three times, with the one loss a two-point setback to Clifford Scott, in 1984.

Lester looks back fondly at the 1983 final, when Montclair edged Seton Hall Prep, 66-64, in double overtime, on the Pony Pirates’ home court, Walsh Gymnasium.

“I knew then how good a coach that Bob Farrell was,” said Lester of his counterpart with the Prep. “And, of course, he went on to lead that program to a lot of county and state titles. He was a great coach.”

Montclair actually defeated Seton Hall in the 1983 and ’85 county final, as well as stopping Shabazz in the ’82 title game.

‘There was so much talent in Essex County,” said Lester. “When I was at Montclair, we saw (Columbia High and future NBA star) Mark Bryant a few times, and I remember how (Montclair’s) Quintus McDonald (a future NFL player) and he would really battle. The games were something else. Those were two future professional athletes.”

Grasso, Belleville’s head coach from 1973-1979, concurred.

“You know what I remember the most, past the fact that the teams and players were so good, was the size of the crowds,” said Grasso. “Just about every one of our games in ’75 were completely packed, home or away. Every game was special.”

Grasso and Lester also became friends over the years.

“East Orange never took their foot off the gas,” said Grasso. “They’d press and press. Bob had some incredible teams there. When he went to Montclair, I thought his coaching style changed a little and that’s what made him even greater. He had a different kind of team at Montclair, and continued winning. The record speaks for itself. Bob is one of the best, ever.”

Lester returned the compliment.

“Coaching against Danny was fun,” said Lester. “His teams were always prepared. When they had Abdel Anderson, we knew every game would be a battle. It’s nice to stay in touch with him now.”

Montclair also won multiple state sectional titles, and appeared in two Group 4 finals, both times against Camden, in 1982 and 1986, coming up short both times.

In ’82, Camden and Montclair would play in the brand new Meadowlands Arena, home of the New Jersey Nets and eventually, the New Jersey Devils, in front of a large crowd. Lester and his staff would dress in white suits for the final.

“We wanted to do something different,” said the always dapper Lester. “That was a special night.”

Camden was led by Billy Thompson, who went on to play on a national championship team at the University of Louisville, and then six years in the NBA, including two NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“We tried hard to contain him, but Billy was so good,” said Lester. “Those Camden teams were outstanding.”

Some heath problems eventually led to Lester giving up the coaching job at Montclair a few years later. He has every scorebook and can pretty much recite a highlight from every game, during his coaching career. When it came to the ’74-75 East Orange team, he had the score and was quick to add a highlight, especially when we talked about the games with Belleville.

Lester has been inducted into the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association Hall of Fame, in 2010, and the East Orange High Hall of Fame eight years later, both for his coaching prowess, and, as mentioned earlier, is in the Montclair State Hall of Fame, earning that honor in 1981, as a student-athlete.

Lester won 382 games at East Orange, Atlantic City and Montclair. He was a Physical Education teacher and later, a school counselor.

Now in his mid 70’s, Lester has battled a few illnesses, but he’s proud to say he’s still here and enjoying life. And while he may live in Georgia, his heart is still firmly in Essex County.

“I always said playing in the Big 10, and later, in Essex County, was incredible,” said the coach. “Those championship games at Walsh Gym were the best. They moved the county final to Essex County College (in 1986), but I never coached there. I’ll always appreciate what it meant to coach at Walsh, especially in the ’75 and ’83 final.”

Coaching against some legendary coaches, players and teams is something Lester will always take pride in.

“We were involved in some capacity during the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, which in my humble opinion was a part of the heyday of Essex County basketball,” he said “I enjoyed reminiscing about the Newark City League, and especially the old Big 10, and it’s contributions not only to the county, but the State of New Jersey as well.”

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