My world was rocked over the past six months by having to say goodbye to two good “basketball friends” whose friendship was forged in and through the love of “the game.” I speak, very fondly, of Ron ‘Lefty’ Travis who passed in December of 2017 and more recently Ed ‘Eddie’ Lewellyn who passed in July.

Lefty was a special personal mentor. As a player, I wanted “to be like Lefty” ever since he graced the outdoor court in the early 1970s at then Bishop Neumann High School. Later, after college, I joined Lefty as a teammate with John’s Sports and PA Athletics. Eventually, due to his guidance and influence, I again wanted “to be like Lefty” in yet another Court, so I became a local lawyer.

I got to know Eddie initially as a player after my playing days at Mansfield, playing locally, with Lefty’s teams — many times against Eddie — as a very worthy opponent. It is rightfully said Eddie was Pistol Pete before Pistol Pete. When Eddie moved to Florida, we lost contact, then reconnected when he returned as a fellow coach, most recently when I took over for him as Assistant Coach at Pennsylvania College of Technology, after his cancer diagnosis. As he struggled mightily with the cancer that eventually took him, we became very close as he continued to come to practices and games when he could. After away games, a phone call would always come from Eddie, who, having watched the game over the internet, would proceed to give us a 45 minute to an hour breakdown of every facet of the game. I would sit in rapt amazement and more often than not say, “How did he see all that? I was there and did not see most of those things!” Eddie had an uncanny ability to break down a game and to pass on suggestions to us fellow Coaches and especially to the players, who he loved to help become better.

While I mourn the loss of these two extraordinary men, I am thankful for the game of basketball that caused our paths to cross, in what now seems like just a fleeting moment in time — but what a special moment it was!

As I look back on my career as a player and eventually a coach, I am, even more so now, cognizant of the way “the game” can forge strong, lasting friendships between teammates, between coaches and players, and yes even between, at the time, hated opponents.

There are many other local players, both living and deceased, who likewise deserve recognition, and by this article, I hope to honor them as well. Not just for their ability to play the game, but for the worthy adults, like Lefty and Eddie that they became, whose work ethic and values no doubt were forged in the competition and grit of the game, and most importantly after their playing days were done, who carried those qualities into their everyday lives and passed them on to countless others in the community. Rest easy gentlemen — well done, well done!

By Coach Paul Petcavage