This 1964 Proviso East basketball team boasted in the Forest Park Review having five boys from Forest Park on the roster. It would be only five years later that Proviso East would earn its first of four Basketball State Championship titles
The caption beneath lists L to R (front) Mike Rizzo, manager, Forest Park; Lee Puryear, manager, Maywood; Mike Lyons, Maywood; Dick Conrad, Bellwood; Mike Green, Forest Park; Roscoe Watson, Maywood; John Meese, manager, Maywood; Joe Horwitz, manager, Melrose Park. L to R (back) Coach Tom Millikin, Alan Kurtz, manager, Bellwood; Ron Gwin, Maywood; Paul Madsen, Forest Park; William Dubois, Forest Park; Ray Englesman, Maywood; John Hansen, Forest Park; Al Nuness, Maywood; Jim Neal, Maywood; Ed Meehan, Maywood and coach Thomas McGreal.
While some of these players went on to have successful futures in college basketball and coaching (Al Nuness, who coached at Minneapolis Central High School, was the basketball coach for the 7 time grammy award winning singer, songwriter and performer, Prince in high school).
The a young Jim Brewer would soon start the ball rolling toward the NBA future for Pirates and would be the first of twelve East basketball players to go on to play professionally for the NBA. The Pirates who have played in the NBA include Jim Brewer, Sterling Brown, Dee Brown, Shannon Brown, Donnie Boyce, Jevon Carter, Michael Finley, Sherell Ford, Steven Hunter, Reggie Jordan, Jacob Pullen, and Glenn “Doc” Rivers.
