Dave Downey has passed away

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#2      
JKR
A faithful Illini till the end. He and Bill Small attended home games faithfully for decades. It would be wonderful to see other former players attending games in the Assembly Hall like those two.
 
#7      
Brosky
This breaks my heart. He was my friend and high school teammate. You should have seen him in Canton games. He was spectacular. He had a bit of the "showman" in him. In pregame warmups he would stand at the free throw line and make back-to-the-basket passes (blind) between his legs and so on; the rest of us cutting to the hoop for layups had to be alert because we never quite knew when the pass would hit us. It was a touch of the Globetrotters and the magic circle. Those passes were always dead on so we could shoot the layup in stride. He literally had "eyes in the back of his head." And then when that drill was over and Coach motioned us to the bench, he would turn, attack the rim and throw down a slam dunk. It was always entertaining for fans. He still holds the Illini record for points in a game (53). It's not likely that record will ever be broken. Dave was also extremely smart;; he actually had a pretty good knowledge of Eastern religions (Buddhism, Taoism, and so on). I apologize for making this so long, but I'm literally grieving. My father was the minister of Canton's Methodist Church; he officiated at Dave's wedding. In the picture though, he looks so frail I fear he might have been suffering. Rest in peace, my special man, Rest in heavenly peace.
 
#8      
DICKnaggie
Brosky said:
This breaks my heart. He was my friend and high school teammate. You should have seen him in Canton games. He was spectacular. He had a bit of the "showman" in him. In pregame warmups he would stand at the free throw line and make back-to-the-basket passes (blind) between his legs and so on; the rest of us cutting to the hoop for layups had to be alert because we never quite knew when the pass would hit us. It was a touch of the Globetrotters and the magic circle. Those passes were always dead on so we could shoot the layup in stride. He literally had "eyes in the back of his head." And then when that drill was over and Coach motioned us to the bench, he would turn, attack the rim and throw down a slam dunk. It was always entertaining for fans. He still holds the Illini record for points in a game (53). It's not likely that record will ever be broken. Dave was also extremely smart;; he actually had a pretty good knowledge of Eastern religions (Buddhism, Taoism, and so on). I apologize for making this so long, but I'm literally grieving. My father was the minister of Canton's Methodist Church; he officiated at Dave's wedding. In the picture though, he looks so frail I fear he might have been suffering. Rest in peace, my special man, Rest in heavenly peace.
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Thanks for sharing, Brosky. Sorry for the loss and of your friend, may he rest in peace.
 
#9      
Tommy Gun
Brosky said:
This breaks my heart. He was my friend and high school teammate. You should have seen him in Canton games. He was spectacular. He had a bit of the "showman" in him. In pregame warmups he would stand at the free throw line and make back-to-the-basket passes (blind) between his legs and so on; the rest of us cutting to the hoop for layups had to be alert because we never quite knew when the pass would hit us. It was a touch of the Globetrotters and the magic circle. Those passes were always dead on so we could shoot the layup in stride. He literally had "eyes in the back of his head." And then when that drill was over and Coach motioned us to the bench, he would turn, attack the rim and throw down a slam dunk. It was always entertaining for fans. He still holds the Illini record for points in a game (53). It's not likely that record will ever be broken. Dave was also extremely smart;; he actually had a pretty good knowledge of Eastern religions (Buddhism, Taoism, and so on). I apologize for making this so long, but I'm literally grieving. My father was the minister of Canton's Methodist Church; he officiated at Dave's wedding. In the picture though, he looks so frail I fear he might have been suffering. Rest in peace, my special man, Rest in heavenly peace.
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B, deepest condolences on your loss, as well as all who knew and loved Mr. Downey. Sounds like an extraordinary person, as well as a phenomenal player. When possible, please share more. Dave Downey was just before my time, I started in the Preston Pearson era, and his basketball achievements in both scoring and rebounding seem almost mythical and mystical, a basketball shaman at 6'-4", then eschewing an NBA career. Perhaps he was our shorter Larry Bird. Your writings already have enlightened, and additional observations and anecdotes would be most compelling. Again, so sorry for your loss.
 
#11      
Brosky
Tommy Gun said:
B, deepest condolences on your loss, as well as all who knew and loved Mr. Downey. Sounds like an extraordinary person, as well as a phenomenal player. When possible, please share more. Dave Downey was just before my time, I started in the Preston Pearson era, and his basketball achievements in both scoring and rebounding seem almost mythical and mystical, a basketball shaman at 6'-4", then eschewing an NBA career. Perhaps he was our shorter Larry Bird. Your writings already have enlightened, and additional observations and anecdotes would be most compelling. Again, so sorry for your loss.
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Okay, I will share one more. About 12-15 yrs. ago, the two of us had lunch in Champaign. I was living in Bloomington; still do. We kicked around the idea of writing a book together. I have published quite a few books, and he speculated if we could make it a sort of "The Tao of basketball." He knew a lot about Eastern religions and talked about his 53 point game within the framework of the Chinese philosophy of Wu -Wei. Sorry to say the book project never got off the ground. It was a teasing idea for sure.
 
#12      
JKR
Brosky said:
This breaks my heart. He was my friend and high school teammate. You should have seen him in Canton games. He was spectacular. He had a bit of the "showman" in him. In pregame warmups he would stand at the free throw line and make back-to-the-basket passes (blind) between his legs and so on; the rest of us cutting to the hoop for layups had to be alert because we never quite knew when the pass would hit us. It was a touch of the Globetrotters and the magic circle. Those passes were always dead on so we could shoot the layup in stride. He literally had "eyes in the back of his head." And then when that drill was over and Coach motioned us to the bench, he would turn, attack the rim and throw down a slam dunk. It was always entertaining for fans. He still holds the Illini record for points in a game (53). It's not likely that record will ever be broken. Dave was also extremely smart;; he actually had a pretty good knowledge of Eastern religions (Buddhism, Taoism, and so on). I apologize for making this so long, but I'm literally grieving. My father was the minister of Canton's Methodist Church; he officiated at Dave's wedding. In the picture though, he looks so frail I fear he might have been suffering. Rest in peace, my special man, Rest in heavenly peace.
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Parkinsons.
 
#13      
JDL70
Big loss to our Illini family. A cousin of my mother married Dave's uncle so have had a long connection to the family. When I was in Law School at Illinois many many years ago Dave taught a class on Insurance Law for a few semesters. Dave made a lot of money by owning an Insurance Agency, I believe in Peoria, where he specialized in Estate Planning and selling policies as part of the planning. He was a big Illini backer all his life.
 
#14      
altgeld88
RIP. What a legend. I came to Illini fandom 20 years after his exploits on the floor so only read of them. I was thinking this morning after reading of his passing that I recall an account of the game at Northwestern in January 1963, a couple months before the inaugural game at Assembly Hall v. the 'Cats in early March, and the month before he set the single-game scoring record v. Indiana. The Illini won at McGaw Hall on what I recall to be a 3/4 court shot by Dave at the buzzer. Can't find anything on it online, however.

@Brosky thanks for sharing your stories. Profound condolence for losing your lifelong friend.
 
#15      
NoRival
When I was a junior (early 1990s), he came to my finance class as a guest lecturer and spoke about his business experience. My Dad attended Illinois when he played and was glad to hear he was successful in business as well.
 
#16      
OrangeBlue98
Brosky said:
This breaks my heart. He was my friend and high school teammate. You should have seen him in Canton games. He was spectacular. He had a bit of the "showman" in him. In pregame warmups he would stand at the free throw line and make back-to-the-basket passes (blind) between his legs and so on; the rest of us cutting to the hoop for layups had to be alert because we never quite knew when the pass would hit us. It was a touch of the Globetrotters and the magic circle. Those passes were always dead on so we could shoot the layup in stride. He literally had "eyes in the back of his head." And then when that drill was over and Coach motioned us to the bench, he would turn, attack the rim and throw down a slam dunk. It was always entertaining for fans. He still holds the Illini record for points in a game (53). It's not likely that record will ever be broken. Dave was also extremely smart;; he actually had a pretty good knowledge of Eastern religions (Buddhism, Taoism, and so on). I apologize for making this so long, but I'm literally grieving. My father was the minister of Canton's Methodist Church; he officiated at Dave's wedding. In the picture though, he looks so frail I fear he might have been suffering. Rest in peace, my special man, Rest in heavenly peace.
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I think it’s totally fair to say Dave Downey was a true giant of Illini athletics. Major success on and off the court, and a man who never forgot his Illini roots.

Condolences on the loss of your friend.
 
#18      
Highlander
My dad took me to Assembly for the first time in 1963 or 1964 when I was 8 or 9. He pointed to a guy walking by and said “That’s Dave Downey”. I was in awe and my dad had to ask him to sign my program. Unfortunately, I don’t what happened to that program over the years.
 
#19      
Luwdoo
I remember watching on TV when he scored 53.
Tal Brody
Bill Small
Dave Downey
Bill Burwell
Skip Thoren
Bob Starnes
Those were the regulars I remember. I was only 11 so I might be mistaken. He was my favorite.
 
#20      
Brosky
Tommy Gun said:
B, deepest condolences on your loss, as well as all who knew and loved Mr. Downey. Sounds like an extraordinary person, as well as a phenomenal player. When possible, please share more. Dave Downey was just before my time, I started in the Preston Pearson era, and his basketball achievements in both scoring and rebounding seem almost mythical and mystical, a basketball shaman at 6'-4", then eschewing an NBA career. Perhaps he was our shorter Larry Bird. Your writings already have enlightened, and additional observations and anecdotes would be most compelling. Again, so sorry for your loss.
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This is a special post. Thank you for bringing it. I remember Pearson well. Didn't he play for the Cowboys in the NFL? In basketball, he was like Downey in that he played taller than his listed height. About 6-4.
 
#21      
Brosky
Luwdoo said:
I remember watching on TV when he scored 53.
Tal Brody
Bill Small
Dave Downey
Bill Burwell
Skip Thoren
Bob Starnes
Those were the regulars I remember. I was only 11 so I might be mistaken. He was my favorite.
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I think you're pretty close here. Burwell was from NYC. His recruitment was a good story. He wasn't a "great" center, but he was a pretty good one. I remember Starnes as a good player, but a selfish one; a ball hog and chucker.
 
#23      
JDL70
Tal Brody was an exceptional guard. I loved watching him play as his movements, ball handling and passing were superb. He was so smooth and seemed to glide when he ran. He could have played in the NBA but wanted to help Israel's national basketball team get established and did just that. Everyone mentioned were good to great former Illini basketball players with Dave Downey being the best.
 
#24      
EllderIlliniFan
Luwdoo said:
I remember watching on TV when he scored 53.
Tal Brody
Bill Small
Dave Downey
Bill Burwell
Skip Thoren
Bob Starnes
Those were the regulars I remember. I was only 11 so I might be mistaken. He was my favorite.
Click to expand...
Saw them play at a Chicago Stadium double header in 1963 or 1964. Skip Thoren was from our high school (Rockford East). The fans association bused all of the basketball teams to the game in Chicago. Sat in the second balcony. The ball looked like a pebble from that distance and the top of the stadium was filled with cigarette smoke.
 
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