Do you miss the suits?

Remember the days when college basketball and NBA coaches always looked dapper on the sidelines in their usual three-piece suits? In the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s and a little beyond, it brought a sense of respect and decorum to the game. Any of you high school coaches may recount the days when you wore a shirt and tie or a suit on your sidelines.

With the NCAA tournament getting into the heart of their matter, it’s refreshing to see the college coaches reverting back to the old days. To me, it doesn’t look right to see college and some NBA coaches in sweats on the sidelines, but I get that it is likely due to a contractual agreement with a manufacturer.

In this week’s version of my Yesterday column - reminiscing about sports and pop culture in the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s and sometimes before and beyond, I’ll take a look back at some of the coaches from yesteryear and their attire.

Finally ... what NBA coach was called the “Godfather” for his suits, and what college coach was famous for his sweaters? What wrestler was known as the “Million-Dollar Man?” And who was a Sixers’ player-coach in the early 70s?

Sharp-Dressed Men ... When I think about sharp-dressed basketball coaches, the first personalities that come to mind are Pat Riley and Chuck Daly.

Riley was always tightly attired with his Armani suits and slicked hair, gaining him the moniker. “The Godfather of the NBA.”

Daly gained the nickname “Daddy Rich” for his double-breasted, dark gray and blue suits.

Both Riley and Daly and took the rather conservative and distinguished look, as did Tommy Heinsohn - although he could look a little disheveled - Billy Cunningham, Red Holzman, Dick Motta, Al Attles, Gene Shue, Bill Fitch, Doug Moe, Phil Jackson, Paul Westhead, and Larry Brown.

Westhead is considered to be a Riley clone in his dress.

On the college front, I remember Dean Smith, Al McGuire, John Wooden, Mike Krzyzewski, Rick Pitino, Adolph Rupp, Roy Williams, John Thompson, Rollie Massimino, and Jim Boeheim to name a few on the tightly, conservative approach.

How many of these guys do you remember, or do you remember someone else?

A Walk on the Wild Side ... Back in the 70s, plaids were popular, especially jackets and pants. Like me, there are a few of you who know who donned them. Basketball coaches followed the path.

Among those who got away from the conservative styles were Jack Ramsey - check out his Portland Trailblazer days - Bobby Knight, Digger Phelps - taking a distinctive green and gold style - Denny Crum, Wimp Sanderson, Norm Sloan, Gene Keady – dressed in both styles , and Terry Stotts to name a few.

Nolan Richardson had a bright red suit for his Arkansas colors, and Lenny Wilkins often wore some light and bright colors.

We’ll throw in Louie Carnesecca for his sweater collection.

If you remember, Thompson surprised Carnesecca by wearing a sweater under his suit jacket in a matchup known as “the sweater game” during the 1984-85 season. Georgetown won the game, 85-69, and they didn’t lose until Villanova beat them in the championship game.

In the booth ... There were also a number of announcers who decided to take the “out-there” look aside from their conventional peers.

Some who come to mind are Lindsey Nelson, famous for his plaid jackets; Heywood Hale Broun, who also wore his share of plaid; Bud Collins, who would wear some of the loudest pairs of pants you can imagine; and Craig Sager, who had bright-colored blazers, polka-dot socks, and custom-made stingray shoes.

And how about the old, bright yellow, Monday Night Football jackets?

Bye George ... As most of you know, boxing legend George Foreman passed away Friday night at the age of 76. Foreman had an overall 76-5 record in the ring.

Foreman held the heavyweight title twice, and he began his pro career in June 1969 when he defeated Don Waldhelm. Foreman didn’t fight any recognized fighters aside from Chuck Wepner in August of 1969. He gained notoriety when he defeated Joe Frazier in Jamaica in 1973, knocking him down six times. During the fight, ABC legendary boxing commentator Howard Cosell gained fame from his call of “down goes Frazier.”

“Big George” also should be recognized for draping himself with the American Flag when he won the gold heavyweight bout in the 1968 Olympics, an event that often gets overlooked because of USA track stars Tommie Smith and Jon Carlos, who won the gold and bronze respectively in the 200 meters.

Besides his George Foreman grill – that had sold over 100 million and once netted him $4.5 million a month for a period – the boxer also endorsed Doritos and Meineke mufflers. He also was a color commentator for HBO boxing for 12 years.

More Wepner and the “Fonz” ... On March 25, 1975, Muhammad Ali battered Wepner for 14 rounds before he finally knocked him out in the 15th.

Wepner’s reputation as a relentless club fighter and his bloodied body against Ali apparently was the premise for the ”Rocky” movie series that debuted the following year. Sylvester Stallone wrote the script to “Rocky” three days after seeing the Ali-Wepner fight.

Henry Winkler, a.k.a “The Fonz,” took the script to ABC, and the network bought the script for made-for-TV movies, which were big back in the day.

However, Winkler got the script back in a deal, and thus “Rocky” evolved.

Does anyone remember the movie, “The Lords of Flatbush” - about a New York game in the 1950s? It debuted in 1974 and helped Winkler become the “Fonz” a few months later. Stallone, also relatively unknown at the time, was also in the film.

Another Classic Game (TV station) ... Back in the 1960s, 70s, and early 80s, do you remember Philadelphia’s Channel 48? I remember initially watching it on a small, portable TV by turning the cable dial.

It began in 1965 and went off the air in 1983. The station featured Philly kids’ show host Wee Willie Weber, Flyers’ games, Big Five basketball games, Philadelphia Warriors’ roller derby games, and championship wrestling (hosted by Vince McMahon).

Classic reruns were The Flintstones, The Munsters, Dark Shadows, McHale’s Navy, Get Smart, Speed Racer, The Honeymooners, Sherlock Holmes classics with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, Star Trek, Night Gallery, Banana Splits, and Wild Wild West to name a few.

Readers Write ... Great article and I recognized many of the names. However I do not recall seeing the name John Facenda with his very distinctive voice who narrated the early NFL films.

Thank you for your great work.

Joseph Csencsits

P.S. the Junkyard Dog was one of my favorites.

WWWF/WWE Wrap ... Every week, I’ll recall a wrestler we watched growing up.

Do you remember “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase?

He began his career in 1974 after he dropped out of West Texas University on a football scholarship his senior year there due to a knee injury.

DiBiase began his career in the WWWF in the early 70s before he moved to the NWA and Mid-South wrestling outlets. He held both individual and tag-team titles in both arenas.

He returned to the WWE in the early 1990s and formed the tag-team championship of “Money Incorporated” with Irwin R. Schyster.

Known for his “Million Dollar Dream” (otherwise known as the “Cobra Clutch”), DiBiase compiled an overall record of 1,497-1,090 with 208 draws until he retired in 1993. He then worked as a ref, manager, and color commentator.

Memory Lane ... Each week, I’ll look back at a former player, coach, manager, or media personality from our yesteryear.

In keeping with a best-dressed coaches theme, do you remember player and coach Kevin Loughery?

He spent two years with the Sixers, notably as a player-coach during their disastrous 1972-73 season. Loughery, who was a guard, averaged 13.3 points per game, and he took over the final 31 games (5-26) of the season after Roy Rubin opened the year with a 4-47 record. Loughery averaged 12.6 points in the 1971-72 campaign.

Loughery then took over the ABA New York Nets - with Julius Erving - and led them to two championships before he returned to the NBA. He had coaching stops at Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, and Miami.

By the way, Loughery typically donned a leisure suit, and he didn’t make the best-dressed list.

Your comments are always welcomed; email them to tnsports@tnonline.com.