It all began one morning in 1968, says Bob Scott, when the Hopkins team bus was stopped at a red light just outside of Scott Stadium at the University of Virginia. Suddenly, out of the Trailways bus in front of them stepped George Pohler.
"I knew him from hanging around our practices," the former coach
recalls, "so I said, 'George, what are you doing?' He told me
that he'd caught a 5 a.m. Trailways bus so he could get to the
game. I told him, 'George, you should have ridden with us.'"
And from that day on, he did. Pohler became the team's official ballboy, a fixture behind the net at practices and games, scooping up the shots that went astray. Says Scott, "He never missed a home or away lacrosse game until he died in 1992."
Adored by both players and coaches, Georgie was known for smoking cheap cigars, carrying large amounts of cashÄand for his uncanny ability to miss being hit by the dozens of errant shots that whizzed by his head during warm-ups. In all his 24 years with the team, he got nailed only once: a ball blasted by All-American attackman Mike Morrill pegged the 81-year-old square in the chest, sending him down for the count. Practice was cut short as Georgie walked shakily from the field and into the training room. Two days later he was back behind the net.
Go Back to JHUNIVERSE Home Page
