It started with two guys in a bar...

By Margo Consul

When you read a list of the great players that have played in the Cable Car Classic, it reads like a fantasy basketball team.

Over the years, stars like Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Ralph Sampson, John Lucas, Phil Chenier and Mugsy Bogues have played in the tournament, while Santa Clara has boasted the likes of Awtrey, Rambis, the Ogdens, Keeling and Steve Nash.

However, the birth of this tournament was about as captivating as two beer bottles clinking together. In fact, the tournament's founders met and began talk of their wildest dreams in a bar over 40 years ago.

Art Santo Domingo and friend Harry Jupiter of the San Francisco Examiner were basketball junkies with a dream that high-profile teams would participate in a Bay Area event.

"I was a basketball fan who got associated with (coach) Caroll Williams and Dick Davey and Pat Malley and a lot of really great people at Santa Clara. It's worth it working, with really great people," Santo Domingo said.

In 1967, their wishes came true as the first Cable Car Classic took place at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium; it featured the University of San Francisco, Western Kentucky, Loyola Chicago and Santa Clara.

Joe Jares' 1968 Sports Illustrated article described the tournament as "a friendly little two-night affair," where the hosts "in reality are two improbable basketball fans."

"We had seen very few intersectional games out here in the late fifties and early sixties so we said lets start a tournament," Santo Domingo said. "In San Francisco, we used to go watch all the Warrior games in the Civic Auditorium. One day I heard the cable car bell and thought, 'Hey, that's a great name for a tournament.' And that's how it got started."

Last December, Santa Clara held the 43rd annual Cable Car Classic tournament in Leavey Center; it has hosted the tournament since 1977.

Although Santa Clara went 0-2 at this year's tournament, there have been some memorable moments nonetheless.

Since the inauguration of the tournament in 1967 Santa Clara has won 15 times, the most recent being in 2008.

Santo Domingo has been to all 43 of the tournaments and is proud to see that Santa Clara has upheld the quality of the tournament over the years.

"Actually, for a tournament this many years (old), the home team has only won 15 of them, so you know its pretty even competition," Santo Domingo said. "They have been willing to play good teams, which is not the same as many other tournaments around the country where the home team brings in two patsies they can beat."

Long time friend and former Santa Clara coach Carroll Williams agreed with Santo Domingo.

"The tournament has changed a lot because the teams we have been able to recruit have diminished," Williams said. "But the competitiveness of the tournament has been maintained because of (Santo Domingo)."

Williams has seen quite a few Cable Car Classics himself. He coached at Santa Clara for 22 years, is the winningest coach in Santa Clara history and is in the WCC Hall of Fame. Between 1970-1992 Santa Clara won the Cable Car Classic a total of seven times and played in the championship game 14 times.

Williams amassed a career record of 344-274 and led Santa Clara to five postseason tournaments, once to the NCAA Tournament and four times to the NIT. The Stockton, Calif. native also garnered the talents of two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash and former Los Angeles Lakers Kurt Rambis.

After his career on the court, Williams went on to be the Director of Athletics and Recreation for eight years. During that time, Santa Clara added women's golf and women's water polo programs as well as improved athletic facilities. Santa Clara sports teams went to 19 West Coast Conference Championships in seven different sports and 23 postseason tournaments during his time.

Santa Clara won the first Cable Car Classic by taking down Western Kentucky 75-68 in front of an almost empty auditorium. The 5,000 fans in the seats the following year witnessed Santa Clara's triumph over Houston, thought to be one of the best teams in the nation at the time.

In 30 of its 43 years, the Classic has featured a team that goes to the NCAA Tournament. Ten of the 30 years it has featured multiple teams who would go to the tournament.

The strongest tournament was the 1995 Cable Car Classic as it had all four teams advancing to the 1996 NCAA Tournament in March. Penn State won the Cable Car Classic with Georgia Tech, Santa Clara and Bradley also making the post-season. Georgia Tech won the ACC title that year as well.

Despite the long history and respect for the tournament, Santo Domingo does not see it becoming an event that would host Bay Area powerhouses like Cal or Stanford.

"There are a lot of politics involved. Cal won't play in it and St. Mary's is in the (WCC), so they probably wouldn't play in it," Santo Domingo said.

More importantly, Santo Domingo appreciates the tournament for what it already is.

"I hope it continues. I'm sure it will," Santo Domingo said. "We'd like to see a few more fans, but it's good competition every year as far as if you are a college basketball fan, you should come out."

Contact Margo Consul at mconsul@scu.edu or (408) 551-1918.