CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- The gymnasium on St. James Street drew a buzz to the neighborhood in Roxbury on January 9, 1906. The College of the Holy Cross, a Jesuit institution in Central Massachusetts, had traveled into Boston to play its academic and athletic rivals from Boston College. A strong contingent came in from Worcester with the road boys, and the hundreds in attendance were feverish in their support of their schools.
It was the 30th game of organized "basket-ball" for BC, but Holy Cross didn't have any trouble doubling up the hometown team. It was their first official meeting on record, but losing the matchup didn't sit well with the locals.