Ralph Dalton (1963-) - Georgetown's Backup Center to Patrick Ewing

[DonRocks]

5 hours ago, DaveO said:

The original Blackie’s as you may recall it circa 70’s or 80’s and thereafter stood under and surrounded by a Marriott.  As I recall one of the doormen at the hotel in the mid 80’s was the reserve or 2nd string center at Georgetown playing behind Patrick Ewing.  One tall tall dude in a formal doorman outfit: a startling site in its own regard

The doorman was Ralph Dalton.

Ralph *whom*?

Ralph Dalton College Stats on sports-reference.com

"Player Bio: Ralph Dalton (1982-1986)" on hoyabasketball.com

Nov 14, 2003 - "Twenty Years Removed" by Erin Brown on thehoya.com

Apr 13, 2014 - "Ralph Who? The Basketball Great You've Never Heard Of" on koehlerlaw.net

Ralph Dalton at Barclay:

Also, Ralph, if you ever see this, please email me at donrockwell@donrocks.com, or sign up here to engage our readership - we have many people who'd love to hear from you, about basketball, about investments, about your life in general.

We have a similar thread about your elder Hoyaman, Craig Esherick.

[DaveO]

11 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Ralph *whom*?

Ralph Dalton College Stats on sports-reference.com

"Player Bio: Ralph Dalton (1982-1986)" on hoyabasketball.com

Nov 14, 2003 - "Twenty Years Removed" by Erin Brown on thehoya.com

Apr 13, 2014 - "Ralph Who? The Basketball Great You've Never Heard Of" on koehlerlaw.net

Ralph Dalton at Barclay:

Also, Ralph, if you ever see this, please email me at donrockwell@donrocks.com, or sign up here to engage our readership - we have many people who'd love to hear from you, about basketball, about investments, about your life in general.

We have a similar thread about your elder Hoyaman, Craig Esherick.

I watched a lot of local basketball in that period (before and after Dalton played).  The 70's Bullets that had been so strong were a mediocre team and uninteresting/uninspiring.  College basketball in the region was in its ascendancy..for a fan, it was extraordinary.  Georgetown joined the Big East, a fabulous basketball conference.  Suddenly there was no better part of the nation to be than the Washington DC area if you enjoyed and watched college basketball.  Maryland was part of the ACC and Georgetown was part of the Big East, the two best conferences for college basketball overall and in any one year 2 of the top 3,4, or 5 best college leagues.  Additionally stars such as Ewing often stayed all 4 years of college or at least 3 of 4 years.  (Buck Williams of Maryland or some little known guy named Michael Jordan at UNC).  The quality of college ball was at its best.  I got to see a fair amount of college ball in person at the time.

In a hazy way I recall Dalton.  He came into Georgetown with a lot of fan fair, similar in reputation to Ewing.  John Thompson was at his peak and recruiting among the best studs among high school players.  His teams were powerful and had the "Thompson rep" around them.  Clearly getting Ewing and his era was its peak.  Georgetown was generally better than Maryland though Maryland had seasons overlapping with the Georgetown teams when they were similarly talented.

Dalton suffered a terrible injury early in his career.  I think he played with a limp or at least limited mobility after the injury and recovery period.  Clearly the injury kept him from becoming a more formidable player.  I vaguely recall he got a lot of positive press for his character and efforts after the injury.

I suspect Dalton had a part time job at the West End Marriott while in college.  He was the doorman at the front of the hotel.  He wore some kind of formal outfit with a red jacket and he might of had a top hat.  If so with that hat and about 7 feet of length I couldn't help but stare at him.  He was a long tall memorable sight.