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Max Crowder

Posted: September 19th, 2010, 11:46 am
by windsor
I saw this link http://www.gastongazette.com/sports/duk ... ainer.html over yonder.

Max was a classic. I had the privilege of knowing him back in the day...my frosh year I was walking from the tennis courts when my left knee buckled out from under me (I have shit for knees so this wasn't unusual). Max happened to see it happen and was there in a flash...drafted one of the football players to carry me into the training room (I weighed a whopping 105 lbs back then). The short version is he came up with a rehab plan for my knees and managed it on the sly for years. I still revert to the 'Max Plan' when the are acting up...I credit Max for not having to have surgery on one or both knees.

:beer: to Max a :duke: legend.

Re: Max Crowder

Posted: September 19th, 2010, 1:22 pm
by DukePA
He will be greatly missed.

Re: Max Crowder

Posted: September 19th, 2010, 3:07 pm
by Johnboy
DukePA wrote:He has been and will be greatly missed.
Corrected.

I knew Max "back in the day" when I had a work study job in the basement of Card Gym, handing out gym clothes, towels and equipment, and laundering towels and gym clothes. Max would come down and chat with the old timers (Jack and Ray) down there and tell us how practice went that day. These were in the bad times - 1982 and 1983 seasons. When they fired Red Wilson after two winning seasons in a row, I jokingly* asked Max if he thought they let the wrong coach go. Max said Coach K was going to be a great coach, and soon. Max was right.

I also remember him coming down to the locker room after the practice that immediately followed a loss (or possibly a close win that shouldn't have been close). Coach K wasn't satisfied with the effort and especially the number of loose balls we lost from not diving for the ball. Max said Coach K and the assistants rolling basketballs across the floor and making the guys dive for them. He said there were lots of bruised elbows and knees to ice down.

Max was a real character, and a great guy.

*Honest - I thought Duke was right to stick with Coach K, but I didn't like that they reassigned Red Wilson the day after we beat Carolina in football.

Re: Max Crowder

Posted: September 19th, 2010, 3:41 pm
by CathyCA
I loved Max Crowder. He stopped by the basketball office every day just to say howdy. He always had a huge smile and a kind word for everyone.

Max could fix anything. In one game during the 1981-82 season, Vince Taylor hit the floor face first under the goal at the north end of Cameron, and he didn't move. The place got deathly quiet. Mike Tissaw yelled, "MAXXXX!" Max ran across the floor, assessed Vince, and the two went in to the locker room. A few minutes later, Vince emerged from the locker room with his eyelid stitched back up and a bandage in place. He went to the scorer's table and went back into the game.

I don't remember whether we won or lost that game--since it was the 10-17 season, I'm fairly certain that we lost. What I do remember is the absolute confidence and trust that the team members placed in Max. There were at least two doctors sitting on the bench with the team (Dr. Berlin and Dr. Bassett), and perhaps another 150 doctors upstairs watching the game. So who did the players call upon when it was time to fix an injury? The incomparable Max Crowder.

Max is also the guy who gave me the remedy for nightime leg cramps. He was a master at his craft.

Re: Max Crowder

Posted: September 19th, 2010, 3:45 pm
by captmojo
CathyCA wrote:
Max is also the guy who gave me the remedy for nightime leg cramps. He was a master at his craft.
Okay. Share with the group. I tire of this malady. :twitch:

Re: Max Crowder

Posted: September 19th, 2010, 3:52 pm
by CathyCA
captmojo wrote:
CathyCA wrote:
Max is also the guy who gave me the remedy for nightime leg cramps. He was a master at his craft.
Okay. Share with the group. I tire of this malady. :twitch:
Pinch your upper lip between your thumb and forefinger as hard as you can. While pinching it, pull it down over your front teeth, toward the inside of your mouth. Pinch and pull as hard as you can.

You will be utterly amazed at the relief you get from this simple, yet effective, remedy.

Re: Max Crowder

Posted: September 19th, 2010, 4:04 pm
by captmojo
CathyCA wrote:
Pinch your upper lip between your thumb and forefinger as hard as you can. While pinching it, pull it down over your front teeth, toward the inside of your mouth. Pinch and pull as hard as you can.

You will be utterly amazed at the relief you get from this simple, yet effective, remedy.
Gotta give it a try! Thanks.

Re: Max Crowder

Posted: September 19th, 2010, 4:08 pm
by indoor66
Max was an amazing guy. For years he lived in the tower of Card Gym. He was a lifelong bachelor and you almost never saw him without a smile. If you did catch him with out a smile, it was not for long. I never met anyone who had a bad word for or about Max. He and Frank Basset were fixures at Duke athletics. Personally, I miss them both.

Re: Max Crowder

Posted: September 19th, 2010, 5:42 pm
by Very Duke Blue
windsor wrote:I saw this link http://www.gastongazette.com/sports/duk ... ainer.html over yonder.

Max was a classic. I had the privilege of knowing him back in the day...my frosh year I was walking from the tennis courts when my left knee buckled out from under me (I have shit for knees so this wasn't unusual). Max happened to see it happen and was there in a flash...drafted one of the football players to carry me into the training room (I weighed a whopping 105 lbs back then). The short version is he came up with a rehab plan for my knees and managed it on the sly for years. I still revert to the 'Max Plan' when the are acting up...I credit Max for not having to have surgery on one or both knees.

:beer: to Max a :duke: legend.
Thanks for the post. Yes, he was terrific.