IU remembers 20th anniversary of chair toss

Game-winning shots make history. Starting fives make history. Even coaching match-ups make history.\nBut a piece of molded fiber glass with metal legs making history?\nIt made history 20 years ago today.\nWhat started as just another game between former IU coach Bob Knight and arch-rival Purdue coach Gene Keady, ended with a chair sitting in the middle of the court.\n"It was no big deal. Anything he did was not surprising to me," Keady said. "That's why I liked him, because it was always a new adventure. It didn't surprise me. I was mad at Steve Reid. We won the game so Steve was forgiven."\nAnd to think it was all started with Knight arguing about a questionable jump ball. \nMoments later, former Hoosier Daryl Thomas was called for another foul. In typical Knight fashion, he blew up at an official and received his first technical of the game.\nAs former Boilermaker Steve Reid began to shoot the foul shot accompanying the technical, Knight, still fuming about the original call, received his second technical foul when he infamously launched the red fiberglass chair across the court.\nAfter verbally assaulting official London Bradley, Knight received his third technical of the game, and followed the path of the chair and walked cross-court into the IU locker room. \n"It was amazing. I was standing here, and coach Knight only went so far," said Assembly Hall usher Barb Slessinger. "When he came down the bench he always stopped at a certain place and he always went back. And I was just standing here as always, because I've always worked in the same place. And I thought oh my gosh, oh my gosh. And about that time, whooom there it went." \nFor the past 26 years, Slessinger has worked section five, just feet from the end of the IU bench on the north side of the court. During those two and a half decades -- a span that outlasted Keady's reign at Purdue -- she has seen her fair share of memorable moments and memorable incidents.\nNot to be outdone, usher Alvin Trissler has been working IU games since 1971 and was standing near the court when Knight let out his javelin skills for the world to see.\n"When Knight let the chair go, he walked over after following the chair and went into the dressing room. I remember that quite well," Trissler said. "Everybody kind of grinned because Knight kind of had a smile on his face when he did it. There was a cheerleader sitting over there and she was down on her knees and (the chair) went to the cheer leader, and he just walked over there and I think he kind of patted her on the back and walked on." \n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh Weinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.