School pride permeated the John A. Baratto Center. City pride beamed off the walls of the second-largest high school gym in the United States.
There is a first time for everything, and Sunday marked the first East Chicago Central All Class Alumni Reunion. Alumnus, Diana Darden, coordinated the Region spectacle for thousands to enjoy.
To see all the photos from the East Chicago Central All Class Reunion Basketball Game click here!
“Everybody was so excited,” Darden said. “It was the first All-Class Reunion. The EC Roosevelt and EC Washington pride is so strong in our city. We had a basketball game for our first reunion-Old School went up against the New School.”
Monica Maxwell, Class of 1995, was the coach of the Old School. Maxwell enjoyed an illustrious senior season at East Chicago Central and was a finalist for the Naismith Award, recognizing the top prep player in the nation. Kawann Short, defensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers, was the coach of the New School. Short won a 4A basketball State Championship for Central in 2007.
“That pride from our old schools never went away,” Darden said. “We pray that this weekend brought back the EC Central pride.”
The New School captured a 59-51 win and bragging rights. David Bork, who donned a red Morphsuit and an East Chicago jersey, cheered the New School on to victory. Bork graduated from Central in 2012 and was the Redman, the school’s official mascot.
“The [best] part of the game was seeing all of the alumni come out and cheer really loud,” Bork said. “I liked being Redman because it really brought out the person in me and made me get more involved with school my senior year.”
Though he is currently a student at Purdue Calumet, Bork still bleeds crimson and navy.
“My favorite part of EC Central is that I always [felt] welcome and never had any problems,” Bork said. “People liked me, but they loved Redman even more. Central is a great school full of great kids and I’m proud to say that I graduated from there.”
On this day, it didn’t matter if you were a Roughrider, Senator or Cardinal. One common thread united everyone: the city of East Chicago.