Duquesne’s UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse named after historic hoop player
The Gannon University men’s basketball team played its NCAA Division II semifinal at an arena named after a significant player in sport’s history.
INDIANAPOLIS – When 68-year-old Rick “Stats” Klapthor was asked why he likes his job at Gannon University, he kept it short and sweet.
“I don’t have to get dressed up for games,” Klapthor said. “I don’t have a big wardrobe so it makes my decisions easier.”
Spry humor and a man who is both passionate about his school but takes his job as seriously as he did when he first started doing stats for Gannon during the fall of 1975. Klapthor, who is known as ‘Stats’, been keeping the official book for Golden Knights men’s and women’s basketball and basketball games for 51 years. Stats was 17 years old when he began his role in keeping a tight and accurate sheet.
“I went to Gannon to get a degree just so I could go and do the stats,” Klapthor said.
A job that to him is perfect and simple. He wears a black and white jersey and claims to have never made a mistake in the over five decades of making sure every game is recorded with the utmost accuracy. From team fouls, to technical fouls and maintaining the possession arrow.
Importance of Stats
Klapthor’s abilities to keep an accurate book have made him a legend by those in the Gannon University community, including men’s basketball coach Easton Bazzoli. Bazzoli is hoping to have Stats on the sidelines when Gannon plays for its second NCAA Division II National Championship.
“He’s the best,” Bazzoli said. “He is a great picture of what makes Gannon special. Klapthor is at the forefront of it because of how much time he gives to the program. His involvement, his care level.”
Bazzoli said Klapthor is still teaching him things about the game of basketball and the operations that go into it. Bazzoli knows how many timeouts he has and if there’s ever a question, Stats has the answer.
“He knows more than I do,” Bazzoli said. “There are many times when he is pointing refs in the right direction and where they need to be.”
One of those hundreds of referees Klapthor has encountered is CBS rules analyst and former NCAA and NFL official Gene Steratore.
Steratore is a native of Uniontown, Pennsylvania and befriended Klapthor when he started officiating college basketball games in the mid 1980s when he was 21 years old and conducted the McDonald’s Classic at Cathedral Prep.
“I borrowed a stick of Juicy Fruit from him, it became a thing and before the NFL season would start I’d get a couple of jumbo packs of Juicy Fruit and he still does,” Steratone said. “He is the guru of statistics, he never misses my birthday and he’s been a dear friend for four decades.”
Through their various interactions, Steratore has found Klapthor to be one of the best bookkeepers. A statistician is a job that is often overlooked until teams need to know how many timeouts are left or fouls to give.
“The board can say what it wants the book needs to be right at the end of the day,” Steratore said. “In the event you have a discrepancy. The table is an extension of the officiating.”
Having Klapthor in Steratore’s life takes new meaning given his travels as an official and now as a rules analyst. But it’s those five minutes for him that have created a bond even when the interactions occur maybe even a handful of times per year.
“Personal friends when you run into these individuals over a course of a few generations those personal relationships are real,” Steratore said. “They live the life we are living. Those snippets become an extension of a friendship.”
Cheer quietly and remembering his role
Gannon has never won a title in any sport but Klapthor was there during the last national title appearance when the men’s basketball team made the finals in 1987.
To this day, his goal is the same: do his job objectively. No cheering, not even an excited toe tap when he’s at the scorer’s table.
“It’s part of my job,” Klapthor said. “It takes certain mechanics and you try to keep a level head while everyone might be losing their heads. I like to keep a level head.”
Klapthor was born in Erie and took a fascination in sports facts and numbers while being shown how to do the official book with help from his older brother Bill.
His body language, his intense scowl and wry smile have turned him into a piece of Erie sports folklore.
“I’m dependable and got an optimistic attitude,” Klapthor said of his 51 seasons at Gannon. “It’s a great ride and I’m along for the ride. It’s been a great ride for years.”
Will Klapthor cheer if Gannon wins its first national championship? Don’t expect him to expend too much energy. Stats drove six-and-a-half hours to be with the team in Indianapolis.
“I’ll be elated, proud and very happy for the coaches and the players,” Klapthor said.
What happens if Gannon wins?
“I’ll be back in Erie the next day,” Klapthor said. “I have to prepare for my bridge game on Monday.”
Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at [email protected], on Twitter at EthanAHanson and Instagram at ethan_a_hanson.
