The Fairport students will not soon forget the 1954-1955 basketball season. For thrills and excitement the season was unsurpassed. The biggest thrill of all, of course, was Fairport’s participation in the sectionals, for the first time in thirteen years. Coach Wes Paddock started the season with only one holdover starter from last year’s squad – Bob Albrecht. But around Albrecht, Coach Paddock built a basketball team that had everything. There were five men over six feet tall, topped by six eight Levi Hallings.

The Raiders had speed and class, but above all, they had spirit. As the season got underway the Raiders suffered a two-point loss to Webster. But they went on to win eight of their first eleven games, and the first half Class AA championship. In the second half of the season the Raiders won five of seven games to tie East Rochester for first place. Two playoff games with the Bombers determined that Fairport was the AA champion and also a Section V participant. As the playoffs progressed, our Raiders beat first Batavia and then Madison. We were in the finals! On the very last day of the season Fairport played Newark to determine the Section V champs at the Edgerton Park Sports Arena in Rochester on Saturday night March 26, 1955. In a exciting game, which ended up in overtime, the Fairport Raiders beat the Newark team by a score of 64 to 61.

There were many interesting events in the season. For instance, in one game Albrecht scored 43 points to lead his team to a 91-45 victory. He set a new scoring record plus the team score was a new record which will be hard to beat. And although the Raiders lost several games, they never lost by more than four points! During the season the Raiders played twelve games that were decided by-five points or less. Time after time fans would emerge from these tense games weak with excitement.

Extra honors came to Fairport. Bob Albrecht was the co-captain of the team and leading scorer in Monroe County in 1955. This would be Bob’s final year at Fairport High school and he went out with several awards for his basketball prowess. He was a member of the Democrat and Chronicle All-County AA team, and had been chosen All-County in basketball for the second straight year. Bob Albrecht was 18 in 1955, stood 6′ 2″” tall and weighed 175 pounds.

Perhaps the best news of all is that only two members of the team will be lost through graduation.