Andy Gainer BTHS Athlete
Andy Gainer started Bridgeport High School in the fall of 1955. He played football, basketball, baseball and ran track the four years he attended. He kept all the newspaper clippings that mentioned him in his endeavors and donated them to the Historical Society.
When interviewed by a reporter after being named as a basketball personality, Andy, then a sophomore, said he played as an alternate forward with Fritz Brian. He was 5’10, weighed 157 pounds and had brown hair and blue eyes. He listed several favorites for the reporter including chicken and biology, with his pet peeve being “sophisticated girls.”
Andy played on Bridgeport basketball teams with such players as Harold Jones, Marion Camp, Larry Ackman, Sonny Joiner, Jim Petty, Keith Lankston, Steve Cunningham, Denny Magee, Mike Shuppert, Bill Moffett, and Kenny Knight among others. In one exciting 1957 game against Olney, there were just 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter when the Bulldogs got the ball. They brought it down fast and guard Andy Gainer made good on a jump shot to tie the score 46-46 with two seconds remaining. In the first overtime, Bernie Gray tipped one in to tie the score again. In the second overtime, Gray and Bill Schafer tipped in two free throws to win the game. The clippings continue to highlight Gainer’s basketball performance. On the football field Gainer’s accomplishments also made news as did his track and baseball records.
Bridgeport Basketball Team
Left to right, back row: Sonny Joiner, Andy Gainer, Bernie Gray, Richard Martin, Keith Lankston, Jim Brown,
Front row, Coach Ray Estes, Mike Shupert, Denny Magee, Steve Cunningham, Bill Moffett, and Coach Everett LaMar.
In addition to Andy’s clippings several other sports artifacts were donated.