As part of the buildup to the 75th Anniversary celebration for Claremont McKenna College (visit CMC's 75th Anniversary Countdown Page to learn more), we are reliving many of the great moments from CMS athletic department history over the 75-day countdown from April 17 to July 1. If you were a part of this great moment and would like to add to the memories, or if you would like to submit your memories of your own favorite CMS Athletics moments, fill out the form on our main 75th Anniversary page.

Great Moments from 75 Years of Athletics
1956 Men's Basketball: Biszantz Earns First-Team All-SCIAC Honors

Gary Biszantz was a successful two-sport athlete for the Pomona-Claremont teams in the 1950s, breaking new ground in two different sports as one of the first great athletes at Claremont Men's College. He became the first CMC golfer to earn all-league recognition at the 1955 SCIAC Golf Championships, when he came in second place as a junior.

The following year, Biszantz became the first CMC men's basketball player to earn first-team All-SCIAC honors, following Bob Essig (second team) and Pete Welsh (second team) on the list of all-league recipients from the 1940s. Biszantz, who joined the list of second-team All-SCIAC selections as a junior, was a three-year starting point guard for the Pomona-Claremont Sagehens. He averaged 11.1 points as a senior, second on the team, while leading the team in SCIAC games at 13 points per contest.

Biszantz was also known as a great passer (assists weren't kept back then) and teammate. He led the team in free throws by a wide margin as a a senior, shooting 97-128 at the line (75.8 percent) in 1955-56, while his closest teammate made just 40 free throws.

The final game of Biszantz' senior year was an 81-61 win over Caltech, which came two games after a dramatic 69-67 overtime win over Whittier, which was one of his signature performances. He was 13-15 at the free throw line and scored 23 points, the highest total for a Sagehen all season. Four of his free throws came in overtime to help seal the win.    

Biszantz was inducted into the CMS Hall of Fame in 2003, and served as a trustee for Claremont McKenna, and remains an honorary life trustee at the college. The Biszantz Family Tennis Center, which the CMS Women's Tennis and CMS Men's Tennis programs call home, also bears his name.