RTÉ Radio 1 – Saturday June 29th @2:00pmD
The 1980’s was a golden time for Irish basketball. It was the first time Ireland had professionals playing team sports, crowds were in their thousands at games up and down the country and the first ever shirt sponsorship deals were done. The success was due in part to the arrival of dozens of American professionals who played alongside the locals and brought the game to a new level. Among the American players who arrived here was Ed Randolph, a 22 year old from Talahassee, Florida with a huge scoring ability and a sense of adventure. Ed played for teams all over Ireland, north and south. While most of the professional players came and went, Ed put down roots in Ireland, meeting his wife Ann and raising two sons, Darren and Neil. Darren is the Irish soccer goalkeeper.
Almost 40 years after his arrival, Ed lives in Bray with Ann and still plays competitive Basketball.