Feb. 8, 2013

Zach Schonbrun of the New York Times describes Ramon Galloway's return home to Philadelphia to play for La Salle.  

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — It was still early, but the crowd noise at Tom Gola Arena had begun to taper, and Gerald Galloway could sense things were not heading La Salle’s way.

Ramon Galloway, Gerald’s son and La Salle’s leading scorer, had attempted only four shots. The elder Galloway’s large, thick hands began to fidget. He wove his cellphone between his fingers.

“They’re down 12, right?” Galloway asked Ramon’s grandfather, Carlos Moore. “Yes,” Moore answered.

“They need to draw more fouls,” Galloway muttered.

It was a rainy night in January and the Explorers were playing Massachusetts. Galloway sat quietly in Section E4, Row C, directly behind the home bench, where Ramon could see him and where he could hear Ramon.

Gerald Galloway has been blind for 19 years, but that has not stopped him from attending all of Ramon’s home games since he transferred from South Carolina in 2011. Before that he was a fixture at his son’s high school games in Florida, A.A.U. games in northwest Philadelphia and pickup games at Wister Playground — and in the living room where Ramon shot at a Fisher-Price hoop as a toddler.

For the game against UMass, Galloway and Moore took their seats nearly an hour before tipoff, sharing a pretzel. Galloway wore black jeans; a light brown zip-up sweater; and Gucci sunglasses with red frames. He is a burly man in his mid-40s with short black hair, long graying sideburns and a stubbled chin.

During games, he does not clap or cheer. He listens intently to the public-address announcer and asks Moore or other family members gathered around him for scoring updates or play descriptions. His head swivels as he follows the action. He knew Ramon had missed several of his early jump shots. “He’s had a bunch of assists, though,” Galloway said. READ MORE