FOLLOW US
Share this article:
Home / News
Dec. 4, 2022 1:06 pm
FAIRFIELD — The renaming of Fairfield High School’s gymnasium was made official Friday night during a ceremony to honor longtime girls’ basketball coach Dan Breen.
Breen has the distinction of being Fairfield’s first girls’ basketball coach, its winningest, and the only one to coach the team during the six-on-six era. That’s why it was an easy decision for the Fairfield school board to vote to rename FHS’s gym the “Dan Breen Gymnasium” earlier this summer, after a letter-writing campaign led by Breen’s former players.
On Friday night, Breen was honored between the varsity girls’ and boys’ basketball games against Washington. Breen was joined at center court by his wife Tina, his children, dozens of former players and assistant coaches, and his good friend Ron Hunerdosse, who gave a speech to mark the renaming of the gym.
Fairfield Activities Director Jeff Courtright presented Breen with a plaque that includes a photo of Breen celebrating the Trojanettes’ state title in 1983, along with a list of Breen’s accomplishments during his 16-year tenure as head coach: an overall record of 334-60, 94 consecutive home victories, 13 conference championships, five consecutive appearances in the state Final 4 (1982-1986), and the 1983 state championship.
When Breen had his turn at the microphone Friday night, he told the packed gym that he couldn’t take credit for all the wins his players amassed over the years.
“It’s almost a little embarrassing to get all this recognition all these years later,” Breen told The Union. “I just see this as the Trojanette gym. When I see [my name] above the entrance, it reminds me of all the Trojanettes who played there. This was a showcase for their talents. My job as a coach was to highlight their God-given abilities.”
Breen was not involved in planning Friday’s activities. He said all the credit for that goes to his wife Tina and his friend Hunerdosse, who he refers to as “Dose.”
“They got on social media and contacted all these players,” Breen said. “It was a lot of work finding addresses for some of them. My wife put a lot of work into it. She’s good at this kind of thing.”
Former players came from far and wide to show their support for Coach Breen, coming from states such as Indiana, Colorado, Tennessee and Delaware. After the ceremony, fans were invited to a social in the FHS Commons, where cake was served and a table was set up with framed newspaper pages showing the highlights from Breen’s career.
Hunerdosse was wearing a T-shirt that read “I’m a Dan Fan” with that same photo of Breen celebrating the 1983 championship that is on his plaque. Hunerdosse said the shirt was from Breen’s retirement roast almost two decades ago. On the back are the words “Breen Machine” with a photo of Breen holding an orange, which would have been a familiar image to Fairfield fans from that time.
Breen said that people began to notice that he often brought an orange with him to games. He said that, after going to the junior high practice, coaching the junior varsity and then finally coaching varsity, he needed some nourishment, and he just happened to be fond of oranges.
“After a while, it became a thing, so now I had to have an orange or people thought something was wrong. If I didn’t have one, somebody would go get one because they worried that was going to be the reason we lost,” Breen said. “It was sort of fun.”
Hunerdosse and Breen are both graduates of Parsons College, with Breen graduating in 1971 and Hunerdosse the following year. Breen is from Lorain, Ohio, and transferred to Parsons where he played basketball for two years.
Hunerdosse remembers the first time he met Breen, which was during a pick-up basketball game in the high school gym. He recalled that Breen was “pretty annoying” because as a basketball player he had “every tool in his belt to play defense.”
“He had a hammer, a hack saw, a vice grip,” Hunerdosse joked. “He would hit and hold you. He was a really aggressive guy.”
“It’s been a standing joke with Dose that I fouled him so much, and that’s why I was successful,” Breen said.
Hunerdosse and Breen got to know each other well as girls’ track coaches. The two of them, plus another Parsons College graduate named Bill Moore, each coached girls’ track for about 25 years. Hunerdosse said the three of them, plus fellow Parsons grad Rich Stokes, are all good friends and still hang out to this day.
“If you come to the rec center on Monday morning, you’ll find us walking around the track, solving a lot of problems,” Hunerdosse joked. “I see Dan almost every day. I play golf with him and walk with him.”
After Breen stepped down from his basketball coaching post at the end of the 1988 season, Hunerdosse took his place, and thus ushered in the new era of five-on-five girls’ basketball.
“The town was so behind him and the team, it was like following John Wooden at UCLA,” Hunerdosse said.
Hunerdosse coached the varsity girls’ team for six years, including Breen’s daughter Amy, who helped Fairfield get to the state tournament, and was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for Iowa. Amy was named to the All-State team, and was named MVP of the state AAU tournament. In fact, Amy was Fairfield’s all-time leading scorer until her record was broken by Hunerdosse’s niece Nicole Buch.
Looking back at his career, Breen said he had a lot of great teams in addition to the 1983 championship team. Even his teams that didn’t make the state tournament were among the best in the state, but had the misfortune of playing the No. 1 team in regionals.
“We lost in the regional final five times, and four of those were to the No. 1 team,” Breen said. “Our 1980 team probably would have won the title if we didn’t have to play No. 1 Ottumwa [in regionals].”
Breen recalled that the 1983 team was ranked No. 1 all year.
“That team had to live with the pressure of not just having a good team, but of fulfilling the dream,” he said. “We had to win 10 games in the playoffs. The pressure was tremendous and the competition was fierce.”
The title game was against Des Moines-Hoover, and Breen recalled that Fairfield trailed at the half, but he told the girls in the locker room that they had Hoover right where they wanted them. The Trojanettes had discovered Hoover’s weaknesses, and by the fourth quarter, “it became obvious we were going to win.”
Breen said that the best part of being a coach is seeing all his former players grow into fantastic adults.
“A coach’s legacy is not in the wins, it’s in the players and what they become,” he said. “I’ve always been really proud of the Trojanettes who came through. They are overwhelmingly successful and good people.”
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
We want to hear from you!
Submit your story idea or news tip by clicking the button below.
SUBMIT A NEWS TIP
News Dec. 5, 2022 12:15 am2d ago
Mt. Pleasant News Dec. 5, 2022 12:15 am2d ago
Mt. Pleasant News Dec. 5, 2022 12:15 am2d ago
News Dec. 5, 2022 12:15 am3d ago
News Dec. 4, 2022 1:07 pm21h ago
News Dec. 2, 2022 2:19 pm2d ago
News Dec. 5, 2022 12:15 am3d ago
Sports Dec. 4, 2022 3:25 pm19h ago
Fairfield News Dec. 4, 2022 3:21 pm19h ago
Sports Dec. 4, 2022 3:17 pm19h ago
Sports Dec. 4, 2022 3:11 pm19h ago
Sports Dec. 4, 2022 2:02 pm20h ago
FOLLOW US
The Southeast Iowa Union, an employee-owned source for local, and state news coverage for Washington, Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield Iowa.
© 2022 Southeast Iowa Union
All Rights Reserved.
© 2022 Southeast Iowa Union
All Rights Reserved.
