By Roy York

Bobby Halsey reclines in a chair in the Solid ROC Cafe in Immanuel Baptist Church, waiting for Joe B. Hall. A chalkboard shows the day’s specials. Conversation is scattered among small tables. One chef runs meals to the guests. And leaning against Halsey’s leg is a cane crafted from pieces of the floor from Memorial Coliseum — a gift to Hall from Halsey’s hands.

As Hall, the former UK men’s basketball coach who led the Cats to a national championship in 1978, walks into the cafe, he does not receive the roaring reception he once heard when he led the Cats onto the hardwood. But he still finds a warm welcome from a few seasoned, die-hard UK fans who always wear Hall’s favorite color.

Halsey, a lifetime Wildcat fan and skilled wood craftsman, approaches the 81-year-old Hall and the two shake hands. They talk about basketball and tell stories of times passed. Finally, Hall spots the cane in Halsey’s hands and a smile crosses his face. Halsey passes the cane to Hall and begins to tell its history, but Hall interrupts, laughing.

“You know, I need (a cane) these days,” Hall said.

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure

In May 2007, Halsey was driving through the UK campus on the way to his grandsons’ baseball game and saw something strange. Students were clamored around Memorial Coliseum jockeying for wooden planks.

On closer inspection, Halsey learned the gym floor where hundreds of UK athletes had competed was being replaced, and the floorboards were up for grabs. As a former wood shop teacher, Halsey had one thing on his mind: Getting a piece of history.

Sorority girls were dumpster diving.

He went with them.

“The average person outside of Kentucky doesn’t experience the kind of passion people in Kentucky have for the state university,” Halsey said. “It’s just memorabilia, but if you don’t have any of that you need to start collecting it. It’ll get away from you.”

Over time, Halsey settled on making decorative canes from the discarded floorboards.

“When I decided to make a cane, the first thought that came to mind was that canes are for old people,” Halsey said. “But I didn’t design this for people to walk with and beat dogs and wild cats off with. It’s more of something to hang on a mantle.”

Hall is not the only UK celebrity to receive a Halsey-crafted cane.

Bill Keightley, who spent 48 seasons as UK’s basketball equipment manager, received a cane and was so overjoyed with the gift that Halsey asked for Keightley’s signature on a certificate of authenticity included with every cane.

“People go berserk over (the certificates),” Halsey said. “People call and say, ‘I don’t want a cane but can you sell me one of those tags?’ … It’s an attachment or a passion they have for the Big Blue.”

One woman called from Eastern Kentucky and ordered five canes. When he called her back to tell her the canes were finished, she cried with excitement. The woman said when she was younger, she and family members listened to the Cats on the radio, following the stats on pieces of paper.

But as Halsey holds the polished, pale column of wood he will present to Joe B. Hall as a gift, his voice trails off and his eyes become unfocused.

He might be remembering his years following Kentucky basketball when Hall coached the Cats to a national championship.

He might be thinking about his years in the wood shop.

He might be reliving his years as Hall’s friend.

Wherever his mind took him, Halsey knows his gift will be special.

“It’s just a passion for the way you grew up, for memories,” Halsey said.

Hardwood memories

Hall turns the cane over in his hands and passes the gift to his friends around the table.

“When I look at that it brings back so many memories,” he says.

Hall begins to relive famous UK basketball moments and memories. He rattles off names, stats and specific games as if they were on ESPN the night before, and he smiles the entire time.

“Anyone associated with Kentucky basketball — as a player, a coach, a fan or a custodian — would love to have a cane made from that floor,” Hall says.

Hall says the cane reminds him of the art that a coach needs to craft a basketball team into a machine.

“It’s not only a piece of art, it’s got significance to anyone, but especially to me,” Hall says.

Hall does not have many pieces of memorabilia from Memorial Coliseum.

“I didn’t try to collect stuff because it would have overshadowed our kids,” Hall said. “We featured (the kids) and what they were doing.”

Hall says this gift, however, is truly a treasure.

“You’ll see me walking with a cane from now on,” he says.