Faces in the crowd: Hawks Chuck Harmison

During the Illawarra Hawks' 43-year existence, 221 players have pulled on the club's jersey.

But the number of fans who have supported the foundation club during that period is exponentially more.

As such, the club has decided to profile some of the most prominent and longest-serving HawkHeads with our new 'faces in the crowd' series.

After profiling Illawarra's three intern coaches and Hawks inaugural coach Joe Farrugia, we decided to feature the basketball journey of club legend Chuck Harmison - who first started playing hoops 

Following his college career in the United States with his hometown Iowa State University, the German-born big man, who first applied for a 'real job as a *****', headed back to Europe and spent a season with **** in Belgium.

"My college coach at the time put me in touch with an agent in New Jersey, who was running a try-out camp, which spanned three of four days," he said.

"It just so happened the guy coaching my pick-up team there was a guy from Pennysylvania and was playing in Belgium and his team was on the lookout for a power forward.

"After spending a couple of days with me, he offered me a contract and the rest is history.

"Admittedly, Belgium in the 1980s was much different to today's world, with no television, no radio and all the local players working during the day, which meant I did a lot of sightseeing and drinking.

"I had a ball during my nine months there but three-quarters of the way through that season, I knew I wanted a new challenge and after reading a picture book on Australia at a local pub, I thought that might be nice and started making plans of getting myself to that country - including writing a letter to my dad.

"Fortunately, a guy from my hometown, Dave Atkins, had coached in Australia previously and was recruiting players to head down there and play - including the likes of Ron Lemons and Bill Timmien before me and Steve Carfino and Cal Burton after me.

"After my dad put me in touch with Dave, he connected me to Nunawading and I was on my way to Australia."

His stint in Europe in lasted a year, before Nunawading brought Harmison to Australia in 1982 - marking the first of four years he spent in Melbourne (two with the Spectres and two with the Coburg Giants).

"I had a great four years in Melbourne, even meeting my wife Leanne there," he said.

"After that though, between Damian Keogh - who had moved up to Bankstown in 1981, Rob Screetney and Robbie Cadee (who was coaching at the time), recruited me to come up to the West Sydney - which I believed would be a nice change.

"With the Westars, we had one really strong season followed by a tough year, which was due to a number of reasons."

At the end of that 1987 season, the Westars and Sydney Supersonics merged to form the Kings and Harmison knew he needed a change.

With the now 64-year-old already having a relationship with the then Hawks coach David Lindstrum, a move to Wollongong appeared to be a natural fit.

"Earlier in my career, I had some good battles with David and our relationship grew from there," he said.

"On top of that, I knew Gordie (McLeod) well from our countless battles over the years and played alongside Ray Borner at Coburg - it all just felt like a perfect opportunity to move to a smaller place, remain on the coast and play top-level basketball."

Along with the team, the passionate fans at the Snakepit attracted Harmison to Illawarra - having experienced it numerous times as an opposition player, including the famous replayed game against West Sydney.

"Even as an opposition player, the atmosphere at the Snakepit was always amazing, so having the chance to have that supporting you was definitely an appeal that drew me to the club," he said.

"I can still remember playing here for Coburg, when Benny Lewis was on our team and we'd come down Bulli Pass and just be amazed by how beautiful the area was - we'd just sit down near the coastline and take it all in sometimes.

"Those trips planted the seed early on that this could be a spot I'd enjoy playing and living at one day."

Indeed Harmison was correct, as that 1988 season proved to be the first of nine he spent with the Hawk - which featured countless, lifelong memories.

"A couple of moments that stand out to me as a player include when I tipped in a shot at the buzzer and started running down the court celebrating before Jenny Fares jumped out and gave me a big hug - as fans were sitting two inches from the court in those days," he said.

"Another is when Mick Corkin threw the lop to Melvin Thomas to beat Newcastle, which got us into the playoffs - which was exciting at the time.

"Of course, how could I forget all the dummy throws and the incredible tuxedos of Geoff Phillips - who would razz up the crowd and make the atmosphere electric, especially the northern grandstand.

"I still walk into the Snakepit now and think how did we ever play NBL games in there and how people never fell out of those corporate boxes upstairs is beyond me too - it was just so much fun in that intimate atmosphere.

"I compare it to what I experienced at high school in the United States."

Following his retirement from playing in 1996, Harmison held a number of roles at the club including general manager from 1997 to 2004, before into a similar role with the NBL for more than eight years.

"I just love everything that the Hawks epitomises, from the small-town atmosphere to the fact everyone knows about the club wherever you go - compared to places like Sydney and Melbourne where you were sometimes an afterthought and forgotten about," said Harmison, who now works at Bunnings Warehouse.

"Coming from a small town myself in Iowa, Wollongong has just been perfect for my family and I.

"On top of that, the people involved with the club are what makes it.

"From starting as a club run by the association by the likes of Peter Brettell, John TriviellionScott, Syd Webb, Murray Clayton and Peter Hilton - all of which we became really close friends with - to where the club is now, I'm extremely proud of everyone that has played a role in getting it to where it is today."

His impact hasn't gone unnoticed either, with Harmison being one of five Hawks to have his jerseys retired - alongside McLeod, Thomas, Mat Campbell and Glen Saville.

"That was a special and unexpected moment for me, as that's one of the highest honour a player can get at a club," he said.

"Especially to do it alongside long-term friend Gordie, made it even more memorable for me, as he epitomises what it means to be a Hawk.

"Funnily enough, I was speaking to Antonius Cleveland about that at the end of season dinner and number five was his number but he wasn't allowed to play in it during his time here."

While the club is still built on the very foundations of its inaugural season in 1979, there has been plenty of changes (and stories) that Harmison can recollect.

"One story I always tell is how after a game, we always used to crack a beer - including when Tommy Pensore would say 'how sweet it is' after games against the Kings," he said.

"But when Brendan Joyce came in during my last season, he talked to me about changing the culture at the club and the first step was removing the beers from the changerooms.

"While there was some pushback, it was done for the right reasons and laid the groundwork for our first title a couple of years later in 2001.

"Another that sticks out, is whenever we were on the road in Melbourne, as I had previously lived there, was the after-game dinners I had with Bruce Powers,

After back-to-back semi-final appearances, Harmison believes the club is most definitely headed in the right direction.

"With the backing of our ownership group, we definitely have the right pieces in place to win a second NBL championship and it's up to the community to stay behind the team and believe in its direction," he said.

"You saw firsthand what impact big wins and finals games can have on the town and I'm excited to see what next season's group, under Jacob, can do on the court."