Virgen’s View: A special piece of Newport Harbor

When Mark Keys heard that Newport Harbor High would be putting in a new floor in its gym, many thoughts came into his mind.

Keys, a Newport Harbor alumnus who remains a die-hard Sailors fan, thought of all the great memories he had while playing basketball at the gym. He also thought how great it would be to own a piece of the old gym floor. How cool would it be to have the center court, and then install it onto his living room floor?

Keys has done just that, paying homage to what were some of the greatest times of his life: playing basketball in the gym at Newport Harbor. In the process, he has become the envy of Newport Harbor alumni.

In Keys’ defense, all he did was have the idea and asked. He asked Newport Harbor Principal Sean Boulton for pieces of the gym. Keys also went the extra mile and brought lunch for the workers who were renovating the gym floor.

“He’s the only one who asked for it,” said Boulton, who had the gym’s two pieces that read, “Yardley Court,” given to the Yardley family. “Mark just said, ‘I want to take center court.’ I said absolutely. I’ve gotten some people that tell me, ‘How come he got it.’ He’s the only one who asked. He’s the only one who took the initiative. The early bird gets the worm, right?”

Keys remembers attending his first basketball game at Newport Harbor when he was 8. Soon he attended Ensign and would sometimes play at the gym to get ready for the days when he would play for the high school team.

He loved the history of Ralph Reed gym, and the floor named after Hall of Famer George Yardley.

As a teenager, Keys said he would sneak into the gym late at night to play hoops with all his friends: Warren Doody, Joe McCarthy, Kevin Doody, Pat McCarthy, Pat Baker, Fraser Keys, Chris Keys, Dave Altman and Dan Stekol, among many others.

Sometimes they would even have guys from Corona del Mar High to come and play, too, Keys said.

“We didn’t have any cell phones,” said Keys, 58, who lives with his family in Costa Mesa near the Back Bay. “We had to get guys to come out based on just one phone call. Sometimes we played one on one or just shot around … When I heard they were taking out the floor at the gym, I knew I had to get it.”

The old Newport Harbor gym floor has many memories and great moments. Some of the all-time great volleyball players like Misty May-Treanor, April Ross and Steve Timmons played there.

The old floor is in a good home, and just seems to fit in perfectly with the rest of Keys’ memorabilia, which includes two seats from the old Pauley Pavilion at UCLA.

Keys has more old Newport Harbor gym floor pieces aside from the piece of center court in his living room. He’s been giving those pieces to friends.

Keys remains a loyal fan of the Sailors, all their sports teams, especially boys’ basketball, which is 14-9, 3-3 in the Sunset League and fresh off a 61-45 win over Marina on Thursday night.

It’s a big week for the Sailors as they will play at Los Alamitos Wednesday and at Edison Friday.

Keys does his best to attend the games, but it is challenging for a man living with disabilities. He has suffered from back and leg problems stemming from injuries as a boat rigger on Balboa Island in 1991. He has had 37 surgeries since then.

But Keys maintains a great outlook on life with hobbies that include his memorabilia. He also puts great effort into his, “My Best Day,” books, which include Pro Football and USC athletics themes. He was featured on ESPN in 2014.

The books feature athletes who provide the best day of their life.

Keys plans to compile a My Best Day book on Newport Harbor athletics. Keys has had many great days, including the day he put the piece of center court of the old Newport Harbor gym floor into his home.