Two Bowie Boys Dribble into Record Books

David Price and Richard Pranschke

August 9, 1974 (39 years ago today):  Two Bowie teens broke a world record after dribbling a basketball for nearly four full days.  According to the Bowie Blade, Richard Pranschke and David Price alternated one hour shifts until they completed 92 consecutive hours of dribbling.  Their effort began at 8am on Monday, August 5th, and the dribbling stopped at 4am, Friday, August 9th.  The record was set in Pranschke's garage at 13435 Yorktown Drive.  The boys were inspired after reading that two Springfield, Virginia youths dribbled for a record 60 hours and 45 minutes just one week earlier.

Five people acted as judges including Mark and Tom Price (brothers of David Price), Edwin and Evlyn Hunnicutt, (parents of Richard Pranschke) and neighbor John Jones.

According to the Washington Post, the dribbling record had been broken two times that summer before the marathon session by Price and Pranschke.  Two North Carolina boys dribbled for 50 hours and 24 minutes that July, and Jimmy Harper and Johnny Herrity broke that record a week later in Springfield.

The Bowie Blade article implied that a Guiness Record had been broken.  It's assumed that Price and Pranschke submitted their record to the publication, although Bowie Living was unable to locate any Guiness Record involving two people alternating dribbling responsibilities.