Jim Tedisco discards ankle weights in 1970

A young 5-foot-8 Jim Tedisco, now a New York state Senator, used to leave finger prints in the ceiling of his parent’s home, practicing jumping while wearing weights around his ankles, according to an Associated Press sports report published Feb. 12, 1970 in The Post-Star.

Today you can find the one-time Union College basketball star’s fingerprints on animal rights legislation and on the process of replacing heavy books of proposed legislation with electronic documents.

“Jim Tedisco spent five years of his life wearing ankle weights everywhere he went (even to church on Sundays) with the dream he’d one day streak down the court with a stolen pass and stuff the ball through the hoop to the frenzied roar of a partisan crowd,” The Associated Press reported.

The “partisan crowd” in those days was the hometown Union College fans, not the Republican minority Tedisco has been a cheerleader for in the state Legislature for more than three decades.

Tedisco discarded the ankle weights when college basketball banned the dunk shot.

“Sure I was disappointed,” he told the Associated Press. “But it gave me the excuse to shed the weights and I haven’t had them on since.”

Tedisco, a sophomore psychology major, was having a good season in 1970, having recently scored 44 points against Drew and 42 points against Siena.

He was realistic about the future.

“At 5–8 I realized the pros wouldn’t be beating a path to my door, so I chose to stay close to home and get a good education.”