ADAMS TWP— After 23 years and 55 scholarships awarded, the Danner family is calling it a day.

The 23rd annual Jeff Danner Memorial Scholarship alumni basketball games, scheduled for Friday in the Mars High gym, will be the last.

The games began as a way to honor the memory of 1982 Mars graduate and former Planets basketball player Jeff Danner, who contracted leukemia during his senior year and died two years later.

"Mars' basketball coaches at the time, Dave Skurcenski and Jeff Aiken, told us people were donating money in Jeff's name and wanted to know what they should do with it,"said Valerie Danner, Jeff Danner's sister. "My parents decided to start these alumni games as a fundraiser.

"It just took off. We never dreamed it would last this long."

Bob Danner turns 74 Jan. 1 and his wife Betty, is 72. Bob Danner played basketball at Mars when he was in high school.

All four of the couple's children, Dave, Craig, Valerie and Jeff, played basketball for the Planets as well. Valerie played for the 1976 girls team that finished 27-1, losing in the state championship game.

Dave Danner and his wife Deb, and Craig and his wife Mary, have worked with the alumni event annually as well.

"We're a basketball family," Valerie Danner said. "Our parents have loved this event. They take tickets at the door and people talk to them about basketball and games gone by. ... It's been a lot of fun for them.

"But now they're in their 70s and the people coming through the school system now never knew Jeff or know of him. It's just time to shut it down.

"When someone dies that young ... you wonder, 'What have I done to be remembered by?' ... Jeff will be remembered,"she added.

Nearly 100 former players representing 35 years of Mars basketball have played in the Danner alumni games. Fifty-five student athletes have split more than $30,000 to help offset college expenses.

Aiken, who has played in an alumni game each year but one, is a member of the event's board of trustees, along with the elder Danners, Valerie Danner, Larry McDonough, Mars softball coach Michele Goodworth and Terry Dillner.

"These alumni games have become like a holiday reunion for a lot of people,"Aiken said. "That tradition will continue. We're hoping somebody takes over the alumni game program and keeps it going.

"There's enough funds saved from past years that a Danner scholarship can continue to be awarded for a number of years."

Danner said a Mars senior boy and girl will receive a scholarship this year. The remaining $40,000 in the account could go toward a new building in the district or athletic equipmen.

"We're trying to determine the best course of action now, but (the money) will benefit the school in some lasting way,"she said.

Three alumni games are held each year, all on the same night. One women's game is followed by two men's games, with younger alumni participating in one game, older alumni in the other.

"We get 60 former players showing up for this every year,"Aiken said. "It's a tribute to the community."

"The community has totally embraced these games for years,"Danner said. "My parents have been die-hard Mars basketball fans for years, too.

"They've gone to practically every game since the early 1970s, when we started playing. It's been a good fit and a rewarding venture."

This year's games begin at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $4 for adults, $2 for students and are available at the door.