who did texas western lose to in 1966
After the NBA and Prison, William Bedford Is Now Focusing on His New Life. One slight still bothers some Texas Western players about 1966: They didnt visit the White House and appear on the Ed Sullivan Show like past NCAA champions. player in the Southeastern Conference. TWC led just 29-22 at the half but shot 60 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes and outscored Nevada 57-27 in front of 3,600 fans. 1961 - TWC trains the nation's first Peace Corps class. Princeton-Dartmouth on a Friday night in January. "If you get too high, it's a long fall down. Orsten Artis had 13 points, Nevil Shed had 11 points, eight rebounds, Bobby Joe Hill had 11 and Harry Flournoy had eight rebounds. Blacks now were recruited as reserves as well as starters. W. Stewart in the Baltimore Sun that weekend. David Lattin, who fouled out with 13:28 to go, had 13 points. 1965: Miners, Hawkeyes take first-round tourney wins. Battle of Fort Sumter. section: | slug: significance-of-texas-westerns-1966-ncaa-title-not-realized-at-first | sport: collegebasketball | route: article_single.us | Whites then thought that if you put five blacks on the court at the same And, like all of coach memory of that game to his grave," wrote his biographer, Russell Rice. Adolph Rupp, Kentuckys coach from 1930-1972, recruited almost exclusively inside Kentucky, earning the nickname The Baron of Bluegrass. Like many other coaches of the era, Rupp did not recruit African American players. The Miners improved to 3-0 in that championship season while Pan American dropped to 2-2. The Miners, who have already been selected for the NCAA Tournament, have only one regular season game left, a Saturday night date at the University of Seattle. A pool-shooting hustler from Enid, Okla., Haskins was a pragmatist on Riley referred to the night as the Emancipation Proclamation of 1966.. Trying to win a basketball game.". Johnson was having a lot of problems with segregation and all that kind of stuff., Said Lattin: No one ever said why we didnt go, and I guess it was just read between the lines and thats the way it was. Significance of Texas Western's 1966 NCAA title not realized at first Required fields are marked *. The Wildcats were coached by the legendary Adolph Rupp aka The Baron Of Bluegrass and led by All-American guards Pat Riley and Louie Dampier. "It was a thrill for meI'm kind of a young punkand to play a game with Mr. Rupp is quite an honor, let alone win it," Haskins, 36, told reporters after the game. The Miners dominated the overtime period and escaped with the win. Adolph Rupp and his Kentucky players as Texas Western puts the championship game out of reach in 1966. Miami Heat President Pat Riley Reflects on 50th Anniversary of Texas Western Win Pat Riley and his teammates on Kentucky's all-white squad lost the 1966 national championship game to little. The opening game in Wichita will pit Colorado State and the University of Houston. 1966: Miners edge Kansas, 81-80, in overtimes. mid-1970s, four of Kentucky's five starters, including Dampier and Riley, Julia Worsley never talked to her sonabout Black and white, he said. time, they would somehow revert to their native impulses.". They hadjust finished their pregame meal and Texas Western coach Don Haskins had corneredhis big center David Lattin with a demand. By the time the game was played, institutional racial segregation had been outlawed in the U.S., the result of theCivil Rights Act of 1964. This was a landmark night and although the 1954 Brown vs Board of Education decision and Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed racial segregation in the public school system, it was still common to find all-white college sports teams, particularly in the South. Iowa narrowly avoided an upset at the hands of Arkansas as Gerry Jones got a tip in at the buzzer for the victory. Jerry Armstrong came off the bench to defend and slow Jerry Chambers and help the Miners reach Saturday night's championship game against No. I am so angry. Athletes who had What am I going to History of Texas - Wikipedia Mississippi had several blacks on their teams. 1965: Miners beat Fresno State 75-73 in game 5. A crowd of 5,106, then called the largest crowd to see a basketball game in Memorial Gym, roared its appreciation as the Miners soared away to a 50-20 halftime lead and then went on to improve their record to 9-0 on the season. Hill played the second half, scored 17 points and got the Miner offense rolling, leading them to their sixth straight victory, a commanding 83-65 decision over Fresno State. the sportswriters on press row. Bobby Joe Hill led the Miners with 20 points. The Disney movie took liberties. every Southern conference, even the SEC, had integrated basketball teams. We took them out of that rhythm and they couldn'tadjust to the way we were playing them," he said. Texas Western met that Saturday night, March 19, 1966, in the University of 1966: TWC edge Sun Devils for 19th straight. But, as Geoffrey C. Ward writes in "Unforgivable Blackness," Johnson's unapologetic. Texas Western overcame a slow start and a cold shooting night from the floor to edge Fresno State College, 75-73. 3 of 13. David Lattin and Willie Worsley made free throws and Hill made a driving layup. All-white leagues like the Atlantic Coast Conference, Southwestern Conference, and Southeastern Conference became integrated within the next two years. How Texas Western's 1966 national championship changed college - NCAA quickly. The Miners finished their season at 28-1 after dumping Kentucky 72-65 Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd of 14,253 fans in Cold Field House in College Park, Md. 1966: TWC, Cincinnati defense to clash in NCAA. There wereno racial slurs from Kentucky players. Willie Worsley had 14, Bobby Joe Hill 13 and Willie Cager 10 points to pace the Miners. The team was presented with keys to the city of El Paso. gave it a unique opportunity, had been pushing Rupp to recruit a black. The Miners led by five with 1:17 to go in regulation but Kansas scrambled back to tie it 69-69 and force overtime. Texas Western Upsets Kentucky for N.C.A.A. On the other side of the track sat another goal. 1966: TWC smack Chiefs, continue winning streak. Orsten Artis had 15 points, eight rebounds. Coach Haskins didn't think that made any sense. "It was a And yet, that game did more to bring a country together than those young players knew at the time. Harry Flournoy. The Miners improved to 20-0 on the season and coach Don Haskins got his 100th career victory against only 25 losses. It was the first. It was a special beginning to a special season. Texas Western ripped Nevada 86-49 Wednesday night, Dec. 22, to easily win the Mississippi Valley Cage Classic in Rockland, Ill. Harry Flournoy had 13 points, 17 rebounds and David Lattin managed 11 points, despite fouling out with 9:26 to play. Kentucky," wrote the Sun's James H. Jackson. probably never crossed Don's mind," said his assistant, Moe Iba. READ MORE: Linda Brown From Historic Brown v. Board Case Passes Away. There's not much drama, very little passion, and, in Kentucky, ranked first in the nation, lost its undefeated season by falling to Tennessee 69-62 that Saturday afternoon. Oswald, realizing changing times and the school's border-state geography Texas Westerns coach Don Haskins, who recruited black players, made sure it didnt happen. Harry Flournoy had 18 rebounds and Nevil Shed had 10. That move by a bearish white man didn't come without controversy. The Story Behind A Rap About The 1966 Texas Western Team Then he walked out of my room.". The squad also had four Anglo-Americans (Jerry Armstrong, Louis Baudoin, Dick Meyers, and Togo Railey and one Mexican-American Dave Palacio). Three on the road. Willie Worsley added 11 points for Texas Western. Annexing Texas (article) | Khan Academy Orsten Artis had 14 points, seven rebounds and Willie Worsley had 14 points and Harry Flournoy had seven rebounds. You can navigate days by using left and right arrows. I wasnt out to be a pioneer when we played Kentucky, Texas Western coach Don Haskins told the Los Angeles Times years later. Afterward, he realized he hadnt shaken hands with his worthy opponents. racial matters. been directed to small black schools now were being lured to major state Willie Worsley, Harry Flournoy, Orsten Artis, Nevil Shed and Willie Cager standing. The Miners ran their record to 8-0 with a dominating second half performance. Haskins stormed in, smelling of the cigarettes he'd smoked that day. Haskins, who died in 2008, said he wasnt trying to make a social statement but simply starting his best players. In fact, until Texas Western coach Don Haskins did. Still, Haskins took it a step further than schools in the south were doing and heplayed his Black players. "The legend of Texas Western: journalism and the epic sports spectacle that wasnt. He and his all-white Kentucky program were not only the epitome of college [5] and inspired the book and film Glory Road. '", "The Miners, who don't worry much about defense but try to pour the ball Cager scored in the lane, was fouled and made the free throw to put the Miners up 74-70 in overtime. 1966 NCAA tournament: Bracket Rupp, who retired in 1972 with a 876-190 record, won four national championships and one NIT title. 1965: TWC takes second win of young season. And yet, what Texas Western accomplished that day in March 1966slowly andquietly made an impact, a ripple effect that spread year after yearand only echoed more loudly as time passed. I feel embarrassed by it., Lattin said Cager has talked about writing a controversial book for 25 years. He was also certain his team would secure the championship. The hate came from both sides. pic.twitter.com/QixgpCRVA7. Willie Cager scored in the second overtime to put the Miners up 73-71 and Nevil Shed made two free throws to push the Miners to a 75-71 lead. NCAA officials, the referees, the coaches, the cheerleaders and almost all UTEP Celebrates 50th Anniversary Otherwise, games As a matter of fact, when Haskins was unloading the moving truck into his El Paso home after taking the job, one of the teams players that he inherited,Nolan Richardson, who would go on to become a legendary national championship-winning coach at the University of Arkansas in the 1990s, showed up to welcome and help him get situated. "People got to see this for the first time," said Gragg. When the game was over and Texas Western was thevictor, the players didn't shake hands. Worsleywas a 5-6 basketball phenom, an only child raised by a single mother who cleaned the floors and bathrooms of white people's houses and workeda second job at a Chinese restaurant. Bobby Joe Hill and Harry Flournoy added 12 points each, and Flournoy led the Miners with 14 rebounds. 2023 www.indystar.com. But what Haskins did was key, saidRichard Pierce, a professor and historian at the University of Notre Dame. Kansas scored again but Cager took a pass from Hill inside and scored and the Miners were up 81-75. Don Haskins, 78; basketball coach was first to win NCAA title with 5 The Miners tried to even things with shot after shot down the stretch. In 2006, the movie Glory Road, depicting the significance of this game, was released. But the Miners raced back, took a 45-39 lead and never looked back. He was just coaching the only way he knew how. The Shadow League is a narrative company. Your email address will not be published. Their tenacity paid off, and Texas Western won the game 72 - 65. March Madness fans will remember the 2020 tournament as the competition that never happened. Have all theAfrican American players come to your room. The team was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007 Ray suggested It led to the integration of college sports. Texas Western simply crushed East Texas State in the second half on the way to a 73-51 win on a Thursday night, Dec. 9, in game two of that 1965-66 championship season. Reach her via email: dbenbow@indystar.com. Willie Cager led the Miners in scoring with 18 points. Texas Western smothered New Mexico State early and raced away for an easy 73-56 win over the Aggies on Wednesday night, March 2, 1966, in Las Cruces. On this date in 1966, Texas Western (now called UTEP) becomes the first team to start 5 African-Americans in the NCAA Tournament title game, beating a Kentucky team (72-65) that included Pat Riley. 1949 - College of Mines name changed to Texas Western College of the University of Texas. For example, when they won the championship no one brought out a ladder for them to cut down the net. "That game was the catalyst that opened athletic, academic and employment doors for those who followed us. In an arena filled with white cheerleaders, referees, and officials, it seemed impossible that an all-black team just won the NCAA title. But after Texas Western won, amid the shrieks of joy and fanfare and the cutting of nets,Lattin remembers looking over at the reporters on press row. Writing a decade later in his book, "Sports in America", James Michener First of all, we came from nowhere and no one expected us to be there. "I kind of understoodwhat we were getting into.". How I wasgoing to get back to see my mother.". According to longtime Kentucky assistant Harry Lancaster's autobiography, So, when it came to the championship game, Worsley said he wasn't thinking about Kentucky being white. You were led to believe that Don Haskins played by Gig Harbor High School grad Josh Lucas coached Texas Western to the NCAA title a year removed from. Seattle, Wash. -Seattle pulled the second major college basketball upset of the day when they edged Texas Western's second-ranked Miners, 74-72, here Saturday night, ending the Miner winning streak at 23.Texas Western was the only major undefeated college basketball team in the nation for a few hours. 1 ranked Kentucky team 72-65. pic.twitter.com/Lmk67DtL3o. Sportswriters who had never seen Texas Western play until that weekend and Nevil Shed had 11 points and 17 rebounds in the game and guard Willie Worsley added 10 more points. just 38 percent. And already on the team when Haskins arrived was Nolan Richardson, who went on tobecome the first Black coach at a major university in the south at Arkansas. I was completely and totally shocked, Lattin said. We strive for accuracy and fairness. 2001, you'll see more athletic talent at many high school games. Linda Brown From Historic Brown v. Board Case Passes Away, Did Somebody Say Sweep? MINERS WIN, 72-65. Texas Revolution - Wikipedia The closer Texas Western (see cover) came . "`Nigger ball' they used to call it. David Lattin added 11 points and Bobby Joe Hill had 10. Lattin drove the lane and dropped in a layup just 54 seconds into the game, giving the Miners a 6-4 lead a lead they would not relinquish. Get their watches. How can you talk to these black guys like that?" David Lattin had 16 points, 12 rebounds, Nevil Shed had 12 points, 10 rebounds and Harry Flournoy had 12 rebounds. The Lobos came right back and took a 58-56 lead with 1:04 to play. ESPN Classic - Texas Western's 1966 title left lasting legacy and a great villain must meet. Hill made one more free throw in the closing seconds and Cincinnati's heave from past midcourt was not close. Its my legacy. Changing the day will navigate the page to that given day in history. Those words, though, he never once felton the court in that game. In College Park, Maryland onMarch 19, 1966,underdog Texas Western College defeats Kentucky, 72-65, in the NCAA mens college basketball finalthefirst NCAA title for an all-Black starting five. For the next four years he was at Texas Western, the woman would pick up Worsley every Sunday from campus and take him to her house for dinner. A crowd of just over 5,000 gathered at Las Cruces High more than half of them Miner fans to watch TWC improve to 23-0 on the season. As the 1960s were an explosion of unrest, Pat Riley said college basketball at the time was"the toy department of human affairs when it compared to what was going on in society.". Texas Western made its first big statement of the season by crushing fourth-ranked Iowa 86-68 on Thursday night, Dec. 30, 1965 in the championship game of the Southwestern Sun Carnival Basketball Tournament. Don Haskins portrayed by Josh Lucas, head coach of Texas Western College (now known as University of Texas at El Paso or UTEP), coached a team with an all-black starting lineup, a first in NCAA history. "I wasn't out to be a pioneer when we played Kentucky," Haskins told The Los Angeles Times later in his career. Coach Haskins, I loved him very much. "'I'm so happy to have beena part of it," Riley said, "even on the losing side.". 1 person. as Haskins had suggested, slammed a forceful dunk over Kentucky's Riley. And three years before Rupp told reporters five Black players couldn't beat five white players, the Alabama National Guard forced Gov. The Miners nursed the lead, pulling ahead to stay when Hill converted Bobby Joe Hill opened that championship season by driving down the lane and dropping in a layup about a minute into the action.
who did texas western lose to in 1966