who did texas western lose to in 1966

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. Bobby Joe Hill led the Miners with 19 points. 1965: TWC takes 67-47 win over Pan American. According to longtime Kentucky assistant Harry Lancaster's autobiography, players he did recruit -- like Kentuckians Butch Beard and Wes Unseld -- Harry Flournoy had 19 rebounds, Shed had 12 and David Lattin had 10. quintet can do more things with a basketball than a monkey on a 50-foot "You can't measure the importance of this game and the outcome of it.". Orsten Artis had 15 points, eight rebounds. Their tenacity paid off, and Texas Western won the game 72 65. The Miners, who had beaten Arizona State 84-67 earlier in the season in Tempe, improved their record to 19-0 with the win in Memorial Gym. 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. Bobby Joe Hill had 20 points and Orsten Artis added 18. "That game was the catalyst that opened athletic, academic and employment doors for those who followed us. Bobby Joe Hill went the length of the floor to hit a jumper at the buzzer, leading Texas Western to a 68-66 win over Colorado State Friday night, Feb. 4, 1966, in Fort Collins, Colo. The players did not feel the way the coach felt," he said. "I'm proud of them, I'll tell you for sure," TWC coach Don Haskins said. and Louie Dampier, were small, quick and athletic. We strive for accuracy and fairness. The color of the players' skin wasn't even mentioned in newspaper articles that followed. "I wasn't out to be a pioneer when we played Kentucky," Haskins told The Los Angeles Times later in his career. For example, when they won the championship no one brought out a ladder for them to cut down the net. The Miners nursed the lead, pulling ahead to stay when Hill converted It wasn't a racial issue at the time. But Texas Western was faster, could pull down rebounds and steal a pass before Kentucky realized what was happening. The U.S. Constitution does not specifically address the secession of states, and the issue was a . Texas Westerns offense was tougher to guard and they played under control for the whole game.. Nevil Shed had to hoist up Willie Worsley so he could do the honors. Nevil Shed intercepted an in-bounds pass and dropped in a lay-up and the two teams went into overtime, knotted at 58-58. "They didn't know what to write. Hill made a free throw and Cincinnati scored twice, giving the Miners a 77-76 lead. The Miners held Tulsa to just 37.7 percent shooting from the field. Although the uprising was part of a larger one . We took them out of that rhythm and they couldn'tadjust to the way we were playing them," he said. "Hell, he'd Kansas scored with 22 seconds left then added two free throws with six seconds left when Lattin was called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim after a Kansas player fell beneath him. just 38 percent. Texas Western broke open a close game in the second half and raced away to take a 76-64 victory over Seattle University Thursday night, Jan. 6, 1966, in Memorial Gym. gave it a unique opportunity, had been pushing Rupp to recruit a black. A lot of stuff happened that wasnt supposed to happen, even with Don Haskins. Lattin remembers Haskins telling him so many times about that player. Rupp, stunned college basketball and upset conventional wisdom. Rupp crossed paths at a sports banquet in Ohio, the younger coach nearly But the Miners outscored the Wildcats 14-5 in the five minute overtime period. Their tenacity paid off, and Texas Western won the game 72 - 65. Battle of Fort Sumter. Dan Koeck for The New York Times . Princeton-Dartmouth on a Friday night in January. "It was like they were sitting theredazed," said Lattin, who, with Willie Worsley, arethe only two starting playersstill alive. [6] Also, they were not invited on The Ed Sullivan Show, which was customary for the NCAA Champions. The Miners improved to 26-1 on the season with the win over Kansas while the Jayhawks ended their season at 23-4. When pressed to provide examples of why he thinks Haskins was prejudiced, Cager laughed and replied, Youll have to see my book. Cager said he is releasing a book in a couple weeks. Haskins start at least one white player. Kansas scored again but Cager took a pass from Hill inside and scored and the Miners were up 81-75. NBA Hall of Fame Coach Pat Riley played a key role in the historic matchup thats been immortalized in movies and books. W. Stewart in the Baltimore Sun that weekend. Enter a date in the format M/D (e.g., 1/1), Texas Western defeats Kentucky in NCAA final, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/texas-western-defeats-kentucky-in-ncaa-finals, Elvis Presley puts a down payment on Graceland, Bodies found in Yosemite serial killer case. Texas Western held off a stiff challenge from Pan American Saturday night, Feb. 19, 1966, taking a 65-61 win in front of 1,400 fans in Edinburg, Texas. "Still, I'd seen enough," said Lattin, who went on to later write thebook "Slam Dunk to Glory." Hill led the Miners with 18 points. Kansas held for the last shot but turned it over. The aesthetics also fall short because the Miners played in front of sellout crowds in a college arena that held thousands of fans, not in some rinky-dinky high school gym with few people dotting the bleachers. Decades before he became Marylands basketball coach, Gary Williams snuck into the Texas Western-Kentucky game as a Terrapins player thanks to a friendly security guard who worked at Cole Field House. do?". Rupp's Runts, Texas Western, ranked 6th in the nation, ripped New Mexico State 104-78 in front of a standing room only crowd of 5,201 in Memorial Gym on Tuesday night, Feb. 1, 1966. No longer would we be kept out of mainstream America.". Riley had never heard of Texas Western, so he was shocked when the Wildcats lost. He loved us.". Nevil Shed led the Miners with 17 points and Hill had 16. 1966: Miner's late surge edges Lobos in overtime. blacks would never beat his team, Texas Western center David Lattin had a The Miners beat Kentucky (an all-white program until 1969) 7265 in the historic championship game, played on Saturday, March 19, at Cole Field House on the University of Maryland campus in College Park, a suburb of Washington, D.C.[2][3][4]. every Southern conference, even the SEC, had integrated basketball teams. The team was coached by Hall of Famer Don Haskins. jungle wire.". The 72-65 victory over Kentucky in College Park, Maryland is considered one of the most important in the history of college basketball, as it marked the first time that a team with five African-American starters won a title game. It first signedCharlie Brown in 1956. Chambers still managed to score 38 points in the game. Throughout the season, the Texas Western players faced racial discrimination and bullying. Kentuckywas quick and hadn't had much trouble with teams throughout the season. The state recently launched plans to tap into a new Biden administration immigration program to bring Ukrainians fleeing the war to work in the local oil industry. Back then, there were very few games on TV. I hate to hear him saying that. 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. Harry Flournoy scored nine points in the first half, seven more in the second half to lead the Miners with 16 points. been directed to small black schools now were being lured to major state You can navigate days by using left and right arrows. The game only got significant with race being a common denominator in the growth of basketball. Colorado State, which has also already been selected for the NCAA Tournament, led the Miners by five, 37-32, with 15:04 to play in the game. David Lattin, who fouled out with 13:28 to go, had 13 points. One of the reasons were still talking about it is something Pat Riley said one time, Lattin said. Texas Western, an independent from remote El Paso, was little known Coach Rupp was infamous for not allowing black men to play on his Kentucky team. The '66 team is inescapable in El Paso. David Lattin and Nevil Shed had 14 points each. "I call it a watershed moment in college athletics. David Lattin had 16 points, 12 rebounds, Nevil Shed had 12 points, 10 rebounds and Harry Flournoy had 12 rebounds. In fact, the opposite was true. "(He said) `You Joseph Ray tried to move Haskins in the opposite direction. The Miners roster consisted of seven African-Americans. Texas Western roared away to a 30-point halftime lead and cruised to a 93-56 victory over Loyola of New Orleans Wednesday night, Dec. 29, 1965, in the opening round of the Sun Bowl Basketball Tournament. "The running, gunning Texas On the other side of the track sat another goal. Kentucky defeated Auburn 115-78 Saturday to improve to 14-0. So they could cut down the nets. The Disney movie took liberties. If basketball ever took a turn, that was it," said Nolan Richardson, the Arkansas coach Just about treating people kindly. 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. Nevil Shed made a free throw with 10:18 left in the first half to give the Miners a 10-9 lead. She took his hand and walked him through the airport. On Saturday night, Dec. 18, 1965, the same two teams met again in Memorial Gym in front of 4,601 fans and a Miner team with Hill proved to be a very different team. "I had been listening to all this damn crap out of him," said Haskins. court, he confronted his two guards about the steals," recalled Eddie Hill made one more free throw in the closing seconds and Cincinnati's heave from past midcourt was not close. The hate came from both sides. 1952 - Student pranksters "borrow" a live alligator from San Jacinto Plaza. quote of the tournament when he was talking about Texas Western," wrote John But the Miners zipped quickly back and erased the lead to dump New Mexico 67-64 in an overtime affair in Albuquerque. Athletic directors began changing recruiting practices, and talent became more prevalent than race. Texas Western survived a scare Thursday night, Feb. 10, 1966, edging Arizona 81-72 in overtime in front of an overflow crowd at Memorial Gym. Few teams were recruiting black players, so it was unheard of to field an all-black team. Throughout the season, the Texas Western players faced racial discrimination and bullying. The Rams took a two-point lead in the final two minutes but a Lattin dunk leveled the game at 66-66 with 1:28 to play. The name Texas derives from tysha, a word in the Caddoan language of the . Heading into the 1966 NCAA semifinals -- this was before the corporate and catchy Final Four -- the prevailing opinion was that the second semifinal between Kentucky and Duke would decide the national champion. On the Miners' second possession, he took a pass from Bobby Joe Hill and, "'I wish I could have done one thing and I didnt do it. Fifty years later, the tributes to Texas Western (now known as the University of Texas-El Paso) keep coming. On the plane, she sat next to him and gave him bubblegum so his ears wouldn'tpop. [5] and inspired the book and film Glory Road. It was March 19, 1966, the night a team with five black starters made history by winning a national championship. until Texas Western coach Don Haskins did it earlier that season, no We wanted to carry that trophy out of there," he said. They were basketball players, who were still pretty single-minded, focused on basketball. Texas Western Upsets Kentucky for N.C.A.A. white starter was necessary for success. On March 19, 1966, fans packed Cole Field House in College Park, Maryland, to watch the matchup between Kentucky and Texas Western. The Miners, playing their fourth road game in their last five outings, were led by David Lattin with 22 points, seven rebounds. I am so angry. 1961 - TWC trains the nation's first Peace Corps class. It should have been done a long time ago as far as the commitments to all the blacks being successful. They would never trail again. March 17, 2016 at 9:55 a.m. EDT. historian Charles Martin. And what they did that night has resonated for 50 years since.. Texas Western romped past the University of South Dakota in the opening round of the Mississippi Valley Cage Classic Tuesday night, Dec. 21, in Rockland, Ill. Texas Western met that Saturday night, March 19, 1966, in the University of The squad also had four Anglo-Americans (Jerry Armstrong, Louis Baudoin, Dick Meyers, and Togo Railey and one Mexican-American Dave Palacio). Coach Haskins saved his life. 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.". Your email address will not be published. The further we got away from the game, the more it was talked about.. Harry Flournoy had 13 points, 17 rebounds and David Lattin managed 11 points, despite fouling out with 9:26 to play. Texas Western improved to 15-0 and brought the crowd to its feet over and over with the big win over rival NMSU. "For that moment in (19)66, it was simply about winning a national championship. Until that moment, at the height of the civil-rights era, no major-college consecutive steals from Kentucky's guards. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. But before Haskins arrived in El Paso for the 1961season, the college had already been recruiting Black players. There was so little madness surrounding the 1-ranked Kentucky Wildcats, an all-white team. The closer Texas Western (see cover) came . Four (Duke and Utah were the others)," said Texas Western guard Willie A white woman from Queens saw his confusion. A rematch between the two teams was played at 8 p.m. on Saturday, the following day, in Memorial Gym. quickly. Their disciplined game of them all.". The Miners advanced to play Kansas Saturday night, March 12, 1966, in the Midwest Regional finals. Then he walked out of my room.". was a senior buyer with El Paso Natural Gas Co. The 6th-ranked Miners smothered West Texas State defensively to take a 69-50 win Saturday night, Jan. 29, 1966, in Memorial Gym. The Miners ran their record to 8-0 with a dominating second half performance. Orsten Artis had 14 points, seven rebounds and Willie Worsley had 14 points and Harry Flournoy had seven rebounds. And so in that historic game that Lattinand his fellow players really didn't know was historic "we passed the ball a lot and we would shoot a lot. The Texas-Indian wars were a series of conflicts between settlers in Texas and the Southern Plains Indians during the 19th-century. Texas Western made only 34.2 percent of its shots but the Miner defense held West Texas to just 29.1 percent from the field, limiting the Buffaloes to just 50 points for the game. No.1-ranked Kentucky, meanwhile, was the run-and-gun team. The Miners improved to 20-0 on the season and coach Don Haskins got his 100th career victory against only 25 losses. Technical and creative licensing issues aside, the movie is important because it exposes the story of the team that endured racism and changed the face of college basketball to a wider audience, paying homage to an accomplishment that would radically alter the face of NCAA hoops. Orsten Artis led the Miners with 22 points. Texas Western's five black starters didn't catch the eyes of the country until they went up against an all-white Adolph Rupp coached Kentucky team in the national championship. and an Hispanic, none of whom played that night -- four graduated. racial matters. High in the bleachers, Kentucky fans wave a The team was immortalized in the 2006 film Glory Road. The Miners went into their delay game with Bobby Joe Hill and Orsten Artis handling the ball. Its my legacy. I wasnt out to be a pioneer when we played Kentucky, Texas Western coach Don Haskins told the Los Angeles Times years later. In fact, until Texas Western coach Don Haskins did. Jerry Armstrong came off the bench to defend and slow Jerry Chambers and help the Miners reach Saturday night's championship game against No. It was as if history demanded that for change finally to occur, a great hero Bobby Joe Hill opened that championship season by driving down the lane and dropping in a layup about a minute into the action. Its idiotic. tap. cheated by using ineligible players. COLLEGE PARK, Md., March 19 -- Texas Western, overlooked in preseason ratings last December, became the collegiate basketball champion for the first time by whipping long-time powerful Kentucky, 72-65, tonight in the final of the National Collegiate Athletic Association . 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. And none of them would drop. player in the Southeastern Conference. 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. would dissolve into chaos. UTEP outrebounded South Dakota 65-35. That night, to the surprise of almost everyone, Texas Western's defense and The Miners only lost one game, a two-point defeat against Seattle on the road. TWC also led by seven points in the final half but Colorado State refused to go away. In 2006, the movie Glory Road, depicting the significance of this game, was released. Kentucky was all-white again. Im sure there was a racial component in peoples minds (entering the game) that Kentucky would be this smart, really sophisticated team and run good offense, and Texas Western would run up and down the court. "No one from Kentucky ever said anything racist. But the Miner defense held the Golden Hurricane scoreless for almost five minutes and that led to a 38-25 TWC halftime lead. Texas Western smothered Tulsa defensively on Monday night, Jan. 3, 1966 the day the Miners first moved into the Associated Press national rankings. As Worsleystood in the airport in New York City to fly out to El Paso, he was nervous. In the years immediately after Texas Western's title, the integration of [1] Changing the day will navigate the page to that given day in history. Determined to put an end to it, Haskins fielded an all-black team on that fateful night. The night before that team meeting of Black players in his motel room, Lattin sat at the Cole Field House with his team and watched the first half of the Kentucky-Duke game. All rights reserved. David Lattin led the Miners with 29 points. I had a couple. White and Hill exchanged free throws and the Miners led 79-73. David Lattin had 14 points, seven rebounds. The Miners led 40-33 at the half and their defense simply smothered the Sun Devils holding them to just 39.1 percent shooting from the floor and forcing 23 turnovers. Texas Western ripped Nevada 86-49 Wednesday night, Dec. 22, to easily win the Mississippi Valley Cage Classic in Rockland, Ill. Julia Worsley barked at her son when he told her Haskins wanted him to play at Texas Western. By Devon POV Mason | Published on: February 22, 2021 Comments (0) The 1965-66 Texas Western Miners basketball team represented Texas Western College, now known as the University of Texas. 1966 NCAA tournament: Bracket TWC will return home to Memorial Gym for the final home game of the season Saturday. That was exciting for him to do that, Armstrong said. He always blamed the loss on a flu bug, on inept shooting, on the referees, A couple weeks ago, some Texas Western players returned to Cole Field House for the first time since 1966. David Lattin was a lot bigger than anybody, and the guards for Texas Western were really good. 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 196566 Texas Western basketball team faced many issues due to racism. Oh, it felt like yesterday, man, Cager said about returning to Cole Field House. "Rod Hundley, the former West Virginia and Lakers star, had the funny But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! 1965: Texas Western shocks Iowa in Sun Meet final. Don Haskins, the coach who hastened the full integration of college basketball when he started five black players for Texas Western College against an all-white University of Kentucky team and. She heldhis hand during the flight. The Miners thrilled a record crowd of 5,212 in Memorial Gym by holding Iowa without a field goal in the first 10 minutes of the game, racing away to a 21-4 lead. "It's just one of those things that sticks out to me about that game.". He was also certain his team would secure the championship. READ MORE: Linda Brown From Historic Brown v. Board Case Passes Away. On this date in 1966: Texas Western becomes the first team to start five black players in the NCAA national championship.The Miners beat Adolph Rupps all-white No. It's a regret he once heard Shed voice. March Madness fans will remember the 2020 tournament as the competition that never happened. The Wildcats were the favorite to win, despite the Miners 23-0 season. He just couldn't take it.". The Miners were playing and winning their third road game in four outings on this Saturday night in south Texas. had come to Tennessee (on the same day Seattle beat Texas Western), shot And three years before Rupp told reporters five Black players couldn't beat five white players, the Alabama National Guard forced Gov. TWC outrebounded Iowa 49-36. All-white leagues like the Atlantic Coast Conference, Southwestern Conference, and Southeastern Conference became integrated within the next two years. And yet, that game did more to bring a country together than those young players knew at the time. In Glory Road, the 2006 Disney movie about Texas Western, Miners coach Don Haskins tells his team the day before the championship that he will play only blacks the next night to make a social statement. Artis had 12 points, seven rebounds, Shed had 12 points and Harry Flournoy hhad 11 points, eight rebounds. Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. What am I going to American cities. Orsten Artis had 15, Nevil Shed and David Lattin had 13 points each. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), Current one is: March 19. memory of that game to his grave," wrote his biographer, Russell Rice. Orsten Artis had 12 points and Nevil Shed and Harry Flournoy had 10 points each. Nevil Shed had 11 points and 17 rebounds in the game and guard Willie Worsley added 10 more points. If your brains were dynamite, this place would be blown apart.. Haskins replied, Same way I do white guys.. Texas Western and Kentucky are the only two unbeaten teams remaining in the nation. Confederate flag as the Wildcats' five white players line up for the opening Rapoport said former Georgetown coach John Thompson recalled Texas Western-Kentucky wasnt a big deal in the black community. "I . Hill sat out the first half and the Miners led 34-32 at the intermission. The Miners led almost the entire game, leading by seven points twice in the first half and leading by as many as six in the second half. Rupp, after his first meeting with Oswald, told Lancaster, "Harry, that son He was just coaching the only way he knew how. Title. Texas Western took an early lead and never relinquished it on its way to a national championship. Friends noted that even as he was dying with cancer in a Lexington hospital

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