David Lattin had nine points, four rebounds before fouling out with still 9:33 left to play in the game. team had ever started five blacks in an NCAA championship game. Willie Worsley and Willie Cager had eight pints each. "The fact that he was doing something historic by playing five blacks, that Linda Brown From Historic Brown v. Board Case Passes Away, Did Somebody Say Sweep? Coach Haskins, I loved him very much. 1966. It was a Landmark Night. The Miners shot just 30.3 percent from the field but outrebounded the Rams 48-31. Bobby Joe Hill and Harry Flournoy added 12 points each, and Flournoy led the Miners with 14 rebounds. A tight-knit group of blacks, whites and one Hispanic, the Miners played their way to the NCAA championship game against Adolph Rupp's No. 1966: AP rates TWC ninth in poll; Miners Defeat Tulsa. 1 ranked Kentucky team 72-65. pic.twitter.com/Lmk67DtL3o. Texan Jack Johnson (literally) fought his way into the white boxing world at the turn of the 20th Century. "(He said) `You Texas Western ripped Nevada 86-49 Wednesday night, Dec. 22, to easily win the Mississippi Valley Cage Classic in Rockland, Ill. Nevil Shed had to hoist up Willie Worsley so he could do the honors. 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. Although the uprising was part of a larger one . That was about it. Texas Western's 1966 season recap - El Paso Times You can navigate days by using left and right arrows. Their Coach Haskins did say he had some threatening mail and phone calls. Shed had 11 and Harry Flournoy had 10 points, 10 rebounds. it's a wonder I didn't say something to him about it. Articles with the HISTORY.com Editors byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen. Long before he became a shoe marketer who landed black basketball players million-dollar endorsement deals, Sonny Vaccaro listened to Texas Western-Kentucky on the radio from Pittsburgh. Black players were no longer taboo, and basketball was never the same. 11 important details you might not know about UTEP's historic - NCAA Kentucky, ranked first in the nation, lost its undefeated season by falling to Tennessee 69-62 that Saturday afternoon. So, when it came to the championship game, Worsley said he wasn't thinking about Kentucky being white. History of Texas - Wikipedia It looks more like It was March 19, 1966, the night a team with five black starters made history by winning a national championship. The team won the national championship in 1966, becoming the first team with an all-black starting lineup to do so. Texas Western defeats Kentucky in NCAA final - History "It was quite clear after March 1966 that Southern basketball teams would The Miners roster consisted of seven African-Americans. 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. I never knew that. Title. There's not much drama, very little passion, and, in Texas Western celebrated. But in the south, it was still rare to find a college sports team that wasn't all white. "Still, I'd seen enough," said Lattin, who went on to later write thebook "Slam Dunk to Glory." At Northern colleges, where the unwritten rule for coaches had been, "Two probably wonder what all the fuss is about. The name Texas derives from tysha, a word in the Caddoan language of the . "Nevil (Shed)I'll never forget him saying back then," Riley said. The Texas Western Miners did make history, with an all-black starting five winning the national title in 1966. The winners of the two games advance to Lubbock for the NCAA Regional Tournament Friday and Saturday. By then, even deep-South SEC schools like Auburn and Determined to put an end to it, Haskins fielded an all-black team on that fateful night. Later that year, when he and Unusual for its time, the NCAA broadcast the game in black and white on TV, as the New York Times reports. New Mexico led Texas Western 37-21 at the half and led by 20 points with 14:03 to play. The team was eventually inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Of Fame. A member of Rupps top-ranked all-white team, Riley scored 19 points for Kentucky that night. The Miners then turned on the gas, cutting the deficit to 10 points with 6:58 to go. How can you talk to these black guys like that?" The crowd is white. Hill faked right, went left and took the inbounds pass. Kentucky was a prohibitive favorite in the 1966 national championship game: think Sonny Liston versus Cassius Clay in Miami in 1964, Mike Tyson against Buster Douglass in Tokyo in 1990 and 40th Street Black versusBootney FarnsworthinLets Do It Again. The lead in Saturday's game changed hands 20 times as the two teams went back and forth. I know we didnt approach the game thinking about race, and I dont think the Kentucky team approached it as a racial game either., Texas Western player: Don Haskins was prejudiced. But then the Miners' full-court pressure kept the Aggies from getting the ball across mid-court for the next two minutes. But the Miner defense held the Golden Hurricane scoreless for almost five minutes and that led to a 38-25 TWC halftime lead. Fifty years ago, Texas Western started five black players Willie Worsley, Orsten Artis, Bobby Joe Hill, David Lattin and Harry Flournoy against Kentucky in the N.C.A.A. It was Arizona State's worst home loss in 10 years. But before Haskins arrived in El Paso for the 1961season, the college had already been recruiting Black players. Florida State started five 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. 1965: Miners outlast Weber for fourth win in row. Then he walked out of my room.". Orsten Artis led the Miners with 22 points. March 17, 2016 at 9:55 a.m. EDT. basketball at the time, but the ideal foils for Haskins and Texas Western. Haskins start at least one white player. championship game on. The top rebounder for the Miners was Flournoy with 11. That, again, was nearly opposite the reality. 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. What happened to the 1966 Texas Western basketball team? So they could cut down the nets. quickly. UTEP Library Research Guides: UTEP History: Timeline TWC held the Chiefs to just 37.3 percent shooting and outrebounded them 40-32. The team was immortalized in the 2006 film Glory Road. But the Miners came right back, took the lead and led 43-37 at the half and never trailed again. Why? It led to the integration of college sports. had not earned degrees. White and Hill exchanged free throws and the Miners led 79-73. Kentucky defeated Auburn 115-78 Saturday to improve to 14-0. 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]. Whether it happened or not, five The Broncos did not pick up their last two points until making a pair of free throws with one second remaining in the game. Blacks now were recruited as reserves as well as starters. I didnt say I dislike these guys. Friends noted that even as he was dying with cancer in a Lexington hospital It had been a year since the voting rights marches from Selma to. That shouldnt be significant one way or the other, except that many people make it noteworthy with snickers about the ethnic makeup of the team.. 1965: Miners take opening game, beat ENMU. Haskins went on to produce many more winning teams and NBA stars before retiring from UTEP in 1999. Bobby Joe Hill and David Lattin each had 18 points and Willie Cager added 10. "There was a certain style of play whites expected from blacks," said Perry Texas Western, ranked 6th in the nation, extended its unbeaten streak to 13-0 making the Miners one of only two unbeaten teams in the nation and, unknowingly, keeping them on a collision course with 13-0 Kentucky in the national championship game. Texas Western led 32-27 at the half and held on to a 60-59 lead with 1:56 to play. But what Haskins did was key, saidRichard Pierce, a professor and historian at the University of Notre Dame. Riley has one regret about that game, and it's not the loss. I made a point to listen to it for some strange reason, Vaccaro said. When the game was over and Texas Western was thevictor, the players didn't shake hands. The Miners improved to 20-0 on the season and coach Don Haskins got his 100th career victory against only 25 losses. Orsten Artis had 13 points and Harry Flournoy led all rebounders with 18. They were basketball players, who were still pretty single-minded, focused on basketball. They won their games by an average of 15.2 points. Texas Western, 19-0, and Kentucky, 20-0, were the only two undefeated teams in the nation at this point. As Texas Western, the Miners won the 1966 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. "It's just one of those things that sticks out to me about that game.". implied, needed the steadying hand of a white teammate. I covered Texas Western's win over Kentucky. Here's how I saw history. "No longer couldthe excuse be used that Blacks were not smart enough, were undisciplined, could not work under pressure,could not follow directions and were not equipped to function on our own," Flournoy, a Texas Western starting five from Gary, Ind., wrotein his biography for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. This guy could jump out of the gym. '", "The Miners, who don't worry much about defense but try to pour the ball The Miners dominated the overtime period and escaped with the win. The movie Glory Road was so loose with facts that it trivializes the long road that it took to integrate the game and turns it into a sort of a fairy tale, Chicago Sun Times columnist Ron Rapoport told NPR in 2006. The Miners ran their record to 8-0 with a dominating second half performance. 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. What Texas Western's Black players and white coach did in 1966 David Lattin had 16 points, 15 rebounds. Who did the Texas Western Miners lose to Seattle or Tulsa? It was as if history demanded that for change finally to occur, a great hero Nevil Shed led the Miners with 17 points and Hill had 16. 1966: TWC beats ASU, 84-67, breaks Tempe jinx. Required fields are marked *. All rights reserved. Hill led the Miners with 18 points. In his time at Texas Western/UTEP, he compiled a 719-353 record, suffering only five losing seasons. of a bitch is ordering me to get some niggers in here. Julia Worsley barked at her son when he told her Haskins wanted him to play at Texas Western. characterized the game as "one of the most wretched (stories) in the history NBA Hall of Fame Coach Pat Riley played a key role in the historic matchup thats been immortalized in movies and books. The game began with a message. three came within a semester of their degrees and have not suffered because "I'm proud of the way they came back after being 11 points down. 2023 www.indystar.com. The 1965-66 Texas Western Miners basketball team represented Texas Western College, now the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), led by Hall of Fame head coach Don Haskins. Rupp crossed paths at a sports banquet in Ohio, the younger coach nearly I want to talk to them. 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. BHM 2019: The Story of Texas Western's Historic 1966 National Title - SLAM It was discouraging, but you had to consider the source.. It was a special beginning to a special season. sometimes embellishing his excuses with hints that Texas Western somehow had I was simply playing the best players on the team, and they happened to be Black.. "Sports wasa vehicle through which African Americans could compete with whites on an equitable playing field," he said. They never trailed again. Walt Wesley, the 6-foot-11 Kansas center, scored first in overtime but the Miners' David Lattin scored off a rebound with 3:02 to play, tying the game at 71-71. "Isay it with love becauseyou couldn't tell the 12th person from the No. Nevil Shed made a free throw with 10:18 left in the first half to give the Miners a 10-9 lead. 1-ranked Kentucky Wildcats, an all-white team. Texas Western edged Fresno State 75-73 on Friday night, Dec. 17, 1965 with an injured Bobby Joe Hill watching from the sidelines. Did The Flock Sign Him Or Does He Have A New Trolling Target. time, they would somehow revert to their native impulses.". players he did recruit -- like Kentuckians Butch Beard and Wes Unseld -- That was it.". 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. Keep acting nonchalant. Texas Western smothered Tulsa defensively on Monday night, Jan. 3, 1966 the day the Miners first moved into the Associated Press national rankings. Two of Worsley's friends, Cager and Shed, were playing there, too. contest, in fact, that its starting time was 10 p.m., it wasn't carried by a Dan Koeck for The New York Times . In fact, until Texas Western coach Don Haskins did. 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. Rupp, after his first meeting with Oswald, told Lancaster, "Harry, that son NCAA officials, the referees, the coaches, the cheerleaders and almost all How about that? All rights reserved. The color of the players' skin wasn't even mentioned in newspaper articles that followed. A fireball was seen hurtling over Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona early Thursday, April 27, and videos show it exploded into multiple pieces before vanishing in the dark. It was the first. at Texas Westerns offense was tougher to guard and they played under control for the whole game.. The Miner defense was again strong, holding the Wildcats to just 36.4 percent shooting from the field. 1966: TWC nips Pan American, stays unbeaten. On the other side of the track sat another goal. college sports took a great leap forward. The Miners, on the strength of their 86-68 win over No. Riley referred to the night as the Emancipation Proclamation of 1966.. MINERS WIN, 72-65. The Miners overwhelmed Oklahoma City 89-74 Monday night, March 7, 1966, in the NCAA Tournament in Wichita, Kans. Haskins coached until 1999, never reaching another Final Four. was a senior buyer with El Paso Natural Gas Co. The win was the Miner's fifth of the season without a loss at Memorial Gym Friday night. On the Miners' second possession, he took a pass from Bobby Joe Hill and, What Lattin noticed immediately: No blacks on either team. On February 6, 2016, the now University Of Texas El Paso Miners held a reunion for the 1966 players at the Don Haskins Center. The other "I kind of understoodwhat we were getting into.". Those words, though, he never once felton the court in that game. Mullens, then Texas Western's sports-information director. But does the film ("Glory Road" is being released by Disney, the parent company of . [1] white starter was necessary for success. Texas Western was never threatened and never trailed against Pan American Saturday night, Dec. 11, 1965, in front of 4,500 fans in Memorial Gym. "The running, gunning Texas The squad also had four Anglo-Americans (Jerry Armstrong, Louis Baudoin, Dick Meyers, and Togo Railey and one Mexican-American Dave Palacio). 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. Lattin and roommate Bobby Joe Hill sitting on their beds. 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. consecutive steals from Kentucky's guards. The Miners shot 50.8 percent from the field and held the Aggies to just 34.1 percent. We publish narratives intentionally and specifically to enlighten and transform the world. That just didn't happen in those days of college basketball. The third-ranked Miners received word this week they were given an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. No problem. The Texas-Indian wars were a series of conflicts between settlers in Texas and the Southern Plains Indians during the 19th-century. The victory, according to sportswriters, analysts and prognosticators was a watershed event because it encouraged other predominantly white schools to recruit African-American players, ending years of shameful and evil segregation. Rupp had only one black player on his rosters in his 41 years of coaching in Lexington. [1] The Miners only lost one game, a road loss to Seattle by two points. Curiously, while Oswald had been prodding Rupp, Texas Western president Hill made one more free throw in the closing seconds and Cincinnati's heave from past midcourt was not close. Who did Texas Western lose to in 1966? - Ask About Coin "People got to see this for the first time," said Gragg. have to change or become increasingly noncompetitive nationally," wrote David Lattin scored just one point in the first half but finished with 19 points to lead the Miners. Elusive point guard Bobby Joe Hill led the Miners with 16 points, including four buckets on quick drives down the middle for layups. "I had it pretty good," he said. Harry Flournoy had a huge game with 14 points, 14 rebounds. As Worsleystood in the airport in New York City to fly out to El Paso, he was nervous. David Lattin had 20 points, 15 rebounds. Rupp, who retired in 1972 with a 876-190 record, won four national championships and one NIT title. 1 person. Orsten Artis had 15, Nevil Shed and David Lattin had 13 points each. David Lattin led Texas Western to a comfortable 74-63 win over Weber State Tuesday night, Dec. 14, in front of 3,875 fans in Memorial Gym. UTEP outrebounded South Dakota 65-35. violent game. Seattle University held off the final Miner onslaught to defeat Texas Western 74-72 Saturday night, March 5, 1966, to end the undefeated season in front of 11,557 fans in Seattle. It had been a goal of the National Association forthe Advancement of Colored People for decades. True Story Of Glory Road: Texas Western Shocks Kentucky In 1966 and a great villain must meet. Texas Western appeared to be dead in the water with 14 minutes to play Saturday night, Feb. 12, 1966, trailing New Mexico by 20 points. As with most Hollywood sports biopics, although based on actual events, there are many inaccuracies in the movie. A crowd of 5,399 packed Memorial Gym and spilled over into the auxillary gym to watch on closed circuit television. 1961 - TWC trains the nation's first Peace Corps class. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc. site: media | arena: collegebasketball | pageType: stories | The Miners improved to 26-1 on the season with the win over Kansas while the Jayhawks ended their season at 23-4. Whether Texas Western-Kentucky deserved this much significance in social history is debatable. How many black players did Texas Western have on the team? "One day, Haskinsinvited aBlack guy over to play with him," Lattin said Haskins told him. Conflict between the Plains Indians and the Spanish began before other European and Anglo-American settlers were encouragedfirst by Spain and then by the newly Independent Mexican governmentto colonize Texas in order to provide a protective-settlement . "It was like they were sitting theredazed," said Lattin, who, with Willie Worsley, arethe only two starting playersstill alive. After the NBA and Prison, William Bedford Is Now Focusing on His New Life. Texas Western and Kentucky are the only two unbeaten teams remaining in the nation. Then Haskins turned to them and said they needed to go to bed, to rest up. 1949 - College of Mines name changed to Texas Western College of the University of Texas. He was just coaching the only way he knew how. 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. quote of the tournament when he was talking about Texas Western," wrote John No longer would we be kept out of mainstream America.". It was totally different from my perspective. And four when behind", things changed 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. But it was not enough for the Jayhawks. 1965: Texas Western shocks Iowa in Sun Meet final. The legendary Miner defense took over after that, allowing Eastern New Mexico just two field goals in the first half and holding the visitors to a paltry 20.8 percent shooting from the field. The following season, several college teams started to integrate. Texas Western won 72-65 in the title game. outside the Southwest despite its 27-1 record and its No.3 ranking. The hate came from both sides. I feel embarrassed by it., Lattin said Cager has talked about writing a controversial book for 25 years. But the Miners raced back, took a 45-39 lead and never looked back. Orsten Artis became a detective sergeant in Gary, Ind., and Bobby Joe Hill 1966 NCAA tournament: Bracket, scores, stats, records Their tenacity paid off, and Texas Western won the game 72 65. In 1966 his team won the NCAA tournament over the Wildcats of the University of Kentucky, coached by Adolph Rupp. Whites then thought that if you put five blacks on the court at the same The further we got away from the game, the more it was talked about.. I knew it as the championship game. American sports championship would be contested by one team that was The game was played during an era of racial unrest and as the civil rights movement was gaining power. In this March 19, 1966, file photo, Texas Western basketball coach Don Haskins, second from left, and players celebrate after winning the NCAA basketball championship in College Park, Md.. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. 3 of 13. Confederate flag as the Wildcats' five white players line up for the opening Your email address will not be published. Shed and Flournoy led the Miners in rebounding with 10 each. athletics remained segregated. It was like they just sat there, 'What are we going to write about?'". The clutch victory kept the 6th-ranked Miners' undefeated season alive, improving their record to 16-0 in front of an excited crowd of 8,030 fans. The U.S. Constitution does not specifically address the secession of states, and the issue was a . That was exciting for him to do that, Armstrong said. and Louie Dampier, were small, quick and athletic. Texas Western opened what would ultimately become the legendary 1965-66 basketball season by crushing Eastern New Mexico 89-38 on a Saturday night in Memorial Gym. "'I wish I could have done one thing and I didnt do it. I had a couple. In the 1966-67 season, 4 Iowa, were ranked ninth in the nation on that first Monday of 1966. Orsten Artis led the Miners with 18 points. have played five kids from Mars if they were his best five players.". The Miners, ranked fourth in the nation, improved to 17-0 on the season with Thursday's win. Haskins had grownup in Enid, Oklahoma, where a railroad track separated Black neighborhoods from white ones. He didnt treat African-American guys differently than white guys.. Sign up to receive The Shadow League Newsletter in your inbox. And, like all of coach Nevil Shed had 14 points, nine rebounds. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. disciplined game of them all.". Lattin had 12, Artis and Harry Flournoy had 10 each. If basketball ever took a turn, that was it," said Nolan Richardson, the Arkansas coach In fact, the opposite was true. The closer Texas Western (see cover) came . David Lattin led Texas Western to a comfortable 74-63 win over Weber State Tuesday night, Dec. 14, in front of 3,875 fans in Memorial Gym. 1965: Miners, Hawkeyes take first-round tourney wins. The Miners got off to a slow start and actually trailed 11-8 six minutes into the game. On Mar. No big deal. Texas Western ran over Arizona State 84-67 Thursday night, Jan. 27, 1966, in Tempe, Ariz., protecting its national ranking and extending its unbeaten streak. Willie Worsley can't disagree Haskins' starting five were the best players on the team. Five minutes into the game, the Miners led 17-4. Fifty years ago, Texas Western started . The Team - University of Texas at El Paso Still, Rupp held out. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Orsten Artis led Texas Western with 18 points, followed by Bobby Joe Hill with 15, Willie Worsley with 14 and David Lattin with 10. Pat Riley Recalls Historic March Madness Moment in Kentucky's Loss to The Miners never trailed and led this game 45-21 at the half on their way to setting up a meeting with Nevada in Wednesday night's championship game. 2 transfer Max Abmas commits to Texas. The watershed game highlighted the end of racial segregation in college basketball. Nevil Shed led Texas Western with 23 points. Haskins deserves plenty of credit for how he recruited and utilized his Black players especially guys like Bobby Joe Hill from Michigan, Harry Flourney from Gary, Indiana, Houstons David Lattin and Willie Worsley, a 5-foot-6 phenomenon out of DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, NY but Texas Western had African-Americans on the roster before he even arrived on campus. Texas Westerns players came from all over the country to El Paso, Texas. 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.
