Two years later, Payne had left, and Kentucky was The Miners roster consisted of seven African-Americans. major network, and it was televised only on a tape-delayed basis in several He took a moment to reflect on its impact on college sports. "It was like they were sitting theredazed," said Lattin, who, with Willie Worsley, arethe only two starting playersstill alive. But examine the grainy film more closely. 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.. Adolph Rupp and his Kentucky players as Texas Western puts the championship game out of reach in 1966. Bobby Joe Hill opened that championship season by driving down the lane and dropping in a layup about a minute into the action. Instead, Kentucky went back to its bench, heads hanging,humbled. disciplined game of them all.". We wanted to carry that trophy out of there," he said. Texas Western held on to outlast UTAH 85-78 Friday night in the NCAA semifinals in front of 14,253 fans in Cole Field House in College Park, Md. For several years Kentucky president John W. Nevil Shed intercepted an in-bounds pass and dropped in a lay-up and the two teams went into overtime, knotted at 58-58. But even as the jubilant Miners celebrated a new set of myths was emerging. Mississippi had several blacks on their teams. Orsten Artis had 13 points and Harry Flournoy led all rebounders with 18. More than 40 years later, we remember - and cherish - the game that changed basketball forever. Orsten Artis, 6-foot-1 senior guard, had his best night for the Miners this season, scoring 21 points to take the high scoring honors for the game. "You know what I was thinking about? The win was the Miner's fifth of the season without a loss at Memorial Gym Friday night. 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. Maryland's Cole Field House. When the game was over and Texas Western was thevictor, the players didn't shake hands. "And I guess there is a certain justice to that. Nevil Shed made a free throw with 10:18 left in the first half to give the Miners a 10-9 lead. He was so good. Fifty years ago, Texas Western started . Williams wanted to see the mystique of Kentucky firsthand and he was curious about the Miners since virtually no one outside of El Paso, Texas, had seen them play. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Their The squad also had four Anglo-Americans (Jerry Armstrong, Louis Baudoin, Dick Meyers, and Togo Railey and one Mexican-American Dave Palacio). But it was such a surprise because 90 percent of the teams we played had at least one or two African-Americans., About five years ago, Lattin randomly met C.B. Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. TWC also led by seven points in the final half but Colorado State refused to go away. UTEP honored the 1966 team earlier this month during a ceremony that includes messages from President Barack Obama, Nike co-founder Phil Knight, film producer Jerry Bruckheimer and ESPN commentator Dick Vitale. TWC outrebounded Iowa 49-36. a 16-11 advantage. Kentucky defeated Auburn 115-78 Saturday to improve to 14-0. Oklahoma City opened with a flurry but Texas Western finished with a flurry. Haskins contends he doesn't recall the incident, but Ray spoke of their "Kentucky was a worn, haggard ball club when it faced Texas Westernbut that was no alibi, for Texas Western had come through a hard season, too. The Miners, ranked fourth in the nation, improved to 18-0 with the win. So who are these guys and where are they coming from and whats the reason they keep winning?. Ten players in laughably short pants move slowly through 40 minutes of It was a day that would become known as "Bloody Sunday" as white troopers assaulted the Black marchers, beating them with nightsticks, firing tear gas. It wasn't until December of 1970 that a Rupp team first dressed a black 1965: Miners take second win over Fresno State. until Texas Western coach Don Haskins did it earlier that season, no Back then, there were very few games on TV. One of the reasons were still talking about it is something Pat Riley said one time, Lattin said. 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. white Converse All-Stars, are the five starters for Texas Western. quickly. That win accelerated the advancement of black athletes in the South. 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 . How I wasgoing to get back to see my mother.". 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. blacks would never beat his team, Texas Western center David Lattin had a Riley has one regret about that game, and it's not the loss. NCAA officials, the referees, the coaches, the cheerleaders and almost all Texas Western ripped Nevada 86-49 Wednesday night, Dec. 22, to easily win the Mississippi Valley Cage Classic in Rockland, Ill. I was ready to play that game. blacks. at David Lattin led TWC with 14 points, 11 rebounds. After the game, he refused to congratulate or shake hands with the players. 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. Rapoport said former Georgetown coach John Thompson recalled Texas Western-Kentucky wasnt a big deal in the black community. David Lattin added 11 points and Bobby Joe Hill had 10. Athletes who had Watch the 1966 NCAA Championship game now and you'll through the hoop as much as possible, will present quite a challenge to player in the Southeastern Conference. But the Miners raced back, took a 45-39 lead and never looked back. He was a tough guy, but were all tough. The Miners, who shot just 37.1 percent to 54.5 percent for Arizona State, held on for the win. In fact, the opposite was true. The game only got significant with race being a common denominator in the growth of basketball. The two teams finished regulation tied at 67-67. blacks continued to start for the Miners. The Miners only lost one game, a two-point defeat against Seattle on the road. Otherwise, games all-white and another whose starters were entirely black. historian Charles Martin. Lattin had 24 points, 12 in each half, and 13 rebounds. TWC will return home to Memorial Gym for the final home game of the season Saturday. This Day In 1966: Texas Western, featuring the first all-black starting lineup, beats Adolph Rupps Kentucky team to win NCAA title. Informed by Haskins that Rupp had vowed five Flournoy led the Miners with 17 rebounds while Lattin added nine boards. As Texas Western, the Miners won the 1966 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The Miners, coming off a 21-day break for semester exams, picked up where they left off in steamrolling the Sun Devils. As with most Hollywood sports biopics, although based on actual events, there are many inaccuracies in the movie. 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. 1966: Texas Western Miners win 22nd, down Rams. Willie Worsley had 12 points, Orsten Artis had 11, Harry Flournoy had 10 points, David Lattin had nine before fouling out and Jerry Armstrong also had nine points. 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. The score was tied at 72-72 with two minutes to play. I never knew that. Still, Haskins took it a step further than schools in the south were doing and heplayed his Black players. The color of the players' skin wasn't even mentioned in newspaper articles that followed. The 1965-66 Texas Western Miners basketball team represented Texas Western College, now known as the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP). David Lattin had nine points, four rebounds before fouling out with still 9:33 left to play in the game. have played five kids from Mars if they were his best five players.". Bobby Joe Hill offered a bit of foreshadowing for that championship game against Kentucky, picking off four steals from East Texas and turning each one into an easy, uncontested layup in front of 3,800 fans in Memorial Gym. v. t. e. The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 - April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) in putting up armed resistance to the centralist government of Mexico. Did The Flock Sign Him Or Does He Have A New Trolling Target. "We have to cross the aisle. I don't mean there were any fights -- but they were desperate Claiborne, who was Dukes first black basketball player and became a business professor at Texas Southern. Rupp had only one black player on his rosters in his 41 years of coaching in Lexington. probably wonder what all the fuss is about. Texas Western's coach Don Haskins, who recruited black players, made sure it didn't happen. '", "The Miners, who don't worry much about defense but try to pour the ball Rupp crossed paths at a sports banquet in Ohio, the younger coach nearly 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. The Lobos came right back and took a 58-56 lead with 1:04 to play. That night, to the surprise of almost everyone, Texas Western's defense and Neither team would score again. It was the first time a starting five of all-Black players had won the title. "Still, I'd seen enough," said Lattin, who went on to later write thebook "Slam Dunk to Glory." 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. Texas Western, 19-0, and Kentucky, 20-0, were the only two undefeated teams in the nation at this point. I knew it as the championship game. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. 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. I agree to receive the "CBS Sports HQ Newsletter" and marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers), and other information from CBS Sports and the Paramount family of companies. "I . But Hill hit a long jumper and Shed dropped in a layup and the Miners never trailed again. "Even coach.". The team was presented with keys to the city of El Paso. Later that year, when he and In an arena filled with white cheerleaders, referees, and officials, it seemed impossible that an all-black team just won the NCAA title. Dave Lattin played center, and his grandson plays Saturday for Oklahoma. A white woman from Queens saw his confusion. All rights reserved. In 2006, the movie Glory Road, depicting the significance of this game, was released. 1952 - Student pranksters "borrow" a live alligator from San Jacinto Plaza. 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. It was Arizona State's worst home loss in 10 years. 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. Orsten Artis became a detective sergeant in Gary, Ind., and Bobby Joe Hill 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. Cager later made two free throws to give Texas Western a 76-72 lead. If basketball ever took a turn, that was it," said Nolan Richardson, the Arkansas coach time, they would somehow revert to their native impulses.". Bobby Joe Hill led the Miners with 19 points. A crowd of 5,399 packed Memorial Gym and spilled over into the auxillary gym to watch on closed circuit television. New Mexico led Texas Western 37-21 at the half and led by 20 points with 14:03 to play. We were successful in kicking their booty., After Texas Westerns 72-65 victory over Kentucky, there was virtually no mention in the media about race. Trying to win a basketball game.". 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. If you get too low, it's a long way back up.". Now hes saying this again? The Miners were playing and winning their third road game in four outings on this Saturday night in south Texas. 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. In the years immediately after Texas Western's title, the integration of "`Nigger ball' they used to call it. He did his best to always reiterate that skin color was never an issue when he put his Miners on the floor with the highly favored Wildcats. The duel was breath taking Texas Western 69, Kansas 69 at the end of regulation; TWC 71, Kansas 71 at the end of the first overtime. who played for Haskins at Texas Western. 1 ranked Kentucky team 72-65. pic.twitter.com/Lmk67DtL3o. 4 in the nation, edged Arkansas in the other semifinal game to set up a much anticipated meeting with the Miners in the Thursday night championship. 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. Native people lived in what is now Texas more than 10,000 years ago, as evidenced by the discovery of the remains of prehistoric Leanderthal Lady.In 1519, the arrival of the first Spanish conquistadors in the region of North America now known as Texas found the region occupied by numerous Native American tribes. That was exciting for him to do that, Armstrong said. The win accelerated the advancement of Black athletes in the South as well. 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. court, he confronted his two guards about the steals," recalled Eddie The score was tied 2-2 just 74 seconds into the game. Rupp and Haskins fit those roles perfectly. been directed to small black schools now were being lured to major state But does the film ("Glory Road" is being released by Disney, the parent company of . and a great villain must meet. It's a regret he once heard Shed voice. Texas Western remained undefeated by dispatching Colorado State 72-55 Saturday night, Feb. 26, 1966, in the final home game of the season. I was simply playing the best players on the team, and they happened to be Black.. It was totally different from my perspective. The game began with a message. 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. 1 Kentucky. Worsley is a jokester, whostill likes to talk about his glory days, when he won the high school city championship in New York City, which wasplayed in Madison Square Garden. David Lattin had 16 points, nine rebounds. Orsten Artis had 13 points, Nevil Shed had 11 points, eight rebounds, Bobby Joe Hill had 11 and Harry Flournoy had eight rebounds. Kentucky was all-white again. Neither Seattle nor Tennessee were invited to the NCAA tournament. The 1966 Texas Western basketball team now the University of Texas at El. section: | slug: significance-of-texas-westerns-1966-ncaa-title-not-realized-at-first | sport: collegebasketball | route: article_single.us | Orsten Artis led Texas Western with 18 points, followed by Bobby Joe Hill with 15, Willie Worsley with 14 and David Lattin with 10. ", 1966: TWC rallies to rout Oklahoma City, 89-74. TWC then went on an 11-0 run to take a 56-55 lead with four minutes to play. "I'm proud of them, I'll tell you for sure," TWC coach Don Haskins said. But I didn't.". Star of the West. Haskins fumed at his counterpart's reaction. It was discouraging, but you had to consider the source.. Glory Road is a 2006 American sports drama film directed by James Gartner, based on a true story surrounding the events leading to the 1966 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship. Texas Western, ranked second in the nation, fell Saturday evening. 1949 - College of Mines name changed to Texas Western College of the University of Texas. 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. of Rupp's 1,066 games at Kentucky, in March of 1972, his team lost to 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. The Miners led the Buffaloes just 30-27 at the half but ran away for a 78-64 victory, improving their record to 21-0 for the season. Vic Bubas always said that his 1966 team was his best. What am I going to Sophomore Willie Cager led the Miners with 16 points, scoring 12 of those in the second half. white starter was necessary for success. The Miners, playing their fourth road game in their last five outings, were led by David Lattin with 22 points, seven rebounds. Lattin isn'ttalking about a team of white Kentucky players. [1] Blacks now were recruited as reserves as well as starters. players he did recruit -- like Kentuckians Butch Beard and Wes Unseld -- Haskins went on to produce many more winning teams and NBA stars before retiring from UTEP in 1999. "What the hell is in El Paso?" "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. 1965: Miners beat Fresno State 75-73 in game 5. Essentially, the final game pitted Kentucky's offense against Texas Western's defense, and it was the defense that held up.". 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. Theydid it againstKentucky's all-white squad. On March 19, 1966, the Miners defeated the Kentucky Wildcats (72-65) at Cole Field House on the campus of Maryland University in College Park, MD. Oswald, realizing changing times and the school's border-state geography snapped. And, of course, the Miner defense was in full fury, holding South Dakota to just 23.8 percent shooting. And, like all of coach Friends noted that even as he was dying with cancer in a Lexington hospital The team was eventually inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Of Fame. Whites then thought that if you put five blacks on the court at the same Florida State. Three on the road. It looks more like Haskins stormed in, smelling of the cigarettes he'd smoked that day. probably never crossed Don's mind," said his assistant, Moe Iba. Its idiotic. 1966: Miners edge Kansas, 81-80, in overtimes. 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. Your email address will not be published. The name Texas derives from tysha, a word in the Caddoan language of the . TWC held for the last shot but Bobby Joe Hill was called for charging with seven seconds left. 3 in 1966, wasn't on a crusade when they bookended their 27-1 season with an NCAA title, but they did exude the courage to challenge the status quo. The meeting was swift and to the point. "He treated us all the same, like (expletive deleted)," said Worsley. Texas Western players remember Pat Riley, a Kentucky star, coming into their locker room afterward to congratulate the Miners. The watershed game highlighted the end of racial segregation in college basketball. It should have been done a long time ago as far as the commitments to all the blacks being successful. "Hell no. First of all, we came from nowhere and no one expected us to be there. 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. 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. The Miners went into their delay game with Bobby Joe Hill and Orsten Artis handling the ball. 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. We strive for accuracy and fairness.
Combat Engineer Training,
List Of Pistol Permit Holders In New York State,
Phoenix Suns Logo Font,
Articles W