Confederate flag as the Wildcats' five white players line up for the opening 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. 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. I was very disappointed we didnt go to the White House or Ed Sullivan. snapped. David Lattin scored just one point in the first half but finished with 19 points to lead the Miners. ragamuffins. tap. Finally, after two overtime and tons of tension, Texas Western edged Kansas 81-80 in front of 8,200 breathless fans in Lubbock Memorial Auditorium on Saturday night, March 12, 1966. Get their watches. 1966: TWC dumps New Mexico State Aggies, 73-56. They were basketball players, who were still pretty single-minded, focused on basketball. "That's how coach Haskinsfound out Black guys could really play.". 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. 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. According to Lattin, Haskins heard that Cager was ill many years ago and persuaded a friend to operate on Cager for free. In fact, until Texas Western coach Don Haskins did. Determined to put an end to it, Haskins fielded an all-black team on that fateful night. 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. Bobby Joe Hill and David Lattin each had 18 points and Willie Cager added 10. The Miners made history by winning the 1966 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament, becoming the first team with an all-Black starting lineup to win an NCAA National Championship. been directed to small black schools now were being lured to major state 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 . No big deal. Through the years, before his death in 2008, Haskins repeatedlysaid he didn't play an all-Black starting five to make a social statement. 1961 - TWC trains the nation's first Peace Corps class. it's a wonder I didn't say something to him about it. It was a special beginning to a special season. In a 1991 Sports Illustrated article commemorating the 25th anniversary of the game, author Curry Kirkpatrick described Haskins screaming at one of his black players, Bobby Joe Hill, and sitting him out of practice the day before the 1966 NCAA semifinals. 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.". Bobby Joe Hill had 13 points, Orsten Artis had 10 and David Lattin, who got into first half foul trouble, had 10 points, 10 rebounds. "What a piece of history. The following season, several college teams started to integrate. 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. probably never crossed Don's mind," said his assistant, Moe Iba. His only defeat in an NCAA title game haunted Rupp. He was just coaching the only way he knew how. It had been a year since the voting rights marches from Selma to. The team was presented with keys to the city of El Paso. Between 1966 and 1985, the average and they were committed and they were more motivated than we were.". Four (Duke and Utah were the others)," said Texas Western guard Willie The game began with a message. Lattin remembers Haskins telling him so many times about that player. until Texas Western coach Don Haskins did it earlier that season, no He called the Texas Western players "loose-jointed I got mail from Blacks, saying that I was exploiting Black kids,Haskins said. On March 19, 1966, fans packed Cole Field House in College Park, Maryland, to watch the matchup between Kentucky and Texas Western. Riley was a junior starter on Rupp's Kentucky team in 1966 and, he said, these playerswere young men, barely out of that lanky teenage stage. The Miners, now 25-1 on the season, rallied from a 42-36 halftime deficit and were tied 69-69 with Cincinnati at the end of regulation. "and 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. You can navigate days by using left and right arrows. Texas Western led 42-32 at the half and held the Lions to just 19 points in the final half, improving to 2-0 on the season. The Miners only lost one game, a two-point defeat against Seattle on the road. Kentucky was all-white again. Orsten Artis had 13 points, Nevil Shed had 11 points, eight rebounds, Bobby Joe Hill had 11 and Harry Flournoy had eight rebounds. The Wildcats, whose only previous loss players he did recruit -- like Kentuckians Butch Beard and Wes Unseld -- The Miners were playing and winning their third road game in four outings on this Saturday night in south Texas. There was no all-tournament team selected. Later that year, when he and The Miners roster consisted of seven African-Americans. Texas Western and Kentucky are the only two unbeaten teams remaining in the nation. I want to talk to them. 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. He is talking about a team of aggressive, good players. 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. "There was a certain style of play whites expected from blacks," said Perry 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 Miners improved to 20-0 on the season and coach Don Haskins got his 100th career victory against only 25 losses. Whites then thought that if you put five blacks on the court at the same "I wasn't out to be a pioneer when we played Kentucky," Haskins told The Los Angeles Times later in his career. I hate to hear him saying that. 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. 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. The top rebounder for the Miners was Flournoy with 11. The squad also had four Anglo-Americans (Jerry Armstrong, Louis Baudoin, Dick Meyers, and Togo Railey and one Mexican-American Dave Palacio). A white woman from Queens saw his confusion. But the Miners zipped quickly back and erased the lead to dump New Mexico 67-64 in an overtime affair in Albuquerque. That night, to the surprise of almost everyone, Texas Western's defense and It should have been done a long time ago as far as the commitments to all the blacks being successful. That was exciting for him to do that, Armstrong said. championship. Lattinscored 16 points and had nine rebounds while Rupp's words from that press conference echoed in his mind. player in the Southeastern Conference. Rupp's lingering bitterness helped paint the Miners as urban street thugs, 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. Orsten Artis had 12 points and Nevil Shed and Harry Flournoy had 10 points each. 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. In fact, the opposite was true. 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. They are It looks more like He was a tough guy, but were all tough. In 1955, Texas Western was the first state college in Texas to integrate its undergraduate classes. That just didn't happen in those days of college basketball. Arizona led four times, each time by one point. Nevil Shed led the Miners with 17 points and Hill had 16. ", This page was last edited on 26 March 2023, at 11:13. Antonio Brown Tweets Pic Of Himself In A Baltimore Ravens Uniform. Shed led the Miners in scoring with 17 points. time, they would somehow revert to their native impulses.". Bobby Joe Hill led the Miners with 18 points. Orsten Artis had 15 points, eight rebounds. Still, Worsley said, his motherworried about him going to play college basketball in Texas. I had a couple. Haskins coached until 1999, never reaching another Final Four. After Texas Western beat Utah in the first semifinal, Lattin rushed out to watch Kentucky-Duke. I was completely and totally shocked, Lattin said. The Miners overwhelmed Oklahoma City 89-74 Monday night, March 7, 1966, in the NCAA Tournament in Wichita, Kans. Nevil Shed made a free throw with 10:18 left in the first half to give the Miners a 10-9 lead. Two years before Texas Western went on a 37-minute stretch hitting 26 of 27 shots in that NCAA championship game, Martin Luther King had given hisI Have A Dream speech. 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. 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. Willie Worsley and Willie Cager had eight pints each. Then he walked out of my room.". Your email address will not be published. Coach Haskins didn't think that made any sense. [1] Learn how your comment data is processed. But the Miners raced back, took a 45-39 lead and never looked back. Video from the game showed a Confederate flag being waved by a Kentucky fan. Claiborne, who was Dukes first black basketball player and became a business professor at Texas Southern. 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. 1966: TWC nips Pan American, stays unbeaten. Iowa, ranked No. Flournoy led the Miners with 17 rebounds while Lattin added nine boards. Now hes saying this again? Texas Western Upsets Kentucky for N.C.A.A. 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. Meanwhile, though it was never mentioned until decades later, by the "Without question, it was one of the most significant, impactful college sporting events in the history of our country.". So, when it came to the championship game, Worsley said he wasn't thinking about Kentucky being white. But Texas Western was faster, could pull down rebounds and steal a pass before Kentucky realized what was happening. Browse 69 texas western 1966 photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more photos and images. memory of that game to his grave," wrote his biographer, Russell Rice. The meeting was swift and to the point. They were known as Rupp's runts. Texas Western, an independent from remote El Paso, was little known Texas Western players remember Pat Riley, a Kentucky star, coming into their locker room afterward to congratulate the Miners. I wish at that time we could haveall just embraced each other.'". "The legend of Texas Western: journalism and the epic sports spectacle that wasnt. Lattin said Cagers remarks are idiotic and that Haskins coached black and white players the same way. But Hill hit a long jumper and Shed dropped in a layup and the Miners never trailed again. "If you get too high, it's a long fall down. Informed by Haskins that Rupp had vowed five FILE - In this March 19, 1966, file photo, Kentucky's Thad Jaracz (55) and Texas Western's David Latin (42) reach for a rebound during the first period of the NCAA men's baksetball championship game in College Park, Md. quote of the tournament when he was talking about Texas Western," wrote John Texas Westerns players came from all over the country to El Paso, Texas. Oklahoma City opened with a flurry but Texas Western finished with a flurry. Their tenacity paid off, and Texas Western won the game 72 65. The Miners, ranked fourth in the nation, improved to 18-0 with the win. 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. Writing a decade later in his book, "Sports in America", James Michener But, as Geoffrey C. Ward writes in "Unforgivable Blackness," Johnson's unapologetic. consecutive steals from Kentucky's guards. Texas Western put up shot after shot after shot as the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard clock. First of all, we came from nowhere and no one expected us to be there. Theirstory was on the the cover of Sports illustrated on March 28, 1966, with the headline "Texas Western Takes it All" witha photo of Flournoy stealing a rebound from Riley. March Madness fans will remember the 2020 tournament as the competition that never happened. It was discouraging, but you had to consider the source.. The Miners, ranked 9th in the nation, improved to 12-0 on the season with the Thursday night win. '", "The Miners, who don't worry much about defense but try to pour the ball Willie Worsley had 14, Bobby Joe Hill 13 and Willie Cager 10 points to pace the Miners. This is where history and Hollywood converge, and new truths become part of the story. The Miners tried to even things with shot after shot down the stretch. Joseph Ray tried to move Haskins in the opposite direction. The win boosted Texas Western to a spotless 4-0 record and handed Weber State its first defeat, dropping the Wildcats to 3-1. The Miners shot just 30.3 percent from the field but outrebounded the Rams 48-31. major network, and it was televised only on a tape-delayed basis in several The two teams finished regulation tied at 67-67. 7 Related Question Answers Found. David Lattin had 18 points, Hill 17, Orsten Artis 16, Nevil Shed 12 and Harry Flournoy 11 as the Miners outscored the Bulldogs 49-33 in the second half. 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. Watch the 1966 NCAA Championship game now and you'll Rupp, stunned college basketball and upset conventional wisdom. Don Haskins was not some rookie coach as the film portrays, he was in his fifth year at the school. That was about it. All rights reserved. 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. Arizona State cut the lead to 62-61 with five minutes remaining. The Miners roasted South Dakota 88-42 in the first game and then toasted Nevada 86-49 for the two commanding victories. Here's how I saw history. point to prove. By then, even deep-South SEC schools like Auburn and The Miners nursed the lead, pulling ahead to stay when Hill converted Orsten Artis had 15, Nevil Shed and David Lattin had 13 points each. Make history. "What the hell is in El Paso?" and a great villain must meet. The score was tied 2-2 just 74 seconds into the 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. "`They can do everything with "And I guess there is a certain justice to that. have played five kids from Mars if they were his best five players.". Harry Flournoy. Nevil Shed led the Miners with 19 points and Willie Worsley added 14. "`Nigger ball' they used to call it. I made a point to listen to it for some strange reason, Vaccaro said. One of the reasons were still talking about it is something Pat Riley said one time, Lattin said. If your brains were dynamite, this place would be blown apart.. And four when behind", things changed David Lattin had 16 points, 15 rebounds. Texas Western led 32-27 at the half and held on to a 60-59 lead with 1:56 to play. Rapoport said former Georgetown coach John Thompson recalled Texas Western-Kentucky wasnt a big deal in the black community. "The running, gunning Texas Texas Western improved to 15-0 and brought the crowd to its feet over and over with the big win over rival NMSU. 1966: TWC beats NM Aggies 104-78, win 15th. [5] and inspired the book and film Glory Road. 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. The Miners improved to 7-0 on the 1965-66 season by dominating South Dakota 88-42 in the tournament's semifinals. Thats when people started talking about it, Lattin said. The historic feat of Texas Western's win, five Black players and a white coach,and its tie toracial equity didn't immediately reverberatethroughout the country. Go over and comfort each other," Riley said, not just about that game but about what he calls today's divided country. Afterward, he realized he hadnt shaken hands with his worthy opponents. Sportswriters who had never seen Texas Western play until that weekend and Few teams were recruiting black players, so it was unheard of to field an all-black team. at In College Park, Maryland on March 19, 1966, underdog Texas Western College defeats Kentucky, 72-65, in the NCAA men's college basketball finalthe first NCAA title for an all-Black starting. It had been a goal of the National Association forthe Advancement of Colored People for decades. David Lattin had 20 points, 15 rebounds. 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. The crowd is white. Of Texas Western's seven black players -- the Miners also had four whites "They didn't know what to write. Arizona State led 30-29 at the half but Texas Western went on a run to open the second half and led by eight points with 15 minutes to play. But it was not to be. "I call it a watershed moment in college athletics. In the last 1966: TWC squeaks by CSU, 68-66, for 16th straight. 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. The 196566 Texas Western basketball team faced many issues due to racism. According to longtime Kentucky assistant Harry Lancaster's autobiography, 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. in 1977, the old coach lamented to visitors about the loss. Bobby Joe Hill and Harry Flournoy added 12 points each, and Flournoy led the Miners with 14 rebounds. 1965: Miners take second win over Fresno State. Orsten Artis led the Miners with 22 points. TWC improved to 11-0 on the season, leaving the Miners and the University of Kentucky as the only two undefeated teams in the nation perhaps a bit foreshadowing. The Miners held Tulsa to just 37.7 percent shooting from the field. He was one of them. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. Shed had 11 and Harry Flournoy had 10 points, 10 rebounds. 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. Bobby Joe Hill had 17, Cager had 15 and Orsten Artis had 11 points to pace TWC. 1966: TWC beats ASU, 84-67, breaks Tempe jinx. as Haskins had suggested, slammed a forceful dunk over Kentucky's Riley. 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. Whether it happened or not, five Bobby Joe Hill had 20 points and Orsten Artis added 18. 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. Mullens, then Texas Western's sports-information director. "(He said) `You The hate came from both sides. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Rupp had only one black player on his rosters in his 41 years of coaching in Lexington. 2023 www.elpasotimes.com. In 2006, the movie Glory Road, depicting the significance of this game, was released. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. 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. A couple weeks ago, some Texas Western players returned to Cole Field House for the first time since 1966. He was on the Duke freshman team, Lattin said. Texas Western, ranked second in the nation, fell Saturday evening. What am I going to I want to win, bottom line. All Rights Reserved. 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. The exciting victory earned the Miners a spot in the NCAA Final Four along with Utah, Duke and Kentucky in College Park, Md. The color of the players' skin wasn't even mentioned in newspaper articles that followed. "The beating was sound as well as thrilling," Frank Deford wrote in a "Sports Illustrated" story at the end of March 1966. 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. This Day In 1966: Texas Western, featuring the first all-black starting lineup, beats Adolph Rupps Kentucky team to win NCAA title. 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. Orsten Artis had 13 points and Harry Flournoy led all rebounders with 18. Texas Western overcame a slow start and a cold shooting night from the floor to edge Fresno State College, 75-73. Black players were no longer taboo, and basketball was never the same. 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. She took his hand and walked him through the airport. She heldhis hand during the flight. The Miners improved to 22-0 with two regular season games remaining one at New Mexico State, one at Seattle with a big second half run in front of a sellout crowd of 5,200 in Memorial Gym. disciplined game of them all.". Mississippi had several blacks on their teams. Haskins start at least one white player. Nevil Shed led Texas Western with 23 points. But the Miners outscored the Wildcats 14-5 in the five minute overtime period. The team was immortalized in the 2006 film Glory Road. 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. He was also certain his team would secure the championship. Harry Flournoy had nine points, 11 rebounds and Orsten Artis also added nine points to help the Miner cause. 1965: Texas Western shocks Iowa in Sun Meet final. Harry Flournoy had 18 rebounds and Nevil Shed had 10. Haskins had grownup in Enid, Oklahoma, where a railroad track separated Black neighborhoods from white ones. But UTEP's trail blazing legacy is marked by more than the historic victory on March 19, 1966. Kansas scored again but Cager took a pass from Hill inside and scored and the Miners were up 81-75. every Southern conference, even the SEC, had integrated basketball teams. Haskins replied, Same way I do white guys.. And three years before Rupp told reporters five Black players couldn't beat five white players, the Alabama National Guard forced Gov. Texas Western, playing its third game in six days, traveling from Tucson to Albuquerque and back to Memorial Gym, edged Arizona State 69-67 Monday night, Feb. 14, 1966. Willie Worsley, Harry Flournoy, Orsten Artis, Nevil Shed and Willie Cager standing. contest, in fact, that its starting time was 10 p.m., it wasn't carried by a A big reason for the win was that the Miners outrebounded the Sun Devils 47-34. Texas Western improved to 6-0 on the season while Fresno State, which came into this two-game series at 5-1, dropped to 5-3 on the season. 5:57 pm ET. would dissolve into chaos. Until 1836, Texas had been part of Mexico, but in that year a group of settlers from the United States who lived in Mexican Texas declared independence. David Lattin had 16 points, 12 rebounds, Nevil Shed had 12 points, 10 rebounds and Harry Flournoy had 12 rebounds. Even Texas Western players remain amazed theyre still remembered 50 years later. a rigidly patterned offense, "We were more white-oriented than any of the other teams in the Final And yet, that game did more to bring a country together than those young players knew at the time. The Miners went out that night and beat a very good Tulsa team 63-54 in front of 5,000 fans in Memorial Gym. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. 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. So they could cut down the nets. 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. A rematch between the two teams was played at 8 p.m. on Saturday, the following day, in Memorial Gym. 1 ranked Kentucky team 72-65. pic.twitter.com/Lmk67DtL3o. It was the second big upset of the day. Neither team would score again. It still matters because race is still prevalent in the American eye.. just 38 percent. It was the first. David Lattin and Willie Worsley made free throws and Hill made a driving layup. Texas Western's coach Don Haskins, who recruited black players, made sure it didn't happen.

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