Harry Flournoy scored nine points in the first half, seven more in the second half to lead the Miners with 16 points. "(Rupp) jumped up and called timeout, (and) as they were coming off the I told him you should write a book.. "The only other thing he said was, 'It's up to you.' No longer would we be kept out of mainstream America.". players he did recruit -- like Kentuckians Butch Beard and Wes Unseld -- So, the All-American player had a front-row seat to what happened that night. 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. Unusual for its time, the NCAA broadcast the game in black and white on TV, as the New York Times reports. Your email address will not be published. True Story Of Glory Road: Texas Western Shocks Kentucky In 1966 They were basketball players, who were still pretty single-minded, focused on basketball. Seattle standout Tom Workman hit a jumper from the top of the circle to give his team the 74-72 lead with just over a minute to play. Four (Duke and Utah were the others)," said Texas Western guard Willie I hate to hear him saying that. The Miners, ranked fourth in the nation, improved to 18-0 with the win. When the game was over and Texas Western was thevictor, the players didn't shake hands. 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. Sportswriters who had never seen Texas Western play until that weekend and Even Texas Western players remain amazed theyre still remembered 50 years later. 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. "(He) carried the We publish narratives intentionally and specifically to enlighten and transform the world. Willie Worsley added 11 points for Texas Western. violent game. 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. Arizona State cut the lead to 62-61 with five minutes remaining. 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 . sometimes embellishing his excuses with hints that Texas Western somehow had So, when it came to the championship game, Worsley said he wasn't thinking about Kentucky being white. "People got to see this for the first time," said Gragg. Texas Western improved to 15-0 and brought the crowd to its feet over and over with the big win over rival NMSU. On Mar. Basketball is long gone from Cole, which was built for boxing, became one of the most storied basketball arenas, and now is transitioning into a football indoor practice facility. They came from the inner cities of Detroit and Houston, and from rural areas in Missouri and Kansas. It looks more like 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. "I had been listening to all this damn crap out of him," said Haskins. Coach Haskins didn't think that made any sense. 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. Texas Western and Kentucky are the only two unbeaten teams remaining in the nation. Back then, there were very few games on TV. A berth in the NCAA Final Four in College Park, Md., was at stake. Black athletes, prevailing wisdom One year before Texas Western won theNCAA title against Kentucky, 72-65, John Lewis led more than 600 people on a 54-mile march from Selma, Alabama, to the state capitol in Montgomery. We werent ranked before the season started. Texas Western, 19-0, and Kentucky, 20-0, were the only two undefeated teams in the nation at this point. In 1966, Texas Western Changed the Face of College Athletics Blacks now were recruited as reserves as well as starters. "And I guess there is a certain justice to that. Texas Western, ranked second in the nation, fell Saturday evening. a rigidly patterned offense, "We were more white-oriented than any of the other teams in the Final