The Texas Western Story
With the DVD release of Glory Road just a few days away, I thought I would highlight the real importance of the Texas Western NCAA Championship win.
Based on a True Story
I hate it when these movies use the term "Based on a True Story". Its basically an excuse for Hollywood to take a historic event, and alter it to make it a feel good Jerry Bruckheimer Disney blockbuster. There are several major historical inaccuracies that overshadow what is mostly an entertaining and informative movie.
- Upon Don Haskins' arrival to Texas Western, the team already had three black players on the team. And contrary to what the movie implies, Haskins brought the Miners the championship a full 3 seasons after becoming the head coach.
- The movie implies that Don Haskins was the only coach in the country recruiting black players. When in fact, the recruitment of black players at that time was commonplace in many conferences. Cincinatti led by four black players won the championship in 1962 and Loyola-Chicago also had four black players in winning the championship in 1963. Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, and Elgin Baylor were all dominating the NBA.
- The movie suggests that the Miners won by playing "black", using a high-flying playground style featuring 180 dunks and alley-oops. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Miners played the "white" way, fundamental basketball focusing on defense and rebounding. In fact, it was the Kentucky Wildcats that relied on athleticism with their infamous Kentucky fast-break to win games. The Miners also led comfortably from start to finish contrary to the movie limiting the Wildcats to 62 points, their lowest total of the season.
The Real Story Behind Glory Road
The historic significance of the Texas Western championship win in 1966 has nothing to do with starting five black players and much more to do with striking a blow in the face of southern bigotry. The 60s saw the black civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King sweep the country with the Yankee states leading the integration of blacks and whites. However, the deep south resisted and continued to push segragation which prompted the rise of the Ku Klux Klan (segragation for you too young to know was a policy where blacks were forced to sit at the back of the bus, go to separate washrooms, and were regularly refused service based on the color of their skin).
In the basketball world, Adolph Rupp was the Dean Smith of his era. A basketball icon leading his Kentucky Wildcats of the ACC to 4 national championships. The problem was that Rupp was a notorious bigot from the south. In the 1966 championship game, Rupp had allegedly vowed that "five negroes" would never beat his all-white team. The Miners used that as inspiration to trounce Rupp's Wildcats, a loss that Rupp took to his grave according to his biography.
During that time, NCAA basketball was dominated by ACC teams. Teams like Kentucky that featured all-white teams. The ACC defined NCAA basketball in that era and the racist segragation supporters of ACC teams felt that an all-black team could never matchup with an all-white ACC team straight up. They would get a rude awakening that night in 1966. That game changed the face of NCAA basketball forever forcing the mostly southern ACC teams to desegragate when most other conferences were already desegragated. In 1969, Kentucky's President John Oswald ordered Rupp to desegragate the team. Rupp's response was "That son of a bitch is ordering me to get some n** in here. What am I going to do?"
Closing Thoughts
Lost in the "made for Disney" movie is an entertaining version of the story that was a defining moment in the black freedom struggle. It's important to reflect 50 years later to see how far we've come and how much more we need to go. The roots of enslavement and segragation in the deep south remain in the consciousness of many Americans. It is in remembering this important story that each day one positive step is taken, and bigotry and intolerance will be defeated.
As always, post your take or email it to me at BCSportsFanatic@yahoo.ca.
posted by BCSportsFanatic @ 9:35 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
he, great job with your blog keep it up..........I think you should do an article on Quinn Keast
yea man an article on Quinn would be much appreciated
dude an article would be unreal
You make a number of good points, but I think you're very much ignorant of Rupp and Kentucky during that time.
You mention that Rupp is supposed to have said that "no five blacks will beat five whites". This is indeed what Don Haskins told his black players prior to the game, and what David Lattin continuously repeats to this day. The only problem is that there's no record that Rupp ever said this. (not only that but it goes against Rupp's character to say something like that since Rupp religiously played 'up' his opponents, not 'down'.)
The producers of the movie searched for this supposed remark by Rupp and could not find it. Haskins told his team it was said in a press conference from the game, but interestingly nobody (neither the Texas Western press, the national press or anyone else) reported it at the time or remembers hearing it either. No one. There's also no record of it from audio and video tapes etc.
This myth has been carried forward over the years by David Lattin's continually repeating it to clueless members of the press, none of whom apparently have taken the time to actually verify it happened or get to the bottom of the issue (which would mean they'd have to ask Haskins about it). Haskins, FWIW, has distanced himself from the remark and tends not to answer reporters questions about it.
As for Kentucky recruiting black players, they actually started recruiting black players well before they've been given credit for by most people (at least the clueless ones). Rupp offered a scholarship to Wes Unseld in 1964, and Butch Beard in 1965, followed by numerous other black players during the rest of the 1960's.
It's true he wasn't successful in signing a black player until 1969, but then he wasn't successful in recruiting a lot of players (black and white) during that time.
As for the remark about Rupp's response to the UK president (John Oswald), that was mentioned in a book by UK Assistant coach Harry Lancaster. [and it did not happen in 1969, this was much earlier] If true, Rupp certainly deserves criticism for his use of racial words as he did, however the context of the situation is not so cut and dried.
Rupp had actually expressed interest in recruiting black players even prior to Oswald becoming president. UK expressed their determination to integrate their athletic programs under Frank Dickey who preceded Oswald. Rupp had actually suggested to Dickey years before that UK drop out of the SEC but was told no.
The issue of Rupp and Oswald was one of control of the basketball program. Rupp did not appreciate anyone, whether it be the fan in the stands or the president of the University, to tell him how to run a basketball team. Oswald was interested in having a black player (any black player) on the team, regardless of whether his skills as a basketball player.
Rupp did not believe in the use of 'token' players (whether black or white) and refused to be dictated to by Oswald concerning who he should recruit. Rupp had asked advice from Branch Rickey (who had integrated MLB with Jackie Robinson) and others and had come to the conclusion that the first black UK player should ideally be someone who would excel both on the court and in the classroom.
Rupp did not believe it was fair to the team, or the player, if there was a question about his basketball skills. (ie if he played, people would say Rupp was playing him when he didn't deserve it. If he sat, people would say Rupp wasn't giving him a chance, not to mention that the player would be a sitting duck for opposing fans to taunt and throw things at him during road games.)
So while it is known that Rupp and Oswald had differing points of view, it wasn't over WHETHER they should be recruiting black players but WHICH black players they should be recruiting. The fact is that Rupp was indeed recruiting the likes of Unseld and Beard (players who fit Rupp's desired qualities in a player) at the time.
Although, again, if Rupp used those terms, he certainly was wrong to say that.
Jon
(note, check the link for a detailed discussion of Rupp and integration at UK.)
http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/rupp.html
PS, I'm not sure what you mean by talking about the ACC. (did you mean to say SEC, which UK was a part of ?) During the 1960's, the ACC started to become good (most notably Duke early in the 1960's and UNC later in the 1960's) but the conference was not considered the top conference in the nation. (Neither was the SEC, which UK was a part of.)
If anything, the Big Ten was generally regarded as the top conference during that (and most up until that time) era.
Of course UCLA soon stole all the thunder soon after.
Adolph Rupp might have been like Dean Smith in that he won...but Dean Smith doesn't in anyway admire or like Adolph Rupp, he believes Rupp is a racist and as you said a bigot. Dean Smith has very strong negative opinions about Rupp. I also noticed the three full seasons thing...as I was looking up some of the players on the team and noticed they gradded in different years, or not all of them were sophomores or freshman or what have you. Definitely a brutal misconception on Disney's part.
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