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March 19,1966: The day basketball changed forever

Zach Pulverente,
Grand Central Magazine

On March 19, 1966 basketball changed forever when Texas Western University faced off against Kentucky in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. On one side of the court stood all white players. On the other, all black. This was the first time that a basketball team had all black starters. Photograph by Courtesy photo
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The Civil Rights Act that was signed into law on July 2, 1964, by President Lyndon Johnson prohibited discrimination in public places and paved the way for the integration of schools and other public facilities.

On March 19, 1966, the sports world had its first brush with the new legislation.

Prior to that particular Saturday evening, no coach had ever started five black players in an NCAA championship game, let alone a regular season game.

That all changed with Don Haskins.

“The whole idea of Don Haskins was to play the best players. It wasn’t a novelty to me,” said Joe Gomez, vice president of Associated General Contractors of El Paso. Gomez, who was a student at Texas Western College, also served as the local curator for the team

However there was no disputing that this game would be one for the record books because one team had all white starters, while the other was all black.

To Don Haskins and the rest of his 1966 NCAA Men’s Division I Championship team, putting five black starters on the court that evening was about winning, not a civil rights movement.

Haskins’ team, then known as Texas Western College, played No. 1 ranked Kentucky and won 72-65. The game has been described as one of the most important sporting events ever played because it helped pave the way for racial integration throughout collegiate sports.

Something big was happening and that history was being made. However its unlikely that those in attendance understood what an impact it would have on the game of basketball.

“To me, this game brought basketball into what it has evolved in to today,” said John Robison, who watched the late-night televised game more than 40 years ago. “It has brought this sport to a level where it is based on athletes’ qualities, not the color of their skin.”

But many were not ready for integration during this time. Haskins often received hate letters, usually containing racial slurs.

In several interviews after the game, Haskins always had one explanation for the win. He won by doing what he had done all year long – simply playing the best players he had.

Recruiting had a lot to do with this.

Adolph Rupp, Kentucky’s head coach, had put together an incredible team in 1966, including the great Pat Riley. Kentucky’s recruiting, like most teams from that era, based their recruiting decisions on player stats. Haskins did not. Haskins had one-upped Rupp by recruiting a group of no-names at the beginning of the season and building the team from scratch.

The impact of the game was so great that it was made into movie, called “Glory Road.” In it, Haskins goes everywhere to find raw talent.

He went into the heart of the small towns and to the big cities. If he saw someone with the heart and determination of a winner, he would invite them to play on the team. His recruiting style was unique, which allowed him to see things in athletes that no one else could.

“It was just a game – ‘just business’ as Bobby Joe Hill used to say,” Gomez said. “But the impact was able to open doors east of (El Paso) for a lot of kids to go to college and play basketball.”