not high school girls' basketball, but wanted to share this.
in 1963, I was a 13 year old who played basketball. I listened on the radio to the Loyola-Cincinnati NCAA championship game, and was elated when Loyola won in overtime on a last-second putback. in Chicago, they were a very big deal.
college basketball had an informal quota system, and teams didn't play more than 1 or 2 black players at a time. Loyola had 4 black starters. Texas Western is remembered as the team that broke the barrier, but Loyola opened the door. they were spat on, cursed, subject to racial epithets, and stayed in segregated housing in the South. the state of Mississippi issued an injunction barring a team from playing Loyola in the tournament. the team left the state during the night and played anyway, and the picture of Jerry Harkness (Loyola's captain) shaking hands with Joe Dan Gold (Mississippi State's captain) became iconic. 50 years later, Harkness attended Gold's funeral, and was embraced by his family.
the event had reverberations through time, in both directions. Harkness didn't play in high school until his senior season, after a man approached him at a Harlem YMCA pickup game and told him he should play high school ball. the man was Jackie Robinson. Loyola played their 5 starters the entire game, no substitutions. the announcer who called the game, and whose delirious description of the finish still gives me goosebumps was Red Rush. my daughter played basketball in the summer for his son, Casey, the former Acalanes coach whose girls won a state title, and who was a superb teacher of the game.
so for me, Loyola's run is about more than a cinderella. I'll be rooting for them today.
in 1963, I was a 13 year old who played basketball. I listened on the radio to the Loyola-Cincinnati NCAA championship game, and was elated when Loyola won in overtime on a last-second putback. in Chicago, they were a very big deal.
college basketball had an informal quota system, and teams didn't play more than 1 or 2 black players at a time. Loyola had 4 black starters. Texas Western is remembered as the team that broke the barrier, but Loyola opened the door. they were spat on, cursed, subject to racial epithets, and stayed in segregated housing in the South. the state of Mississippi issued an injunction barring a team from playing Loyola in the tournament. the team left the state during the night and played anyway, and the picture of Jerry Harkness (Loyola's captain) shaking hands with Joe Dan Gold (Mississippi State's captain) became iconic. 50 years later, Harkness attended Gold's funeral, and was embraced by his family.
the event had reverberations through time, in both directions. Harkness didn't play in high school until his senior season, after a man approached him at a Harlem YMCA pickup game and told him he should play high school ball. the man was Jackie Robinson. Loyola played their 5 starters the entire game, no substitutions. the announcer who called the game, and whose delirious description of the finish still gives me goosebumps was Red Rush. my daughter played basketball in the summer for his son, Casey, the former Acalanes coach whose girls won a state title, and who was a superb teacher of the game.
so for me, Loyola's run is about more than a cinderella. I'll be rooting for them today.
Last edited:
