Saturday, March 19, 1966: Texas Western 72, Kentucky 65

With a starting lineup of five black players, Texas Western College beats the University of Kentucky (which did not have a single black player on its roster) for the NCAA men's basketball championship. Many accounts of the game -- including those from the Associated Press, United Press International, The New York Times and Sports Illustrated, all linked below -- did not mention the game's social significance. Shown here are two exceptions -- a column by sportswriter Harvey Yavener of The Trentonian (N.J.) newspaper, published March 21; and a story by Time magazine, published March 25). Texas Western is now known as the University of Texas at El Paso.

* Associated Press game story: @

* United Press International: @

* New York Times (from www.bigbluehistory.net): @

* Sports Illustrated (from www.UTEPathletics.com): @

* The Road to Glory (UTEP website): @

* "Significance of Texas Western's 1966 NCAA title not realized at first" (Jon Solomon, CBS Sports, 2016): @

* "Basketball's Game-Changer" (John Feinstein, Washington Post, 2008): @
* "A Win for Texas Western, A Triumph for Equality" (Michael Wilbon, Washington Post, 2006): @

* "Texas Western's 1966 title left lasting legacy" (Frank Fitzpatrick, ESPN Classic, 2003): @

* "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" (Curry Kirkpatrick, Sports Illustrated, 1991): @

* "The Game: A Study in Black & White, 1966" (Bryan Woolley, Nova magazine, 1991): @
* "In An Alien World" (Jack Olsen, Sports Illustrated, 1968): @

* "All-America First: All-Negro 1st Team Topped by Alcindor" (Associated Press, 1967): @
* "And The Wheels Turned" (UTEP student-produced documentary): @

* "And The Walls Came Tumbling Down: The Basketball Game That Changed American Sports" (Frank Fitzpatrick, 2000): @

* "Basketball's Biggest Upset: Texas Western Changed The Sport With A Win Over Kentucky in 1966" (Ray Sanchez, 2005): @

* "Benching Jim Crow: The Rise and Fall of the Color Line in Southern College Sports, 1890-1980" (Charles H. Martin, 2010): @ 

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