Ramblers: Loyola Chicago 1963 ¿ The Team that Changed the Color of College Basketball

by Michael Lenehan

Overview

Today basketball is played “above the rim” by athletes of all backgrounds and colors. But 50 years ago it was a floor-bound game, and the opportunities it offered for African-Americans were severely limited.

A key turning point was 1963, when the Loyola Ramblers of Chicago took the NCAA men’s basketball title from Cincinnati, the two-time defending champions. It was one of Chicago’s most memorable sports victories, but Ramblers reveals it was also a game for the history books because of the transgressive lineups fielded by both teams.

Ramblers is an entertaining, detail-rich look back at the unlikely circumstances that led to Loyola’s historic championship and the stories of two Loyola opponents: Cincinnati and Mississippi State. Michael Lenehan’s narrative masterfully intertwines these stories in dramatic fashion, culminating with the tournament’s final game, a come-from-behind overtime upset that featured two buzzer-beating shots.

While on the surface this is a book about basketball, it goes deeper to illuminate how sport in America both typifies and drives change in the broader culture. The stark social realities of the times are brought vividly to life in Lenehan’s telling, illustrating the challenges faced in teams’ efforts simply to play their game against the worthiest opponents.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781572841406
Publisher:	Agate
Publication date:	03/12/2013
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Michael Lenehan is an award-winning journalist who was the longtime chief editorial executive of the Chicago Reader and a contributing editor of The Atlantic. He is a board member of the Association for Alternative Newsweeklies and the Medill School of Journalism's advisory board.

Table of Contents

Foreword 13

Prelude: Louisville, March 23, 1963 / 15 Down 17

Part 1 Beginnings

Chapter 1 Chicago / Coach on a Flagpole 23

Chapter 2 Mississippi / We were led to believe there were no Negroes 31

Chapter 3 Cincinnati / The Best Basketball Player in the World 35

Chapter 4 Chicago / Out-of-Town Talent 41

Chapter 5 New York-Chicago / Hungry Young Men 49

Chapter 6 Mississippi / A Big-Time Major Mistake 61

Chapter 7 Chicago / Stranger in the Heartland 65

Chapter 8 Cincinnati / Life Without Oscar 71

Chapter 9 Nashville-Chicago / Fast Break Basketball 79

Chapter 10 Chicago / Four Fab Freshmen 95

Chapter 11 Cincinnati / Jucker's Surprise 111

Chapter 12 Mississippi / Is there anything wrong with five white boys winning the national championship? 117

Interlude: Louisville, March 23, 1963 / Keep Shooting 123

Part 2 Collision Course

Chapter 13 Chicago / Off-Court Adjustments 131

Chapter 14 Cincinnati / Defending National Champions 137

Chapter 15 Chicago / Racial Peace Prevails 145

Chapter 16 Cincinnati / Two Flukes in a Row 157

Chapter 17 Mississippi / Civil War Redux 161

Chapter 18 Chicago / Collision Course 175

Chapter 19 Chicago / Four Blacks and an Albino 185

Chapter 20 Mississippi / Come Hell or High Water 193

Chapter 21 Chicago / The Greatest Fast-Break Team Ever 205

Chapter 22 Mississippi / Cloak and Dagger 211

Chapter 23 East Lansing / This is history 217

Chapter 24 Louisville / The Final Four 227

Overtime: Louisville, March 23, 1963 233

Part 3 Postgame

Chapter 25 Dancing in the Streets 239

Chapter 26 The Future of Basketball 243

Chapter 27 The Man 253

Chapter 28 Afterward 265

Acknowledgments 279

Notes and Sources 283

Index 291

Editorial Reviews

PRAISE FOR MICHAEL LENEHAN'S RAMBLERS:

"The Loyola Ramblers have too often been forgotten for their role in basketball’s cultural history. They remain a significant, uplifting story." —Frank Deford

"Getting to know the stories behind the scores and the personalities off the court is what makes Ramblers much more than a conventional sports book. It makes it a classic.” —Chicago Tribune

"Ramblers is about much more than a particular game. It is about the second-class citizenship endured by black players...and it is about the determination of those who went about changing those conditions. Michael Lenehan recognizes the necessity of context...and fortunate for his readers that [he] has seen fit to remind us of this nation’s often disgraceful and sometimes encouraging history as it has been reflected in one of our most popular games." —Bill Littlefield, Only A Game, WBUR Boston

"Ramblers passionately evokes the beauty of a great game in a time of great change, and works as a metaphor for changes taking place across the nation as well.... A dynamic, emotional study of one college basketball team’s role in the Civil Rights movement.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review

“A riveting read of sports and its role in breaking the color barriers, Ramblers is a must for any history and sports collection focusing on Civil Rights and black history.” —Midwest Book Review

"Ramblers is a worthwhile read chronicling a memorable upset and, perhaps more importantly, a triumph of character over cowardice that had repercussions way beyond the basketball court." —Cincinnati Herald

"Author Michael Lenehan pulls together all the disparate threads that produced Loyola’s serendipitous championship run." —Associated Press

"Gripping and revealing." —Chicago Reader

"If you’re interested in the history of [Chicago], interested in the history of college basketball in the city, and racial history—in not just the city but the country—then you should check out [Ramblers].” —Laurence Holmes, WSCR-AM host and NBC5 Chicago anchor

"Lenehan’s success is in the telling of the greater history surrounding the Ramblers and their impact on sports during the height of the Civil Rights movement. The vivid description of the central figures is also endearing.... It’s [his] attention to context and nearly endless detail that make Ramblers worth reading." —Slam Online

“For sports fans, Lenehan’s book is a page-turner; for those interested in the pace of social progress, the book offers a perspective—that of the student athlete—integral to the Civil Rights movement but largely overlooked up to this point.” —Newcity

"...Ramblers is an easy, fascinating, and at times illuminating read for the avid fan. The less knowledgeable, who will find it valuable as a crucial chapter in the history of the struggle for civil rights, can also gain a beginner's appreciation of the game’s finer points. It tugs at the reader’s heartstrings while providing a clear-eyed look at the sometimes shameful, sometimes constructive role of sports in our society." —TriQuarterly

"Ramblers is the dramatic, deeply engrossing, and meticulously researched story behind the 1963 NCAA basketball tournament.... With the 50th anniversary of the Ramblers' championship victory just around the corner, this is an important story that needs to be told.” —ChicagoNow

"Excellent." —Joe Posnanski, NBC Sports

From the Publisher