Players from the 1966 national champion Texas Western College basketball team, whose success changed the face of college athletics forever, will tour European bases during Black History Month.
Flip Baudoin, Nevil Shed, Harry Flournoy, Togo Riley and David “Big Daddy D” Lattin, part of the Texas Western squad that defeated Kentucky 71-65 in the 1966 NCAA championship game, will be visiting Germany, the Netherlands and England from Feb. 14-22.
Texas Western’s ’66 team was the subject of the 2006 film “Glory Road,” which chronicled the experience of the first predominately black college team ever to play in, much less win, an NCAA title game. Prior to the Miners, who suited up seven black players, most college teams, fearful of backlash from boosters and fans, restricted themselves to one or two token black players per squad.
Coach Don Haskins, however, broke that pattern when he arrived at Texas Western, now called the University of Texas at El Paso, in 1962. By 1966, Texas Western had evolved into a major power, and when the Miners reached the title game against perennial power Kentucky, an all-white team coached by 800-game-winner Adolph Rupp, Haskins made the decision to start five blacks — the first all-black starting lineup ever in an NCAA championship game.
In 2005, the 1966 title game was voted one of the “25 Defining Moments in the 100-Year History of the NCAA” by a panel that included college presidents, athletics directors, faculty representatives, student athletes and conference representatives.
Also joining the tour, which begins Feb. 14 in Ansbach, Germany, is Steven Tredennick, who played with the Miners prior to their title year. The tour, sponsored by Armed Forces Entertainment, is designed to support the troops, according to Flournoy.
“Bringing only our distinct story of grueling teamwork and a message of hope to the troops, we intend to encourage them to continue their selfless efforts — carrying on the true American spirit,” he said in a news release from Armed Forces Entertainment.
Men Of ‘Glory Road’ Tour
Feb. 14 — Ansbach, Germany: 9 a.m. at Eddie’s Place.
Feb. 15 — Stuttgart, Germany: 1:30 p.m., Patch Barracks theater.
Feb. 16 — Hohenfels, Germany: 2 p.m., Community Activities Center.
Feb. 17 — Mannheim, Germany: 5 p.m., Top Hat Club, Benjamin Franklin Village.
Feb. 20 — Rotterdam, Netherlands: Noon, Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, Rotterdam.
Feb. 21 — RAF Molesworth, England: 11:30 a.m., Molesworth dining facility.
Feb. 21 — RAF Alconbury, England: 6 p.m., Community Club.
