Post by estil on Apr 11, 2015 5:27:24 GMT -5
Hi everybody, I just joined this forum and I hope this is a good one for discussing UK basketball, especially the history of the program. I also happen to hold a BA in history and a BA in political science from UK (class of '03). I hope this isn't jumping the gun but 2016 does happen to be the 50th birthday of Rupp's Runts and I hope UK remembers and gives them (the surviving members of that team) a big celebration at Rupp in someway. It's interesting that both this team and my Bostonian wife's (our 10th anniversary is June 17) 1967 Impossible Dream Red Sox (so named because they won their first pennant since 1946 after nine straight losing seasons, and there were three other teams still in the pennant hunt with a week to go) are in back-to-back years, both teams are among the most beloved in their respective franchise's history...despite the fact they both had to settle for silver.
All that being said, I thought I'd take the time to dispel a popular myth surrounding the 1966 NCAA title game, and NO, it's not the one you're probably thinking. Yes, there are some people who still believe Rupp was this evil rotten racist (or at the very least didn't make as good an effort to integrate the program as he should have)...of course most everyone here knows the fantastic article over at Big Blue History.net that lays all the cards on the table and I urge everyone (pro or anti Rupp) to go read it. Personally I feel that the reason that this "Rupp is a racist" myth persists somewhat is not because Rupp was a racist (based on the evidence I've seen so far I am far from convinced Rupp a racist at all...the best evidence in his favor I think was his postgame interview ( www.bigbluehistory.com/bb/1966twaudioclip.html ), go read/listen to it (it's the whole thing, uncut, unedited) and tell me if you notice anything missing, which would be quite odd if he was a racist)...but maybe he was too NOT racist for his own good.
By that I mean, Rupp offered formal scholarships to black players as early as 1964 (and that's not including informal/off the record ones) but just as Branch Rickey did with Jackie Robinson, Rupp was very upfront about the possible dangers they would face against other teams/fans/etc (I forget which player this was exactly but his mother asked Rupp if he could guarantee the player's safety...and Rupp had to honestly reply he could not). And he absolutely was opposed to any idea of putting a "token black" on the bench. So to put that part as simply as I can, Rupp always wanted the very best players and competition he could get (hint: he scheduled integrated non-conference opponents as far back as the 50s and not once, but three times UK went to the NCAA's as a substitute team when the leadership of the school/gov't of the SEC championship team (no at-large NCAA bids in those days) disallowed the team to play out of fear of playing an integrated opponent), and to that end he was not going to selfishly put a black player in danger nor do the "token black on the bench" thing just to make himself look good. Hence why I believe Rupp's non-racism, ironically, is why the Rupp is a racist myth persists.
But the myth I want to debunk for now (and it's very simple) is the idea that Texas Western beating Kentucky in 1966 was an "upset". No, it absolutely was not. Kentucky was the #1 ranked team and had only a single loss very late in the season, that much is true. But what about good ol' Tex Wes? Well, they too only had one loss very late in the season, and they entered the NCAA tournament ranked (you will not believe this) second. For some odd reason come championship game time they dropped to third but that's beside the point. Yes folks, this alleged David slaying Goliath was in fact a classic #1 versus #2 battle (about as even a match up as it gets). And don't forget in those days you could only make the NCAA Tournament if you won your conference (tournament if any) championship...wild cards/at-large bids were still about a decade away. No I am not trying to take anything away from Tex Wes winning the title that year...on the contrary, I think insisting it was an upset is actually doing them a disservice.
All that being said, I thought I'd take the time to dispel a popular myth surrounding the 1966 NCAA title game, and NO, it's not the one you're probably thinking. Yes, there are some people who still believe Rupp was this evil rotten racist (or at the very least didn't make as good an effort to integrate the program as he should have)...of course most everyone here knows the fantastic article over at Big Blue History.net that lays all the cards on the table and I urge everyone (pro or anti Rupp) to go read it. Personally I feel that the reason that this "Rupp is a racist" myth persists somewhat is not because Rupp was a racist (based on the evidence I've seen so far I am far from convinced Rupp a racist at all...the best evidence in his favor I think was his postgame interview ( www.bigbluehistory.com/bb/1966twaudioclip.html ), go read/listen to it (it's the whole thing, uncut, unedited) and tell me if you notice anything missing, which would be quite odd if he was a racist)...but maybe he was too NOT racist for his own good.
By that I mean, Rupp offered formal scholarships to black players as early as 1964 (and that's not including informal/off the record ones) but just as Branch Rickey did with Jackie Robinson, Rupp was very upfront about the possible dangers they would face against other teams/fans/etc (I forget which player this was exactly but his mother asked Rupp if he could guarantee the player's safety...and Rupp had to honestly reply he could not). And he absolutely was opposed to any idea of putting a "token black" on the bench. So to put that part as simply as I can, Rupp always wanted the very best players and competition he could get (hint: he scheduled integrated non-conference opponents as far back as the 50s and not once, but three times UK went to the NCAA's as a substitute team when the leadership of the school/gov't of the SEC championship team (no at-large NCAA bids in those days) disallowed the team to play out of fear of playing an integrated opponent), and to that end he was not going to selfishly put a black player in danger nor do the "token black on the bench" thing just to make himself look good. Hence why I believe Rupp's non-racism, ironically, is why the Rupp is a racist myth persists.
But the myth I want to debunk for now (and it's very simple) is the idea that Texas Western beating Kentucky in 1966 was an "upset". No, it absolutely was not. Kentucky was the #1 ranked team and had only a single loss very late in the season, that much is true. But what about good ol' Tex Wes? Well, they too only had one loss very late in the season, and they entered the NCAA tournament ranked (you will not believe this) second. For some odd reason come championship game time they dropped to third but that's beside the point. Yes folks, this alleged David slaying Goliath was in fact a classic #1 versus #2 battle (about as even a match up as it gets). And don't forget in those days you could only make the NCAA Tournament if you won your conference (tournament if any) championship...wild cards/at-large bids were still about a decade away. No I am not trying to take anything away from Tex Wes winning the title that year...on the contrary, I think insisting it was an upset is actually doing them a disservice.