1962–63 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team

The 1962–63 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team represented Loyola University Chicago. Champions of the 1963 NCAA tournament, the Ramblers were coached by George Ireland. They defeated top-ranked and two-time defending champion Cincinnati Bearcats in a 60–58 overtime contest. The 1962–63 Ramblers were one of the first NCAA men's basketball teams to have broken the so-called "gentlemen's agreement" among coaches in which no more than two black players would be on the floor at one time (and in some road games, black players would have to rotate so that only one of them was playing at any given moment): the Ramblers would regularly have three or four black starters, paving the way for the 1965–66 Texas Western Miners men's basketball team who would finally put the "agreement" to rest and have an all-black starting five.[1][2] They played in the Game of Change, in which a Mississippi State team defied segregationists to play against Loyola, breaking the unwritten law that Mississippi teams would not play against black players.

1962–63 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 3
Record29–2
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Seasons
1962–63 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 3 Loyola (Ill.)   29 2   .935
Providence   24 4   .857
Miami (FL)   23 5   .821
Colorado State   18 5   .783
Seattle   21 6   .778
Niagara   14 4   .778
Idaho   20 6   .769
Pittsburgh   19 6   .760
Penn State   15 5   .750
Utah State   20 7   .741
Canisius   19 7   .731
Memphis   19 7   .731
Texas Western   19 7   .731
Oregon State   22 9   .710
Seton Hall   16 7   .696
Marquette   20 9   .690
Oklahoma City   19 10   .655
Villanova   19 10   .655
Notre Dame   17 9   .654
DePaul   15 8   .652
Holy Cross   16 9   .640
Iona   12 7   .632
Regis   15 9   .625
Butler   16 10   .615
Dayton   16 10   .615
Florida State   15 10   .600
Duquesne   13 9   .591
Houston   15 11   .577
Louisville   14 11   .560
Detroit   14 12   .538
Gonzaga   14 12   .538
Boston University   10 9   .526
St. Bonaventure   13 12   .520
Creighton   14 13   .519
Georgetown   13 13   .500
Montana State   13 13   .500
Loyola (LA)   12 12   .500
Navy   9 9   .500
Centenary   12 14   .462
Air Force   10 12   .455
Saint Francis (PA)   10 13   .435
Xavier   12 16   .429
Oregon   11 15   .423
Army   8 11   .421
Boston College   10 16   .385
Hardin–Simmons   10 16   .385
Syracuse   8 13   .381
Idaho State   9 15   .375
Portland   8 18   .308
Rutgers   7 16   .304
Colgate   5 13   .278
Montana   6 18   .250
West Texas State   6 18   .250
Denver   6 19   .240
Washington State   5 20   .200
New Mexico State   4 17   .190
Rankings from AP Poll

On July 11, 2013, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of their championship, surviving members of Loyola's team were honored by President Barack Obama in a ceremony at the Oval Office of the White House. It also was announced that the entire team would be inducted in the College Basketball Hall of Fame in a ceremony scheduled for November 2013.

Roster

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Name # Position Height Year Hometown
Dan Connaughton 34 Sophomore Hamilton, Ohio
Jack Egan 11 Guard 5–10 Junior Chicago, Ill.
Jerry Harkness 15 Forward 6–3 Senior Bronx, N.Y.
Les Hunter 41 Center 6–7 Junior Nashville, Tenn.
Earl Johnson[a] 30 Sophomore
Ron Miller 42 Guard 6–2 Junior Bronx, N.Y.
Jim Reardon 33 Senior
Pablo Robertson[b] 14 Guard 5–7 Sophomore Bronx, N.Y.
Rich Rochelle 10 Center 6–9 Junior
Vic Rouse 40 Forward 6–6 Junior Nashville, Tenn.
Billy Smith[b] 24 Forward 6–5 Sophomore
Chuck Wood 23 Junior
  1. ^ Dropped out of school early in the spring semester, citing financial troubles[3]: 187 
  2. ^ a b Ruled academically ineligible after the fall semester[3]: 186 

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
December 1, 1962*
No. 4 Christian Brothers W 114–58  1–0
Alumni Gym 
Chicago, IL
December 3, 1962*
No. 4 North Dakota W 110–56  2–0
Alumni Gym 
Chicago, IL
December 10, 1962*
No. 4 Milwaukee W 107–47  3–0
Alumni Gym 
Chicago, IL
December 15, 1962*
No. 4 South Dakota W 105–58  4–0
Alumni Gym 
Chicago, IL
December 17, 1962*
No. 4 Western Michigan W 123–102  5–0
Alumni Gym 
Chicago, IL
December 19, 1962*
No. 4 at Indiana W 106–94  6–0
Gladstein Fieldhouse 
Bloomington, IN
December 22, 1962*
No. 4 #10 Seattle W 93–83  7–0
Chicago Stadium 
Chicago, IL
December 26, 1962*
No. 3 Arkansas
All-College Tournament
W 81–62  8–0
Municipal Auditorium 
Oklahoma City, OK
December 27, 1962*
No. 3 Memphis State
All-College Tournament
W 94–82  9–0
Municipal Auditorium 
Oklahoma City, OK
December 28, 1962*
No. 3 Wyoming
All-College Tournament Championship
W 93–82  10–0
Municipal Auditorium 
Oklahoma City, OK
December 31, 1962*
No. 3 Dayton W 74–69  11–0
Alumni Gym 
Chicago, IL
January 3, 1963*
No. 2 Marshall W 103–58  12–0
Alumni Gym 
Chicago, IL
January 5, 1963*
No. 2 Loyola (LA) W 88–53  13–0
Alumni Gym 
Chicago, IL
January 8, 1963*
No. 2 at Marquette W 87–68  14–0
 
Milwaukee, WI
January 10, 1963*
No. 2 at Western Michigan W 107–69  15–0
University Arena 
Kalamazoo, MI
January 19, 1963*
No. 2 at Kent State W 96–55  16–0
Memorial Gymnasium 
Kent, OH
January 21, 1963*
No. 2 at Ohio W 80–72  17–0
Grover Center 
Athens, OH
January 26, 1963*
No. 2 Santa Clara W 82–72  18–0
Chicago Stadium 
Chicago, IL
January 31, 1963*
No. 2 Washington (MO) W 118–58  19–0
Alumni Gym 
Chicago, IL
February 2, 1963*
No. 2 Iowa W 86–68  20–0
Chicago Stadium 
Chicago, IL
February 12, 1963*
No. 2 Marquette W 92–90OT  21–0
Chicago Stadium 
Chicago, IL
February 16, 1963*
No. 2 at Bowling Green L 75–92  21–1
Anderson Arena 
Bowling Green, OH
February 18, 1963*
No. 2 at St. John's W 70–47  22–1
Alumni Hall 
Queens, NY
February 23, 1963*
No. 3 at Houston W 62–58  23–1
Jeppesen Gymnasium 
Houston, TX
February 27, 1963*
No. 3 Ohio W 114–94  24–1
Alumni Gym 
Chicago, IL
March 2, 1963*
No. 3 #8 Wichita State L 72–73  24–2
Chicago Stadium 
Chicago, IL
NCAA Tournament
March 11, 1963*
No. 5 vs. Tennessee Tech
NCAA mideast regional quarterfinal
W 111–42  25–2
McGaw Hall 
Evanston, IL
March 15, 1963*
No. 3 vs. No. 7 Mississippi State
NCAA mideast regional semifinal
"Game of Change"
W 61–51  26–2
Jenison Fieldhouse (12,143)
East Lansing, MI
March 16, 1963*
No. 3 vs. No. 8 Illinois
NCAA mideast regional final
W 79–64  27–2
Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
March 22, 1963*
No. 3 vs. No. 2 Duke
NCAA national semifinal
W 94–75  28–2
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
March 23, 1963*
No. 3 vs. No. 1 Cincinnati
NCAA national championship
W 60–58OT  29–2
Freedom Hall (19,153)
Louisville, KY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Standard Time.
Source: 2018–19 Loyola men's basketball media guide[4]

Rankings

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Awards and honors

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Jerry Harkness:

Team:

Records

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Loyola's first-round Mideast Regional victory over Tennessee Tech, 111–42, continues to be the record margin of victory (69 points) in an NCAA men's basketball tournament game.

NBA draft

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Round Pick Player NBA Club
2 9 Jerry Harkness New York Knicks

References

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  1. ^ DeCourcy, Mike (November 8, 2018). "1962 Cincinnati's barrier-breaking title against Ohio State echoes in 2018-19 opener". The Sporting News. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  2. ^ Wolff, Alexander (March 10, 2003). "Ghosts Of Mississippi". Sports Illustrated.
  3. ^ a b Lenehan, Michael (2013). Ramblers: Loyola Chicago 1963—The Team That Changed the Color of College Basketball. Agate Publishing. ISBN 978-1572841406.
  4. ^ "Loyola Men's Basketball 2018–19 Media Guide" (PDF). Loyola University Chicago Athletics. 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
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