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
  • George Ireland (12th season)
Assistant coaches
  • Jerry Lyne
  • Nick Kladis
1962–63 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 3 Loyola Chicago 292  .935
Providence 244  .857
Miami (FL) 235  .821
Colorado State 185  .783
Seattle 216  .778
Niagara 144  .778
Idaho 206  .769
Pittsburgh 196  .760
Penn State 155  .750
Utah State 207  .741
Canisius 197  .731
Memphis 197  .731
Texas Western 197  .731
Oregon State 229  .710
Seton Hall 167  .696
Marquette 209  .690
Oklahoma City 1910  .655
Villanova 1910  .655
Notre Dame 179  .654
DePaul 158  .652
Holy Cross 169  .640
Iona 127  .632
Regis 159  .625
Butler 1610  .615
Dayton 1610  .615
Florida State 1510  .600
Duquesne 139  .591
Houston 1511  .577
Louisville 1411  .560
Detroit 1412  .538
Gonzaga 1412  .538
Boston University 109  .526
St. Bonaventure 1312  .520
Creighton 1413  .519
Georgetown 1313  .500
Montana State 1313  .500
Loyola (LA) 1212  .500
Navy 99  .500
Centenary 1214  .462
Air Force 1012  .455
Saint Francis (PA) 1013  .435
Xavier 1216  .429
Oregon 1115  .423
Army 811  .421
Boston College 1016  .385
Hardin–Simmons 1016  .385
Syracuse 813  .381
Idaho State 915  .375
Portland 818  .308
Rutgers 716  .304
Colgate 513  .278
Montana 618  .250
West Texas State 618  .250
Denver 619  .240
Washington State 520  .200
New Mexico State 417  .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

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[lower-alpha 1] 30 Sophomore
Ron Miller 42 Guard 6–2 Junior Bronx, N.Y.
Jim Reardon 33 Senior
Pablo Robertson[lower-alpha 2] 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[lower-alpha 2] 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. Ruled academically ineligible after the fall semester[3]:186

Schedule

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

Awards and honors

Jerry Harkness:

  • Consensus First Team All-American
  • First Team AP All-American
  • First Team USBWA All-American
  • First Team NABC All-American
  • First Team UPI All-American
  • Second Team NEA All-American

Team:

Records

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

Round Pick Player NBA Club
29Jerry HarknessNew York Knicks

References

  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. 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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