It
was the spring of 1966. On the radio, Nancy Sinatra's Boots Were Made For Walkin'
It
was the spring of 1966. On the radio, Nancy Sinatra's Boots Were Made For Walkin'
and the Rolling Stones were having their 19th Nervous Breakdown. And in the West Texas town of El Paso, the little known Texas Western College was making national news of their own as their Miner Division 1 basketball team was undefeated. Little did they know that they were about change the face of college basketball forever.
I was a student at Texas Western and afternoon drive time personality on KINT Radio in El Paso. It was not unusual for members of the team to stop by the station to have some fun on the air. Our audience loved it.
(At left, David "Big Daddy D" Lattin and Phil Harris take over the controls as Sonny Melendrez and Bob Young look on.)
Update: Nevil Shed, David Latin, and Willie Cager were recently honored as The Men of Glory Road in San Antonio in celebration of the 1966 Texas Western Miners' induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. I had the honor of hosting the event as we came full circle from our days at Texas Western. What a night!
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Willie "Scoops" Cager hams it up with the big screen Willie, Schin Kerr. Schin told the audience the Glory Road Gala that he was honored to play Mr. Cager in the movie and sees this as a chance of a lifetime. They have remained good friends since the filming. |
To Big Daddies: actor Damaine Radcliff who played Daddy "D" in the film and the man himself, David Lattin. Yes, David looks almost the same today as he did over 40 years ago! I asked his secret and he said he exercises daily on his Bow Flex and has stopped eating red meat. |
 Three
Amigos.Willie Cager, Phil "Silverspoon" Harris, and Nevil Shed at a recent reunion. Phil, who now lives in New York, is still the exuberant and positive team member he was back when. |
Phil harris with a great coach and friend, Don Haskins. |
Special TWC Links:
El Paso Times
SonnyRadio.com
Texas Western Takes it All: 20 Years Later
Produced by KVIA-TV El Paso
Photos courtesy UTEP
David
Lattin was so excited about the picture taken in 1966 that he called Phil "Silverspoon"
Harris (also pictured with headphones and cool shades) in New York. Phil asked
permission to put the photo on the back cover of this upcoming book.
Permission granted!
Willie
"Scoops" Cager, Nevil "The Shadow" Shed, Sonny, Schin Kerr (who played
Willie in the movie, Glory Road), Damaine Radclifff (played David), and Big
Daddy "D" David Lattin all smiles on a night to remember.