Ray Sanchez

Haskins: the Bear Facts Ray Sanchez

A SPORTS MILESTONEDON HASKINS is one of the greatest coaches in the history of college basketball. He won 719 games, seven conference championships and earned a trip to 14 NCAA Tournaments. His biggest feat, however, was coaching Texas Western College to a stunning 72-65 upset victory over University of Kentucky in the finals of the NCAA Tournament in 1966. His decision to start five black players against the all-white Kentucky team changed the sport forever. It disproved the theory of some that blacks could not function as a team and soon previously segregated colleges throughout the South began recruiting black players. Several books have been written about the game, and a movie, "Glory Road," has been made of the unforgettable season. Don Haskins wrote his biography in 1987. This is a reprint of it with an addendum by Ray Sanchez, who cooperated in writing his biography. Sanchez continues Haskins' remarkable coaching career through his retirement in 1999. Here is the Haskins story in his own words.