WYWW Shining Moments: A victory for Loyola — and for civil rights

While many fans (and just normal March Madness aficionados) may well remember the story of the Loyola Ramblers’ run to the Final Four just two years ago, my favorite moment goes way back (yes, I am old) to Loyola’s NCAA men’s basketball title in 1963.

The tournament was not even labeled as March Madness back then, and I was not yet a student at Loyola University (only a junior at Weber High School in Chicago at the time), but Loyola’s run to the championship was possibly the original Cinderella story in NCAA Division I history, and it was a year that changed college basketball forever.

Loyola’s coach at the time, George Ireland, routinely started four African American players in the team’s many games on its way to that title. Mississippi State, which had skipped the tournament for several years before this game because the team wasn’t allowed to compete against segregated teams, crossed state lines against the governor’s orders to play the Ramblers in Michigan in the round of 16.

Loyola beat Mississippi State and eventually went on to defeat the Cincinnati Bearcats, the two-time defending champs, in overtime to win the title. Seven of the 10 starters on the court for the opening tip were African American.

I truly believe that the 1963 title for Loyola was a significant reason why I decided to become a student there in 1964 and go on somehow, with the grace of God, to graduate four years later.

Yes, the more recent run to the Final Four for Loyola had many notable players, a great coach in Porter Moser and the wonderful spirit of the team’s then-98-year-old chaplain, Sister Jean, but the real Cinderella story of 1963 will live forever in my heart.

— Bill Pyrek