Basketball's Biggest Upset: Texas Western Changed the Sport With Win over Kentucky in 1966 [Hardcover]

Ray Sanchez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1991

Texas Western College, then a small and uknown school tucked away in the far corner of West Texas, came out of nowhere to pull the biggest upset in the history of college basketball in 1966.

The Miners' victory over University of Kentucky, coached by legendary Adolph Rupp, in the finals of the NCAA Tournament was a story of triumph of character and heart over hardship and seemingly impossible odds.

The victory also had a big impact on socity. For the first time, five blacks started in the finals of the NCAA Tournament. The victory overcame many prejudices against the ability of black athletes to function in a team concept and opened doors for them throughout the South.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ray Sanchez, author of six books on sports, was assistant sports editor of the El Paso Heraald-Post in 1966 and followed the Miners' performance throughout the season. In this book, he profiles each of the 12 Texas Western players and gives a game by game account of the milestone season, culminating in a play by play description of the championship game.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 151 pages
• Publisher: Mesa Pub Corp; 1St Edition edition (November 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962347116
• ISBN-13: 978-0962347115
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,494,122 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sportswriters should stick to columns, January 12, 2001

By 

C. David Eagle (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Basketball's Biggest Upset: Texas Western Changed the Sport With Win over Kentucky in 1966 (Hardcover)

This book is not nearly as good as the book "And the Walls Came Tumbling Down" by Frank Fitzpatrick, about the same subject. Ray Sanchez should stick to newspaper articles. He does not do a good job of developing characters or themes, and did not do enough research. There is no bibliography, and most of the book sounds like fan-speak. On the other hand, I am a fan so it is in my library. There are several typos in the book which detracts from it and makes it hard to take seriously. Ray Sanchez was not the reporter who covered the Miners in 1966, but was working for the paper that year and remembers the events personally. This perspective is critical to an understanding of the 1966 Miners, and is why I give the book 3 stars instead of the 2 stars it deserves based on literary merit.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Boring!, April 12, 2001

By 

david f. varner (marion, ar USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Basketball's Biggest Upset: Texas Western Changed the Sport With Win over Kentucky in 1966 (Hardcover)

The author of this book obviously knows this subject very well,being that he was a reporter for the El Paso newspaper during the time of the historic NCAA championship game. Mr. Sanchez's writing style does not make for an exciting read. This book is very dry and sticks to dull statistics. It basically is a game by game telling of the season. I knew a little about the Texas Western- Kentucky game before the reading this book, unfortunately I know very little more after reading this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Accurate Account of Baketball's Biggest Upset, July 12, 2007

By 

A. Henson "Basketball Fan" (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Basketball's Biggest Upset: Texas Western Changed the Sport With Win over Kentucky in 1966 (Hardcover)

I just finished reading the book, "Basketball's Biggest Upset" by Ray Sanchez and I was extremely impressed with the detailed account of how the 1966 Texas Western College Miners really won the NCAA basketball championship.
This is the only account I've read that gives not only the background of each player but a game by game history of that miraculous season that, as the book says, changed the sport forever. It was so unlike the movie, Glory Road, which was more fiction than fact in many places.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and will treasure it forever as the true and wonderful story of the 1966 Miners. I still get chills thinking about it. I give it five stars.