Guy V. Lewis (Finally!) Elected to Naismith Hall of Fame

One would think that leading a team to the men's college basketball Final Four on five occasions and making pioneering contributions to the sport would earn a coach a spot in the James A. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. It now has for Houston's Guy V. Lewis, as announced today.

Why it took so long -- 27 years after Lewis had coached his last game and by which time he had turned 91 years old -- is anybody's guess. Fortunately, Lewis is still around to enjoy the experience. According to the above-linked Houston Chronicle article:

Lewis is also credited for being the architect of the "Game of the Century," between No. 1 UCLA, featuring Lew Alcindor, and No. 2 UH at the Astrodome in 1968. UH won 71-69, snapping UCLA's 47-game winning streak, in the first regular-season college basketball game televised nationally.

Lewis was among the first college basketball coaches to embrace racial integration in the South during the 1960s, signing Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney as the first African-American players in program history.

Lewis was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame, part of Kansas City's College Basketball Experience, in 2007. However, the Naismith Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, is older, more comprehensive (encompassing pro, college, and international play), and considered more prestigious than the College Hall of Fame (even though the latter clearly exhibited superior judgment in Lewis's case than the former).

Kenny Heitz Passes Away

Kenny Heitz, a member of the 1968 UCLA squad and later an attorney, has died of cancer.

Coach Lewis's 70th Wedding Anniversary

Congratulations to former University of Houston coach Guy V. Lewis and his wife Dena on their 70th wedding anniversary! The Houston Chronicle has a tribute article, for which I thank Ted Nance for bringing to my attention.

Push Continues for Lewis Election to Naismith Hall of Fame

An article appeared recently about how many in the college-basketball community continue to rally around the cause of getting former University of Houston coach Guy Lewis, now 90 years old, elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Lewis has been elected to the College Basketball Hall of Fame, which was established in 2006 in Kansas City. However, the Naismith Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts is much older, more encompassing (including pro and international, as well as college, hoops), and more prestigious.

Of relevance to this website, the article notes that:

Lewis was ... the visionary behind the groundbreaking "Game of the Century," persuading John Wooden to bring Lew Alcindor and top-ranked UCLA to play No. 2 Houston at the Astrodome in January 1968. The Cougars' 71-69 upset of the Bruins was the first nationally televised regular-season game and drew the largest crowd to witness an indoor basketball game (52,693), a record that stood for three decades.

Similar articles have appeared over the years, but this one had some information I hadn't been aware of. Foremost is the fact that Elvin Hayes, the UH center in the Game of the Century and later an NBA star, has refused to set foot in the Naismith Hall since his 1990 election.

Einhorn Elected to College Basketball Hall of Fame

Ted Nance e-mailed to notify me that Eddie Einhorn, the television producer of the Game of the Century (and later turned baseball owner and executive) has been elected to the College Basketball Hall of Fame. Ted notes further that, "I think he will be the seventh person with ties to the Game of the Century who will be a Hall member... Guy Lewis, John Wooden, Kareem, Elvin Hayes, Bob Pettit (TV color for the game), Einhorn and (I'm not sure about this one) Denny Crum."

As shown on the Hall's website, Crum indeed is a member (see the inaugural 2006 class). However, Crum's stint as a UCLA assistant apparently did not include the GOTC. The game program lists only Jerry Norman as a UCLA assistant and an article on the 40th anniversary of the 1967-68 UCLA squad that lists everybody down to the student managers does not mention Crum.

I would think that Dick Enberg, who did the television play-by-play for the Game of the Century and later went on to form a legendary NBC college-basketball broadcasting line-up with Al McGuire and Billy Packer, warrants induction as well. Now, maybe he'll be the seventh...

New York Times Reviews Post-Phi Slama Jama UH Program

With Houston poised to host this year's men's Final Four at Reliant Stadium, the New York Times takes a look at what's gone wrong with the UH basketball program over roughly the past 30 years.

43rd Anniversary of Game of the Century

Today is the 43rd anniversary of the Game of the Century. If you've visited this site in the past, you may have noticed that it now has a new look, featuring some memorabilia I have. I hope you like it.

Also, the Houston Chronicle has an article on the 43rd anniversary, in conjunction with the fact that a Houston domed stadium (in this case, Reliant Stadium) will host this year's NCAA men's Final Four. The next-door Astrodome, in addition to hosting the Game of the Century, was the site of the 1971 Final Four.

Elvin Hayes MLK Day Interview

In connection with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Elvin Hayes did an interview Monday evening with Houston radio station KILT 610 (archived audio). The focus of the interview involved Hayes's reflections on coming from a small-town in segregated Louisiana to play at the University of Houston, as the university integrated its athletic program in the mid-1960s. The Game of the Century, in which Hayes played a starring role, was also touched upon a bit in the interview, as were former Cougar coach Guy V. Lewis's contributions to sport and society.

Enberg, 75, Announcing San Diego Padres Games

Oh my! Dick Enberg, who did the television play-by-play for the Game of the Century, is still going strong at age 75. Enberg has done broadcasts of college basketball and other sports for CBS in recent years. What I did not know about until an article in today's New York Times, however, is that Enberg is doing around 120 games this season on San Diego Padres baseball telecasts.

Enberg has longstanding ties to southern California, of course, announcing UCLA basketball, Angels baseball, and then-L.A. Rams football several decades ago. I also remember reading many years ago that, even back when announcing for the Angels, he lived more toward San Diego. Thus, Enberg's Padres gig doesn't surprise me all that much. It is somewhat unusual, however, that at an age when many professionals are winding down their careers, he has intensified his.

John Wooden Dead at 99

It is with great sadness that I relay the news that John Wooden, UCLA men's basketball coach from 1948-1975 (which encompasses the Game of the Century), has just died at the age of 99. UCLA's athletics website has a collection of tributes to Coach Wooden. I would also suggest the Los Angeles Times as a source for coverage of Wooden's passing.

Bobby Scott, One of GOTC Refs, Dies at 79

Bobby Scott, one of the referees for the Game of the Century, died January 30 at age 79. According to Scott's obituary in the San Antonio Express News, he had a number of achievements as a basketball referee, officiating two Final Fours and serving as the Missouri Valley Conference supervisor of officials. He was also active in other sports before becoming a basketball referee. My thanks to W. Lynn Morrow for providing information on Mr. Scott's passing.

Abdul-Jabbar Living with Rare Form of Leukemia

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was known as Lew Alcindor when he played for UCLA in the Game of the Century, announced that he has been living the past year with a rare form of leukemia. The 62-year-old Abdul-Jabbar noted, however, that his condition appears controllable and not immediately life-threatening.

Happy 99th Coach Wooden!

A happy 99th birthday to former UCLA coach John Wooden.

Rick Reilly Writes Column on Coach Wooden at 98

Rick Reilly has a nice column on John Wooden, coinciding with the latter's 98th birthday earlier this month.

Elvin Hayes Interview on GOTC

Over at the UH athletics website, I found this online video of Elvin Hayes being interviewed about the Game of the Century. I don't know exactly when the interview was conducted, but it seemed fairly recent.

E-Mail from Tom Gribben

Probably the most interesting and enjoyable aspect of operating this website is when someone who played in the Game of the Century, or was associated with it in some other manner, contacts me.

Former UH player Vern Lewis e-mailed me in February 2007, whereas the school's longtime Sports Information Director Ted Nance did the same roughly a year earlier.

Yesterday, I heard from Tom Gribben, a sophomore 6-2 guard-forward swingman for the Cougars in 1968 (click here for GOTC box score and here for the Cougars' 1967-68 overall statistics). Tom shared some recollections on the classic game and how its legacy has endured. He added, on a humorous note, that:

I tell people all the time I scored the winning two points, they just happened to be in the first half.

Alcindor (Abdul-Jabbar) and Hayes in ESPN's Top 25 All-Time College Hoops Players

In recent weeks, ESPN had been unveiling its list of the 25 greatest college basketball players of all time, revealing one player each night, starting from No. 25. Each of the two towering figures (literally and figuratively) in the UCLA-Houston Game of the Century made the list. The Bruins' Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) was named the No. 1 college basketball player of all time, whereas the Cougars' Elvin Hayes came in at No. 14. A brief video synopsis of each player's college career is available at the above-linked website. Hayes's video is comprised entirely of footage from the GOTC; a clip from the same game appears in Alcindor's.

40th Anniversary of Game of the Century

The day is here! Today, January 20, 2008, is the 40th anniversary of the Game of the Century. As I've expressed in previous postings, I'm very upset that no anniversary game between UCLA and Houston will be taking place today.

The best substitute activity that I can recommend to mark the occasion, for those of you who own a copy of Eddie Einhorn's book, How March Became Madness, is to watch the DVD of the 1968 Bruin-Cougar Astrodome classic that comes with the book (the DVD includes the last few minutes of the first half and the entire second half). That's what I'm going to do.

I'll be interested to see how much media coverage the 40th anniversary gets. As I find online articles, I'll add links to them, below...

J.R. Gonzales, who writes a "Bayou City History" blog for the Houston Chronicle, has an extensive retrospective on the game, including some amazing photos (including one of the extra-long bed a Houston hotel commissioned for UCLA's 7-foot-2 Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).

The San Antonio Express-News also has a retrospective on the game (identified by "AustinCougr" on a Houston Cougars discussion board).

There's also an article in the Los Angeles Times.

Coach Lewis Injured in Fall

The Houston Chronicle reports that former UH Coach Guy V. Lewis was injured in a fall prior to last Saturday's Houston-Arizona game at which he was honored (see entry below). In fact, Lewis will need to undergo surgery to repair a broken hip.

The 85-year-old Lewis certainly was a real trooper last Saturday, going through with the festivities despite his injuries. I'm sure all basketball fans wish Coach Lewis the best in this situation.

This coming Sunday, January 20, is the 40th anniversary of the Houston-UCLA Game of the Century and it's sad that the winning coach in that game (or anyone associated with it, for that matter) is in a serious medical situation around the time of the anniversary.

Coach Lewis Honored at Recent UH Game

Following up on my posting of a couple days ago, ceremonies were indeed held Saturday at the Arizona-Houston game to honor former Cougar Coach Guy V. Lewis. I found two online photo galleries of the events, one from the Houston Chronicle and the other from UH Athletics/College Sports Television (CSTV). Most of the shots in both sets feature action from the Arizona game, but each gallery has a photo of Lewis (the Chronicle's is devoted to college basketball generally, so it also includes photos from other Saturday games in the region). Links are provided below. Only the Chronicle's photos have captions, so it's probably best to look at them first, to learn who everyone is.

Houston Chronicle college basketball gallery

UH/CSTV photo gallery

Enjoy!