Men’s Basketball 1951-1966
1951- 1956 Coach Slue Hull
From 1951-1959 The Longhorns won no tournaments and were never ranked.
1951 16-8 record Coach Slue Hull
TOPPING THE CHARTS 1952
1952 12-9 record Coach Slue Hull
The first year of The Final Four as we know it today.
in 1952- 7 of the 8 “major” sports were only played by men.
1953 16- 9 record Coach Slue Hull SWC Co-Champs
MOMENT NO. 44
Jan. 15, 1954: The Longhorns defeat their first opponent ranked in the AP Poll, when they knock off No. 15 Rice 74-66 at Gregory Gym. Fred Saunders paced the Longhorns with 26 points.
Front- Hughes, Waggener, Richardson, Ford, Powell, Saunders, Hull
Back – Nelson, Kidd, Schmid, Buchanan, Warren, Medina
Season started strong but the team faded in the second half of the season. Longhorns lost in the playoff with Rice and did not qualify for tournament play.
1954 4-20 record Coach Slue Hull
Worst record in Longhorn basketball history but they beat A & M twice.
MOMENT NO. 90
Feb. 12, 1955: Texas defeats Texas A&M in College Station 80-76. The contest marked the highest scoring game in series history at that time (156 points). Ellis Olmstead secured a Longhorns victory with a basket and free throw in the last 30 seconds. Raymond Downs led the way with 39 points and set a SWC record for free throws made (23).
It was the worse season in UT Texas basketball history
1955-1956 12-12 record under Coach hull
The team managed to beat Oklahoma A & M (State) for the first time since 1943. It was Oklahoma A & M’s first defeat in their gym. Longhorns played a semi-pro basketball team called the Phillips Oilers. Longhorns lost 108 to 91. It was the most points ever scored in Gregory Gym.
Front- Hull, Kidd, Buchanan, Stewart, Schmid, Howard, Hughes
Back- Baty, Groogan, Olmstead, Downs, Hooten, Medina
Raymond Downs 1955 Two time All American
MOMENT NO. 12
On February 25, 1956, Raymond Downs tied the school record for single-game scoring with 49 points during a 101-95 victory at Baylor. He achieved this by making 18 field goals and 13 free throws.
The team also marked a milestone by defeating Oklahoma A&M (State) for the first time since 1943. This victory was particularly significant as it was Oklahoma A&M’s first loss in their home gym. Additionally, the team played against a semi-pro basketball team called the Phillips Oilers, suffering a defeat with a final score of 108 to 91; this game saw the most points ever scored in Gregory Gym.
This season was Coach Hull’s final year. The team finished fourth in the conference but ended on a high note by beating the Aggies 98-70 in Coach Hull’s last game. Ironically, this team set a total point record of 1,836 points for the season, while Raymond Downs exceeded the 600-point mark individually.
TOPPING THE CHARTS 1956
Ellis Olmestead, at 6″10″, was the tallest man to date to play basketball at UT.
1956-1957 11-13 Coach Marshall Hughes
MOMENT NO. 24
Jan. 18, 1957: In the first Texas home game ever televised, the Longhorns defeat No. 18 SMU at Gregory Gym 77-68 in what was called the “Miracle on Speedway Street.” SMU entered the game as heavy favorites but behind Raymond Downs’ 22 points and 13 boards, the Longhorns beat what the Cactus Yearbook called the most heralded team in Southwest Conference history. The win snapped a 20-game SWC winning streak for the Mustangs.
Front- Groogan, Downs, Buchanan, Howard, Olmstead, Shaffer
Back- Medina, Hughes, Cleveland, Decker, Hooten, Dowd, Clark, Hull
In the cellar in the SWC again.
Poor fan behavior at Gregory Gym has become a significant issue. Jack Gallagher of the Houston Post observes that “Texas officials long ago gave up trying to rein in the tribal instincts of the student body.” Lou Maysel of the Austin Statesman adds, “The University of Texas is facing a serious crisis due to the unruly crowd that attends basketball games. It’s a Roman holiday for that segment of the UT population that has yet to fully evolve from primitive instincts to civilized behavior.”
First televised home game
Raymond Downs still holds the record of 26.4 points per game average for a season. He is the first Longhorn ever drafted by the NBA. Downs scores 49 points in one game.
1957- 1958 Record 10-13 Coach Marshall Hughes pending
7th in conference play-
1958-1959 record 4-20 Coach Marshall Hughes
MOMENT NO. 88
Jan. 3, 1959: The Longhorns defeat SWC favorite Rice 61-58 in Houston. Albert Almanza led the team with 30 points as the Horns rallied back from a 19-point deficit to pull off the upset.
Front- Viramontes, Stewart, Santos, Gandy, Puryear, Beard, Davenport, Huhges
Middle- Furgerson, White, Wilson, Arnette, Loney, Mimms, Graham
Back- Cox, Almanza, Clark, Russell, Smith
Team finished last in the SWC.
Texas vs Texas A&M 1958 basketball game. Part 1 of 3. 2/15/1958.
Topping the Charts in 1958 was Chuck Berry
Albert participated in the Olympics under Mexico’s flag.
Coach Hughes resigns.
From 1959-1976, the Longhorns participated in only four NCAA tournaments and won the SWC championship only four times in 17 years.
1959-1967 Coach Harold Bradley
Harold Bradley faced rejection from African American basketball players during his coaching tenure. On two occasions, he believed he had successfully crossed the racial barrier, but he ultimately failed. His best opportunity to recruit a Black athlete was James Cash. To demonstrate his commitment to Cash, Bradley visited the Austin City Council and urged the Human Rights Commission to show that Texas was working to improve race relations. However, Cash ultimately chose to attend TCU instead of Texas.
Coach Bradley was also convinced that Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) would attend Texas and even had a preliminary press release prepared in anticipation. Bill Little articulated Coach Bradley’s challenges by saying, “There were legitimate concerns about how to integrate when there had been no prior examples of it.”
From 1959 to 1976, the Longhorns participated in only four NCAA tournaments and won the Southwest Conference championship just four times in 17 years.
1959 18-8 record coach Harold Bradley- sweet 16
MOMENT NO. 43
Feb. 29, 1960: Led by Jay Arnette and Albert Almanza, the Longhorns defeat Rice 86-62 to clinch their 12th SWC Championship in school history and their first outright title since 1947. The Longhorns finished the season with an 18-8 record, marking one of the biggest turnarounds in school history after a 4-20 mark in 1958-59. Texas would finish the season in the NCAA “Sweet 16.”
Front Row- Brown, Almanza, Arnette, Clark
Back row- Viramontes, Skeete, Laister, Leeser, Bradley
Inset is Brenton Hughes and Jerry Graham
MOMENT NO. 59
Feb. 16, 1960: The Longhorns defeat No. 11 Texas A&M 79-62 as Jay Arnette scores 25 points and Albert Almanza adds 18. The victory marks the highest-ranked opponent that UT ever beat in the 47-year history of play in Gregory Gym.
Coach Bradley is one of the first coaches in Texas who believes that offering scholarships benefits both the school and the athlete. The Southwest Conference (SWC) is regarded as a weak college basketball conference, which has jeopardized fan allegiance to the college game due to the popularity of professional sports in Texas. Despite this, the team achieved a Sweet 16 appearance.
MOMENT NO. 53
Jan. 5, 1960: Jay Arnette’s driving lay-up beats SMU 58-56. The victory sets the tone for an 11-3 mark in Southwest Conference play and helps the Longhorns post their first winning season in six years and first outright league title since 1946-47.
1960- 14-10 Record Coach Bradley
Front- Gilbert, Lasiter Ledbetter, Skeete, Heller, Graham
Back- Bradley, Ed Cullison, Ehman, Winborn, Porter, Almanza, Dugan, Brown
Team fell to 4 in Conference play. Donnie Lasiter led the team in scoring. Albert Almanza and Wayne Clark were also key to this teams point production and rebounds.
1961-1962 Record 16-8 Coach Bradley
The team loses to TCU by one point after 4 overtime periods.
Front- McMahon, Heller, Gilbert, Ledbetter, Puryear, Skeete.
Back row- Bradley, Ehman, Price, Humphrey, Dugan, Fisher, Brown , Weaks
1962- 21-5 record Coach Bradley – sweet 16
1962 basketball Paul Olivier, John Bush, John Robinson, and not known
MOMENT NO. 25
Mar. 9, 1963: Texas defeats favored Texas Western 65-47 in Lubbock to claim its second appearance in the NCAA “Sweet 16” in a four-year span. Mike Humphrey led the way with 18 points and ten boards while John Paul Fultz added 16.
This marked the first season since 1948, when the team achieved 20 wins. Jay Arnette was both an All-American and an Olympian, while Brenton Hughes ranked second in scoring for the Longhorns. The starting lineup included Brenton Hughes, Jay Arnette, Donnie Lasiter, Jimmy Brown, and Wayne Clark. Unfortunately, Texas was defeated by Kansas and DePaul in the NCAA tournament.
Lou Maysel from the Austin American-Statesman referred to Bradley as “a cage magician” who had “transformed a dozen bumpkins into impressive-looking chargers who look like they might run away with the SWC.”
However, bad sportsmanship reached a peak when, after Texas defeated A&M in Austin, Longhorn fans taunted the Aggies, leading to physical confrontations. Doctors were called in to treat the injured. Consequently, the administrations of both universities considered changing future games to a neutral site.
Lou Maysel even suggests a new arena is needed to separate the fans from each other and eliminate their close proximity to the Players.
1963 15-9 Record Coach Bradley –
MOMENT NO. 83
Feb. 15, 1964: The Longhorns defeat then-SWC frontrunner Texas Tech 78-76 in front of an excited Gregory Gym crowd. Bobby Puryear hits a free throw with three seconds left to put the game out of reach. Joe Fisher led the way with 13 points and 15 boards, while Larry Franks added 16.
Texas Board of Regents votes to desegregate all athletic activities at UT Austin.
TOPPING THE CHART 1964 THE SONG YOU’VE LOST THAT LOVIN’ FEELIN’
1964 16-9 record Coach Bradley
MOMENT NO. 86
Mar. 4, 1965: The Longhorns claim their 14th SWC Championship with a 79-75 win against Baylor in Waco. The Longhorns trailed by three with six minutes to go but went on to score the game’s next 11 points en route to the victory. Mickey White and Larry Franks led the way with 19 and 17 points, respectively.
The team is the SWC co-champion
SWC imposes scholarship limitations
Leon Black is hired as Asst. coach
Basketball is starting to lose popularity in Texas because high school coaches focus more on football, and high school gyms are locked at 4:00 p.m. The high school pipeline that makes the SWC so great in football is not adequate for basketball. The Gyms need to stay open later to attract pick-up games.
Bradley plans a press release to announce that Lew Alcindor will sign with Texas. Lew Alcindor attends UCLA.
1965-1966 12-12 record- Coach Bradley has a ‘vocal year”
1965- Coach Bradley says “I think Texas Tech has the worst crowd in the U.S.”
Bo Rothchild, Coach Bradley, trainer Joe Street, Coach Black – First row- Paul Oliver, Bob Ittner, Gary Overbeck, Charley Turnbough, Mickey White, – back row- Dale Dotson, Minton White, Larry Lake, Noel Stout, Mike Gammon , Billy Arnold
According to Richard Pennington’s book “Longhorn Hoops,” Coach Bradley states that SWC teams should avoid playing the Houston Cougars because Houston’s academic standards are lower than those of SWC teams. This gives Houston a significant recruiting advantage. Fred Sanner from the Austin American-Statesman refers to Houston as one of the “outlaw schools.” Additionally, Coach Bradley remarks, “I think Texas Tech has the worst crowd in the U.S.”
1966- 1967 14-10 record Coach Bradley
Smith, Stout, Bradley, Brender, Black and Gammon
sitting Lake, Bown, Overbeck, Turnbough, Matzinger, Arnold
This year, the SWC compiles the worst record ever against non-conference competition.
Coach Bradley literally throws in the towel against Baylor, and the Longhorn fans also decide to throw in various objects.
Coach Bradley resigns
Coach Black and Bradley
