Bobby Joe Hill
Guard | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|---|---|
| |
Tyrone Bobby Joe Hill (June 12, 1943 – December 8, 2002) was an American
Bobby Joe Hill was the 5'11 point guard from Highland Park, Michigan on the Texas Western college basketball team that won the national title in 1966. Texas Western's win over the top-ranked Kentucky team, nicknamed "Rupp's Runts," in the title game in College Park, Maryland, is considered one of the most historic games in the annals of college basketball. The school's all-black starting five defeated a white Kentucky team, 72–65. Bobby Joe Hill was one of the most prominent players on the court. In the first half, he stole the ball from both
directed Kentucky.
The Miners' victory over the Kentucky Wildcats was a landmark event in the history of civil right and sports desegregation, comparable to Jackie Robinson's baseball tenure with the Brooklyn Dodgers, decisively proving that color of skin has no bearing on talent and ability. Of note is that Don Haskins and the entire Texas Western squad rose above racial threats, insults, vandalism, and violence throughout the 1965–1966 season to their against-all-odds triumph.
Bobby Joe Hill stayed in El Paso after his Texas Western career, married his college sweetheart Waltina Malachi in 1966. He retired as an executive with
The story of Bobby Joe Hill and the 1966 Texas Western national championship has been immortalized in the film
References
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
- ^ "UTEP to Pay Tribute to Bobby Joe Hill Prior to Tennessee State Game". Archived from the original on 2006-09-04. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
- ^ UTEP
External links
- Video of 1966 NCAA Championship Game on YouTube
- Bobby Joe Hill at Find a Grave