I’d only ever known this curtain in the gym to be blue.
This is a Houston Chronicle photo that I grabbed off the internet.
(Incidentally, the ghastly blue suit that former AD Chris Del Conte had made out of a piece of that blue curtain is in the Woodson. It weighs roughly a ton.)
This striped curtain is new to me. It looks pretty gaudy, doesn’t it?
These images are pretty fuzzy and all scratched up on top of it, but I’m hoping someone will be able to give me at least an approximate date. I’m thinking it must be early or mid-60s. Nice hats on the band, by the way.
Unusual referee uniforms too!
Intramurals, maybe?
I can’t ever remember an intramural game with a) an audience of that size, or b) a band. From the haircuts I would bet late 50s, rather than in the 60s.
Those stands were rolled out only for intercollegiate games, and the students never came to intramural games, much less the band. I can’t make out the visiting team name, but with a Campanile it might be possible to identify Rice no. 32. The 60s seems right – the guys are still wearing white socks and penny loafers, but the 50s crew cuts look to be gone.
The band is looking dapper, with straw boaters and ties.
Karl, from the Rice Basketball Fact Book (page 134), here’s a list of all the fellows who wore #32 (and I’ve added their letter years, if I could find them; the fact book also had some partial-career years when the number was worn): Norman Pahmeier, F (1953-54); Tinker Wilson, F (1955-56); Dick Park, F; (1960-61); Bob Hill, F (H, 1961-62); Dick Cramer, G (H) (1963); Larry Miller, G (H) (1966-68); Tom Myer, F (H) (1969-71); Hary Huggins, G; John Brockenbrough Mott, G (1978-80); Tom Miller, G (1983-85); Ronald Robertson, G (1986-88); Brent Scott, C (1990-93); Jesse Cravins, F (1994-95); Ferron Morgan, C (2000-01); Rashid Smith, G (2003-04); Cory Pflieger, G (2006-7,-9,-11)
And short shorts.
Those were the best.
Never seen the basketball band in that uniform before.
To my knowledge, Nelson Hatt (’66) lead a basketball band that was formed on the jazz band of his time. His stories made me think that there hadn’t been an active band before he got this particular version going.
Having no luck mapping the logo on the floor to any logo other than the curvy, fat “R” that was on the football helmets from ’67 to ’70, and this “R” is skinny.
Grungy — The floor logo in this photo that appeared on page 90 of the 1968 Campanile looks to be the same as that seen in the photos above: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51072556671_b3ccce9870_w.jpg
I can’t find any pics of college b-ball games with refs wearing anything but the traditional black and white vertical stripes. This is a mystery.
Maybe they cut up that curtain to make referee shirts…
Marty — This photo, cropped from one that appeared on page 94 of the 1968 Campanile, shows a referee wearing the distinctive (and unusual and surely short-lived) uniform shown in the two photos above.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51072556501_cd8cec4b76.jpg
#32 is Larry Miller. He played from 1964-1968. Others appear to be Bill Howard, Tommy Molina and maybe Bobby Rule. I’ve asked Coach Greg Williams to comment.
Coach Williams confirmed that #32 is Larry Miller. He said the curtain was striped, and a vinyl like material. It did not go all the way to the top so badminton shuttlecocks would occasionally come onto the court and the game would have to be stopped. The year is 67-68.
Thanks, John! I never would have figured that one out.
John — Two photos in the 1968 Campanile, which I referenced in comments above, are consistent with the 1967-68 season.
A third photo (linked below), cropped from a photo that appeared on page 93 of the yearbook, shows a Texas Tech uniform may be the same one shown in the photos posted above.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51080626806_183af8ebda_w.jpg
I’m not positive that the unis are TTech’s, but the a) curved letters on the top of the jersey front, b) white-outlined dark uniform numbers and c) trim on the shorts appear to be very similar.
If the blog photos were from the Texas Tech game played at Autry, its date was March 2, the last game of the season, and the Owls won, 84-80.
Sadly, I don’t see any game story in the Thresher. The only mention was a letter to the editor in the March 7, 1968, Thresher (page 2). It was written by Buff Waters (Wiess ’69):
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“The few people who attended the Rice-Texas Tech basketball game last Saturday afternoon saw Rice win to put Texas Tech into the SWC cellar along with SMU.
I wonder how many of those saw a fine example of sportsmanship that occurred at the game.
Texas Tech had been a preseason pick for the top of the SWC ladder but ran into trouble and lost enough games to end up in last place. The loss to Rice was a “decisive” one, for had they won, we, not they, would have been in last place.
For this reason the loss to us probably stung, yet it did not prevent the Texas Tech players from approaching our players immediately after the game to congratulate them for a well-played-game. And I saw that they did so with sincerity and a smile.
Such a gesture of sportsmanship, to accept defeat graciously, is praiseworthy and should be an example for many other people — spectators as well as players — to follow.”
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