The 1962–63 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team represented Loyola University Chicago. Champions of the 1963 NCAA tournament, the Ramblers were coached by George Ireland. They defeated top-ranked and two-time defending champion Cincinnati Bearcats in a 60–58 overtime contest. The 1962–63 Ramblers were one of the first NCAA men's basketball teams to have broken the so-called "gentlemen's agreement" among coaches in which no more than two black players would be on the floor at one time (and in some road games, black players would have to rotate so that only one of them was playing at any given moment): the Ramblers would regularly have three or four black starters, paving the way for the 1965–66 Texas Western Miners men's basketball team who would finally put the "agreement" to rest and have an all-black starting five. They played in the Game of Change, in which a Mississippi State team defied segregationists to play against Loyola, breaking the unwritten law that Mississippi teams would not play against black players.

On July 11, 2013, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of their championship, surviving members of Loyola's team were honored by President Barack Obama in a ceremony at the Oval Office of the White House. It also was announced that the entire team would be inducted in the College Basketball Hall of Fame in a ceremony scheduled for November 2013.

Roster

Name # Position Height Year Hometown Dan Connaughton 34 Sophomore Hamilton, Ohio Jack Egan 11 Guard 5–10 Junior Chicago, Ill. Jerry Harkness 15 Forward 6–3 Senior Bronx, N.Y. Les Hunter 41 Center 6–7 Junior Nashville, Tenn. Earl Johnson 30 Sophomore Ron Miller 42 Guard 6–2 Junior Bronx, N.Y. Jim Reardon 33 Senior Pablo Robertson 14 Guard 5–7 Sophomore Bronx, N.Y. Rich Rochelle 10 Center 6–9 Junior Vic Rouse 40 Forward 6–6 Junior Nashville, Tenn. Billy Smith 24 Forward 6–5 Sophomore Chuck Wood 23 Junior

Schedule

!colspan=8 style=| NCAA Tournament

Rankings

Awards and honors Jerry Harkness: Consensus First Team All-American First Team AP All-American First Team USBWA All-American First Team NABC All-American First Team UPI All-American Second Team NEA All-American

Team: College Basketball Hall of Fame (2013)

Records Loyola's first-round Mideast Regional victory over Tennessee Tech, 111–42, continues to be the record margin of victory (69 points) in an NCAA men's basketball tournament game.

NBA draft

2 9 Jerry Harkness New York Knicks

References

External links

Roster and stats at Sports Reference