# 1962–63 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team

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 | |
* ↑ Dropped out of school early in the spring semester, citing financial troubles$^{:187}$
* 1 2 Ruled academically ineligible after the fall semester$^{:186}$

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| December 1, 1962* | No. 4 | Christian Brothers | W 114–58 | 1–0 | Alumni Gym Chicago, IL |
| December 3, 1962* | No. 4 | North Dakota | W 110–56 | 2–0 | Alumni Gym Chicago, IL |
| December 10, 1962* | No. 4 | Milwaukee | W 107–47 | 3–0 | Alumni Gym Chicago, IL |
| December 15, 1962* | No. 4 | South Dakota | W 105–58 | 4–0 | Alumni Gym Chicago, IL |
| December 17, 1962* | No. 4 | Western Michigan | W 123–102 | 5–0 | Alumni Gym Chicago, IL |
| December 19, 1962* | No. 4 | at Indiana | W 106–94 | 6–0 | Gladstein Fieldhouse Bloomington, IN |
| December 22, 1962* | No. 4 | #10 Seattle | W 93–83 | 7–0 | Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL |
| December 26, 1962* | No. 3 | Arkansas All-College Tournament | W 81–62 | 8–0 | Municipal Auditorium Oklahoma City, OK |
| December 27, 1962* | No. 3 | Memphis State All-College Tournament | W 94–82 | 9–0 | Municipal Auditorium Oklahoma City, OK |
| December 28, 1962* | No. 3 | Wyoming All-College Tournament Championship | W 93–82 | 10–0 | Municipal Auditorium Oklahoma City, OK |
| December 31, 1962* | No. 3 | Dayton | W 74–69 | 11–0 | Alumni Gym Chicago, IL |
| January 3, 1963* | No. 2 | Marshall | W 103–58 | 12–0 | Alumni Gym Chicago, IL |
| January 5, 1963* | No. 2 | Loyola (LA) | W 88–53 | 13–0 | Alumni Gym Chicago, IL |
| January 8, 1963* | No. 2 | at Marquette | W 87–68 | 14–0 | Milwaukee, WI |
| January 10, 1963* | No. 2 | at Western Michigan | W 107–69 | 15–0 | University Arena Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 19, 1963* | No. 2 | at Kent State | W 96–55 | 16–0 | Memorial Gymnasium Kent, OH |
| January 21, 1963* | No. 2 | at Ohio | W 80–72 | 17–0 | Grover Center Athens, OH |
| January 26, 1963* | No. 2 | Santa Clara | W 82–72 | 18–0 | Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL |
| January 31, 1963* | No. 2 | Washington (MO) | W 118–58 | 19–0 | Alumni Gym Chicago, IL |
| February 2, 1963* | No. 2 | Iowa | W 86–68 | 20–0 | Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL |
| February 12, 1963* | No. 2 | Marquette | W 92–90$^{OT}$ | 21–0 | Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL |
| February 16, 1963* | No. 2 | at Bowling Green | L 75–92 | 21–1 | Anderson Arena Bowling Green, OH |
| February 18, 1963* | No. 2 | at St. John's | W 70–47 | 22–1 | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| February 23, 1963* | No. 3 | at Houston | W 62–58 | 23–1 | Jeppesen Gymnasium Houston, TX |
| February 27, 1963* | No. 3 | Ohio | W 114–94 | 24–1 | Alumni Gym Chicago, IL |
| March 2, 1963* | No. 3 | #8 Wichita State | L 72–73 | 24–2 | Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 11, 1963* | No. 5 | vs. Tennessee Tech NCAA mideast regional quarterfinal | W 111–42 | 25–2 | McGaw Hall Evanston, IL |
| March 15, 1963* | No. 3 | vs. No. 7 Mississippi State NCAA mideast regional semifinal "Game of Change" | W 61–51 | 26–2 | Jenison Fieldhouse (12,143) East Lansing, MI |
| March 16, 1963* | No. 3 | vs. No. 8 Illinois NCAA mideast regional final | W 79–64 | 27–2 | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| March 22, 1963* | No. 3 | vs. No. 2 Duke NCAA national semifinal | W 94–75 | 28–2 | Freedom Hall Louisville, KY |
| March 23, 1963* | No. 3 | vs. No. 1 Cincinnati NCAA national championship | W 60–58$^{OT}$ | 29–2 | Freedom Hall (19,153) Louisville, KY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time. Source: 2018–19 Loyola men's basketball media guide ||||||

## 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

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 2 | 9 | Jerry Harkness | New York Knicks |