The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Longhorns spotlight: A salute to the former lettermen
01.06.2006 | Men's Basketball
It is often said that to gain a better appreciation for what is happening in the present, it is best to pay tribute to those who have come before and laid the foundation. Today, as part of Lettermen's Reunion Day here at the Erwin Center, we take time to do just that.
With the celebration of the 100th season of Texas Basketball in full swing, we pay tribute to all those who have worn the Burnt Orange and White in the previous 99 years of competition. And we especially say "thank you" to those pictured on the front of today's game poster, the 1906 Longhorns.
That 1906 team, featuring coach Magnus Mainland and captain Carl Von Blucher, took to the court for the first time on March 10, 1906. That day in Austin, the Longhorns defeated Baylor 27-17 outdoors at Clark Field. It was the first of 1,488 victories in school history entering today's game against Colorado.
Texas would go on to register a 7-1 mark in its first season and a 4-4 record the following year. However, the sport of basketball at Texas was dropped following the 1906-07 season due to inadequate funding. The 1907-08 season would mark the only year to date that the Longhorns did not field a team in the sport of men's basketball.
Morgan Vining was the man held mostly responsible for the revival of Texas Basketball. The Longhorns, coached by W.E. Metzenthin, posted a 6-3 record during the 1908-09 season. The 1909 Cactus Yearbook appropriately wrote, "We must give credit to Vining and his men for preserving a game that will mean much to Texas athletics in the future."
Texas finished the 1912-13 season with an 8-4 record. More importantly, basketball became a major athletic program at The University. Said the 1913 Cactus Yearbook, "Basketball is no longer a minor sport at the University of Texas. It always has been so considered until this year when Professor Carl Cleveland Taylor took charge of the work and infused new life into it."
Since those early formative days, Texas has had a proud history of team success and individual highlights.
Aided by the play of Clyde Littlefield, the first player in UT history to earn All-America honors (Helms Foundation in 1916), the Longhorns registered a school-record 44 consecutive wins over a stretch of five seasons (1913 to 1917). The achievement still ranks as the fifth-longest winning streak in NCAA Division I history. In fact, UT's .789 winning percentage from 1910 to 1919 was the fourth-best mark in the NCAA for that decade. Only Navy, California and Wisconsin had better winning percentages in the 1910s.
The 1920s were highlighted by the success of Abb Curtis (1922-24), who earned All-America (Helms Foundation) accolades in 1924. The 1923-24 Longhorns, coached by E.J. "Doc" Stewart, posted a perfect 23-0 mark during the season. This would mark the fourth and final undefeated season in school history.
Jack Gray (1933-35) became the first consensus first-team All-American in school history following the 1934-35 campaign. This would be something not achieved by an UT player until Chris Mihm in 1999-2000. Gray perfected the one-handed "push" shot that played a key role in the evolution of today's jump shot. In the days of the center jump and team scores in the 40s, Gray posted 32 points -- a staggering total in those days -- in the final game of the 1932-33 season against rival Texas A&M. Gray went on to take over the coaching reigns at Texas just two years after his playing career ended.
The 1940s saw two Final Four appearances for the Longhorns. Led by the play of John Hargis, the 1942-43 team defeated Washington in the NCAA Western Regional in Kansas City. Since the NCAA Tournament used an eight-team field, the win advanced Texas to the National Semifinals (then considered the regional final). UT concluded the year with a 58-54 loss to Wyoming in the semifinals. Hargis led the 1943 NCAA Tournament in individual scoring with 59 points in two games.
Later in the decade, Slater Martin (1944, `47-49) proved to be the catalyst for the Longhorns. Martin led the legendary 1946-47 "Mighty Mice" team, featuring three starters 5-10 or shorter, to a 26-2 mark and a third-place national finish, the highest in UT history. Martin would go on to earn first-team All-America honors (Helms Foundation) as a senior in 1948-49. During his career, he played in 78 games and broke UT's all-time scoring mark (984 points). Martin then had an 11-year NBA career and became the first and only Texas player to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1981.
Raymond Downs (1955-57) highlighted the decade of the 1950s. Down earned second-team All-America honors (Helms Foundation) in both 1956 and 1957 and still holds the school record for career scoring average (22.3 ppg). Gib Ford (1952-54) became UT's first Olympian on the hardcourt when he earned a gold medal with the United States at the 1956 Melbourne Games.
Jay Arnette (1958-60) and Albert Almanza (1959-61) paced Texas to a NCAA "Sweet 16" appearance and Southwest Conference title in 1960. Both Arnette and Almanza would also go on to compete in the Olympics. Arnette earned a gold medal with the United States during the 1960 Games in Rome on a squad considered by many to be the best amateur basketball team in Olympic history. Almanza was a two-time member of the Mexican Olympic team (1960 and 1964).
Larry Robinson (1972-74) paced the Longhorns to a NCAA "Sweet 16" appearance in 1972. Later in the decade, Ron Baxter (1977-80), Jim Krivacs (1977-79) and Johnny Moore (1976-79) helped lead the Longhorns to the 1978 NIT Championship.
LaSalle Thompson (1980-82) and Mike Wacker (1981-82, `85) highlighted the early part of the 1980s. Thompson became the first Longhorn to lead the nation in an individual statistical category when he averaged 13.5 rebounds per game in 1981-82. Later in the decade saw the arrival of the Texas "BMW," when Lance Blanks (1989-90), Travis Mays (1987-90) and Joey Wright (1989-91) helped guide the Longhorns on a memorable NCAA Tournament run to the "Elite Eight" in 1990.
The 1990s featured both outstanding team and individual success. B.J. Tyler (1992, '94) earned AP third-team All-America honors in 1994. Terrence Rencher (1992-95) was tabbed National Freshman of the Year by Dick Vitale in 1992 and went on to become UT's all-time scoring leader (2,306 career points). Reggie Freeman (1994-97) recorded 1,958 points (third in school history) and led the Longhorns to a NCAA "Sweet 16" appearance in 1997.
Chris Mihm (1998-2000) earned consensus first-team All-America accolades in 2000 and was the first player in school history to record 1,100 career points, 800 rebounds and 200 blocks. A quartet of freshman by the names of Brian Boddicker, Royal Ivey, Brandon Mouton and James Thomas arrived on campus in the fall of 2000 and continued the winning. That quartet teamed with T.J. Ford (2002-03), the 2003 Wooden and Naismith Award winner, to lead Texas to its most recent Final Four appearance in 2003.
Today, when this year's Texas team takes the court, we ask that you continue to support the present. But also, we ask that you take time to say "thank you" to those who have come before.