The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Former Men’s Basketball player Albert Almanza passes away
01.28.2023 | Men's Basketball, T-Association
A Texas Athletics Hall of Honor inductee, Almanza played for the Longhorns (1958-61) and was a two-time member of the Mexican Olympic team (1960 and 1964).
AUSTIN, Texas — Albert Almanza, a former University of Texas men's basketball player (1958-61), two-time member of the Mexican Olympic team (1960 and 1964) and Texas Athletics Hall of Honor inductee (2004), passed away late Friday in Austin. Almanza was 86 years old.
Services will be held next Saturday (Feb. 4) at Tarrytown Methodist Church in Austin. Time and other details are being finalized.
"My Dad loved The University, second only to his family," said his son, Boone, a 1988 graduate of The University of Texas School of Law. "It provided him an opportunity to live out his dreams of playing basketball, getting a great education and then having a business career as a Longhorn legend. He also met his bride of 62 years on the Forty Acres and when he passed away peacefully on Friday night, was wearing a Texas Basketball shirt. We are forever grateful for The University of Texas and the opportunity it provided my Dad and our family."
Almanza was a three-year letterwinner and starting forward for Texas (1959-61). During his junior season in 1959-60, he ranked fourth on the team in scoring (10.8 ppg) while helping the Longhorns post an 18-8 overall record, win the Southwest Conference regular-season championship (11-3 mark) and advance to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 under head coach Harold Bradley. He led the 1958-59 and 1960-61 teams in rebounding with season averages of 8.0 and 9.2 rebounds per game, respectively.
At the 1960 Rome Olympics, Almanza served as a co-captain and led the team in scoring (19.8 ppg) while helping Mexico to a 4-4 record and a 12th-place finish. He returned for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and again led the squad in scoring (14.7 ppg) while helping Mexico to a 3-6 mark and a 12th-place finish. Almanza also was a member of the Mexican National Team that competed in the 1960 Pan American Games in Chicago.
Almanza was selected with the fourth pick of the seventh round of the 1961 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. He was inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor in 2004 and the Latin American International Sports Hall of Fame in 1978.
A native of Chihuahua City, Mexico, Almanza was born on May 1, 1936. He moved to the United States in 1954 and attended Jefferson High School in El Paso.
