"Forty Minutes of Hell" in the Works

[WilsonHog]

There is a story in this week's Sports Illustrated about the beginnings of Texas Western's run to the national title in 1966. Two interesting bits of information:

(1) Rus Bradburd, a former assistant to Don Haskins, is writing a biography of Nolan titled, "Forty Minutes of Hell."

(2) One reason why Texas Western was able to attract the large class of African-American players who would win that national championship can be traced to an incident in which Nolan was directly involved. Bert Williams, a white city alderman and a former Texas Western player, took Nolan to a restaurant which didn't serve blacks. The waitress refused to look at Nolan and instead looked at Williams and said, "I can't serve him." The incident led Williams to draft and push through a city anti-discrimination ordinance.

I cannot imagine how it would make me feel as a man if I sat down in a restaraunt and was refused service because of the color of my skin. I'm thinking if that happened to me enough it might make me a little hard.

I'm looking forward to the book.     

[The Boar War]

Should be an interesting read.

[FaytownHog]

There is a story in this week's Sports Illustrated about the beginnings of Texas Western's run to the national title in 1966. Two interesting bits of information:

(1) Rus Bradburd, a former assistant to Don Haskins, is writing a biography of Nolan titled, "Forty Minutes of Hell."

(2) One reason why Texas Western was able to attract the large class of African-American players who would win that national championship can be traced to an incident in which Nolan was directly involved. Bert Williams, a white city alderman and a former Texas Western player, took Nolan to a restaurant which didn't serve blacks. The waitress refused to look at Nolan and instead looked at Williams and said, "I can't serve him." The incident led Williams to draft and push through a city anti-discrimination ordinance.

I cannot imagine how it would make me feel as a man if I sat down in a restaraunt and was refused service because of the color of my skin. I'm thinking if that happened to me enough it might make me a little hard.

I'm looking forward to the book.    

wow. i would definitely give that a read too.

[mathhog]

There is a story in this week's Sports Illustrated about the beginnings of Texas Western's run to the national title in 1966. Two interesting bits of information:

(1) Rus Bradburd, a former assistant to Don Haskins, is writing a biography of Nolan titled, "Forty Minutes of Hell."

(2) One reason why Texas Western was able to attract the large class of African-American players who would win that national championship can be traced to an incident in which Nolan was directly involved. Bert Williams, a white city alderman and a former Texas Western player, took Nolan to a restaurant which didn't serve blacks. The waitress refused to look at Nolan and instead looked at Williams and said, "I can't serve him." The incident led Williams to draft and push through a city anti-discrimination ordinance.

I cannot imagine how it would make me feel as a man if I sat down in a restaraunt and was refused service because of the color of my skin. I'm thinking if that happened to me enough it might make me a little hard.

I'm looking forward to the book.     

you know, a lot of people (myself included) sometimes rolled our eyes when nolan went on about 'slave ships' and 'discrimination' (especially for a championship-winning multi-millionaire), but i need to be remindeed that the man went through A LOT in a different era.  i can't imagine being in that kind of restaraunt situation.

and im too young to remember, but ive heard stories of a lot of h*ll he took even in arkansas that first year he was hired, n-word this and n-word that, death threats and midnight phone calls..... say what you want, but he went through a lot with a smaller chip on his shoulder than most of us would!!!!!!!!!

sounds like a good book, i'd really like to read it when done

[Wild Bill Hog]

NR was not on the Nat'l Championship team was he?  I believe he came in a couple of years later.

[kingofdequeen]

growing up black in the 50's and 60's in the south would make racists of us all.

[G-HOG]

I have been refused service overseas because I am an American, but I can't begin to fathom the thought of being refused service in my own country because of the color of my skin.

[GS99]

NR was not on the Nat'l Championship team was he?  I believe he came in a couple of years later.

He was before the Natl Championship team.  Yes, they had black players before 65-66. 

There was a lot of Hollywood fiction in the movie Glory Road.  Texas Western was the first team to start 5 black players in the national championship game, but Cincinnatti, the '62 champions, and Loyala, the '63 champions each started 4 black players.  Heck, San Francisco won it with four black players a decade earlier.  In 1958, the All-American team was all black.

back to the topic...

I, like Mathhog (great post), always said that Nolan had good reason for that chip on his shoulder.  If you face that one time, you probably never get over it.  And if you face it over and over again...

[bvillepig]

Nolan will always be one of my favorite people.   

When he would make his red neck comments I knew he was not talking about me.  I knew what group he was speaking of and they deserved everything Nolan said and more.

When Nolan said there was not a level playing field I knew what he meant and agreed.

I heard Nolan speak at Blytheville Country club and some could take his delivery and some could not.  I wished he would have have tempered his words but that would not have been Nolan. I tended to agree  with most of what he had to say.  Kind of like an Evangelist hitting close to home but you don't like hearing it. 


I will love to read the book and hope I can learn from it.