Ray Sanchez 02.28.16©
People keep asking why David Palacio doesn’t attend any of the events celebrating Texas Western College’s 1966 NCAA basketball championship. After all, Palacio was an integral part of the team and helped win what coach Don Haskins once called “the greatest game in which he had been involved.” El Pasoans who were at that particular game or watched it on television called it simply the greatest comeback they had ever seen.
Exaggeration? Maybe. But the Miners’ 67-64 overtime victory over University of New Mexico in 1966 certainly ranks as the greatest comeback in the school’s history considering the importance of it.
HERE’S HOW the game was described in the book, “Basketball’s Biggest Upset:”
“… The Miners started out colder than a refrigerator in a meat packing plant … They missed jump shots, layups and free throws, partly because of New Mexico’s Mel Daniels, who seemed to be intimidating them … The Miners wound up the first half with a miserable 29 percent field goal shooting percentage and trailing by 16 points.
“… Things didn’t start out much better in the second half. The Miners continued cold and the Lobos led by as much as 20 points twice, the last time with 14 minutes, three seconds remaining in the game.”
PALACIO WAS only a sophomore at the time, but Haskins decided to put him in the game at that point. The book describes what happened:
“…Palacio and Hill put on one of the most amazing defensive shows of the season. Palacio quickly stole a ball and went in for a layup. Then Hill stole a ball and went in for a layup. Then Palacio stole a ball, and another. Then Hill stole a couple more.
“The Lobos went into shock and the Miners rallied to win the game.”
Palacio, 6 feet 2, scored only two points in the game but helped to completely change the momentum of the game.
He became a starter the following season (1967) and was a big factor in the Miners’ 22-8 season. He didn’t play his senior year but finished his schooling.
FINE, BUT why did Palacio stop attending celebrations of the championship team? When I interviewed him, he made no bones about not liking Haskins’ intimidating style of coaching. But heck, none of the other players liked Haskins’ style either – at least not until he had made them champions.
No, there had to be another reason, so when Moe Iba, Haskins’ assistant coach during the championship season, came to the 50th celebration of the ’66 Miners’ victory this month, I pointedly asked him if there was another reason.
He said yes, and that it had to do with Tony Harper.
ACCORDING TO Iba, Palacio and Harper had become close friends while participating in sports at Austin High School. Harper could have been on the championship Texas Western College basketball team in 1966 but opted to play baseball. He did join the team in 1967 and lettered two years.
Moe Iba says Palacio thought Harper should be invited to the festivities following the Miners’ 1966 championship and asked it be so.
It didn’t happen. Palacio allegedly decided that if Harper wouldn’t be invited, he wouldn’t attend either.
It was, according to Iba, a matter of friendship and Palacio to this day has held to his vow.
TONY HARPER went on to become one of the most successful high school basketball coaches not only in El Paso, but all of Texas, while Palacio, after graduating from UTEP in 1968 with a business degree, moved to Los Angeles. He worked in the music industry for 36 years before retiring in 2008 as executive vice president for Univision Music Group.
Both Palacio and Harper have had little to say about the incident.
Palacio has missed out on a lot of fun by being a maverick, but no one can question his commitment to friendship.
