This article is the second in a series about basketball legend, Frank Ramsey, who played for the UK Wildcats and the Boston Celtics.
With four NCAA titles, 27 SEC titles, and 876 victories, the legendary Adolph Rupp is an icon, not only in conjunction with UK basketball, but in all of college basketball. And from 1950-54 Frank Ramsey had the pleasure of playing for the “Baron of the Bluegrass.”
Courtesy KyForward.com
Ramsey ended up in Lexington through a friendship shared with a man named John Baldwin. Baldwin, who was a year older than Ramsey, migrated to UK to play football for legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant. One of “Bear’s Boys,” Baldwin was a member of UK’s 1950 national championship team.
Ramsey would travel to Lexington to visit Baldwin, and it was there that Ramesey met assistant basketball coach, Harry Lancaster.
“When I was offered a scholarship I was surprised and accepted immediately,” Ramsey recalls.” And I got to meet Coach Rupp.”
Ramsey first met Rupp in Rupp’s office, which was located in Alumni Gym. And the setup of that wasn’t what you’d expect from someone with high stature.
“It was about the size of that bathroom right over there,” Ramsey said as he pointed to a bathroom inside his office at Dixon Bank, where now he serves as vice president. “Rupp’s office didn’t have a door or a roof. It was just a boxed-off space in the corner of Alumni Gym.”
From what he had heard, Ramsey knew he would have to pass a test that day — if he wanted to play for Rupp.
“Rupp had a two-by-four that held the sides of the office together, and that two-by-four was 6′ 2″ high. If you didn’t hit your head on it, he wouldn’t talk to you,” said Ramsey, who stands 6-3. “So I made sure I hit my head.”
That was the beginning of Ramsey’s remarkable UK basketball career.
Ramsey remembers that the environment at Alumni Gym, where Ramsey played his freshman season, was vastly different from the large crowds that pack Rupp Arena today.
“Alumni Gym could only seat 2,000-2,500 people,” said Ramsey. “Each each student had an ID card with a student number on it. Depending on your number (even or odd), you could attend even-number games or odd-number games, but not both.”
Because attendence was so limited, local people had trouble getting tickets, too. People had to figure out ingenious ways to see the team play. “Some local people worked as ushers. Some were doctors and lawyers,” Ramsey recalls.
Courtesy: Bleacher Report
While those lucky enough to attend would see Rupp stroll the sidelines, few knew what Rupp was like behind closed doors.
“He was the absolute boss,” Ramsey said. “Kentuckians up there were especially in awe of him, and many players were from Kentucky. Jerry Bird was from Corbin. Billy Evans was from Berea. Bobby (Watson) and Cliff (Hagan) were both from Owensboro.”
“At practice the gates were closed—nobody got into our practices—and the gates were closed at 3:15 sharp. And if you didn’t have a good reason to be late for practice, then you didn’t eat that night.”
“There was no talking during practice–unless you could improve on the silence. All you heard was the bouncing of a basketball.”
“He was disciplined, the absolute boss,” Ramsey says. “But did it pay off!”
The Wildcats lost just four games during Ramsey’s time in Lexington.
UK won the national title in 1951 during Ramsey’s sophomore season, defeating Kansas State 68-58, to finish 32-2. Named as third-team All-America, Ramsey averaged 10.1 points and 12.8 rebounds a game.
In 1952 the Wildcats fell to St. John’s in the Elite Eight. That loss snapped a 23-game winning streak and UK finished the year 29-3. Ramsey averaged 15.9 points and 12.0 rebounds per game and was named second-team All-America.
Things were going great until the fall of that year. Then the roof fell in. The NCAA issued a ruling forbidding teams from scheduling Kentucky during the entire 1952-53 season. The reason: UK’s presumed involvement in the CCNY point-shaving scandal.
Courtesy: The Trading Card Database
“That (scandal) happened while we (Ramsey and his teammates) were in high school,” Ramsey said. “But it came out when we were juniors. So, as seniors, we weren’t allowed to play in any games.”
“So we ended up being students only that year, which was great. We took hard courses and all the seniors graduated. Then we came back to the team the following year to play as graduate students.”
The Wildcats dominated in 1953-54, roaring to an undefeated 25-0 regular season record.
“We were so good that students wouldn’t come out to watch us play at home,” said Ramsey. “Except one time, that is. We were behind at the half and the students–I guess they had been listening on the radio–filled up the stands at the half.”
But a remarkable season ended ubruptly. “The NCAA wouldn’t let us play as graduate students in the post-season,” said Ramsey. “Because of that rule, Rupp decided not to go to the NCAA Tournament, even though we were undefeated.”
When asked if he wishes his teammates and Rupp would have gone without him and other senior players, Ramsey believes Rupp made the right choice. “I’m glad we didn’t play,” he said. “We had already beaten national powers, like LaSalle and Tom Gola. There was nothing to prove. To me it was a no-brainer.”
Courtesy: Wikipedia
“While I think everybody else would have liked to have gone, Coach Rupp said, ‘No, we’re not going.’ And that was that. He was absolute boss.”
Aside from basketball, Ramsey also excelled in baseball as an outfielder. Even though Ramsey was named All-SEC three times, he still recalls a fault. “I always had trouble with the lefty curveball,” said Ramsey. That’s why he didn’t pursue a pro baseball career.
Overall, Ramsey had a great college experience. “I met my wife there, made a whole lot of friends, and really enjoyed being in Lexington and going to UK,” he said.
But UK was only one stop on Frank Ramsey’s eventful journey. The next stop would be Boston and the NBA.
We’ll explore that topic in next week’s article.
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NOTE: Published originally in The Journal-Enterprise.
Reach Cameron Brown at cameronbrown647@yahoo.com
