THE CLIFFORD LARKINS/BOBBY JOE HILL CONNECTION

In the 1950s and 1960s, Highland Park High School (HPHS) had one of the best basketball programs in the state of Michigan. Many great players from Highland Park went on to excel at the college and the professional levels. Point guard Tyrone Bobby Joe Hill, HPHS class of 1961, was one of the best. In his senior year he was selected as one of Michigan's "All State" players that year. I was also a point guard, on HPHS's 1966 and 1967 teams, and in the photo above notice that I am wearing jersey number 14; this was also Tyrone Bobby Joe Hill's, Bobby Joe Hill is number 14.

Highland Park High School, Michigan vs Hamtramck, 1960. number when he played for HPHS. In my senior year, 1967, one season after Texas Western's landmark victory, I was asked by coach Eldon Rouse to wear Bobby Joe's jersey as a reward for my performance and efforts as a team leader.

Paraphrased From Wikipedia:

Bobby Joe Hill, Bobby Joe Hill

Star of Highland Park High School's, 1961 basketball team

Star of Texas Western's 1966 NCAA national championship team. a 5'11" (actually he was probably 5' 9" or 5' 10") point guard from Highland Park, Michigan, was on the Texas Western college basketball team coached by Don Haskins that won the national title in 1966. The school's all-black starting five defeated a white Kentucky team, 72-65. Texas Western's win over the top-ranked Kentucky team, coached by Adolph Rupp, is considered one of the most historic games in the annals of college basketball.

Bobby Joe Hill was one of the most prominent players on the court. In the first half, he stole the ball twice from both Louie Dampier and Tommy Kron within the span of a minute and converted both steals into easy layups. He led all scorers with twenty points, and his plays were complemented by talented teammates Harry Flournoy, Nevil Shed, David Lattin, and Willie Worsley. The Miners' victory over the Kentucky Wildcats was a landmark event in the history of civil rights and sports desegregation, comparable to Jackie Robinson's baseball tenure with the Brooklyn Dodgers, decisively proving that color of skin has no bearing on talent and ability. Of note is that Don Haskins and the entire Texas Western squad rose above racial threats, insults, vandalism, and violence throughout the 1965-1966 season to achieve their against-all-odds triumph.

The story of Bobby Joe Hill and the 1966 Texas Western national championship has been immortalized in the film Glory Road, Poster for the 2006 movie
"Glory Road"
Bobby Joe Hill is player number 14 seated in the poster which was released in the U.S. in January, 2006, forty years after the "fabulous five" forever altered the landscape of college basketball. Derek Luke was cast to play Bobby Joe in the movie. This story was also told earlier in 1999 by Frank Fitzpatrick in his book "And The Walls Came Tumbling Down" published by Simon & Schuster.

Athletic History: Post Undergraduate

1972:

1.  Ann Arbor Track Club (Ann Arbor, Michigan) outdoor record holder in the triple jump, 51'3".

2.  Below you can watch me triple jump. In spite of the poor technique displayed during this jump, the distance was 50'3", a good jump in 1972 and my second best jump ever.

1973: Listed in Track and Field News, January 1973 issue, for one of the best triple jumps in the country during the 1972 outdoor season.