January 16th, 2006

Glory Road: The True Story

In 1965, on the heels of the landmark Civil Rights Act passed by Congress, American sports were on the cusp of change – but they needed a bold catalyst. Basketball in particular was quickly gaining in popularity, speeding up and shifting in style, especially as new celebrity players such as Wilt Chamberlain were changing the face of the NBA.  Yet there remained the question of finding the new talent that would fuel the game’s future.  The truth was that college basketball, like other collegiate activities, was still mired in unjust policies of segregation and racial inequality – and opportunities were still being denied to some of the country’s most thrilling and undiscovered athletic talents. 

Don Haskins, who was just another tough-talking, hard-driving high-school basketball coach, seized the opportunity to fulfill his personal quest to become a champion when Texas Western hired as their coach.  To create a team with the greatest chance at victory, Haskins believed he should recruit the best raw talent he could – no matter what their race, background or life story.

As early as the late 1950s Texas Western University (now renamed University of Texas El Paso) began to offer athletic scholarships to a limited number of African American players. In the 1960s, that policy was kicked into high gear by Haskins, who despite being a complete unknown, came to Texas Western ready to prove himself as a coach of unique vision. 

Searching for authentic talent and the hunger to win, Haskins aggressively recruited in a color-blind fashion, heading into the inner cities of Detroit and New York, where basketball was still a hotly contested, up-tempo street game.  Ultimately, Haskins forged an integrated team that was, in a rare change for a Southern university, predominantly black.   Once he had assembled his explosively talented but inexperienced team, Haskins drove his athletes with his notoriously tough but heartfelt coaching methods to give every game -- and every challenging situation in their lives -- their all.

In 1966, Haskin’s and the team’s brutally hard work began to pay off big-time.  In an incredible season of victories, the Miners won 27 games and lost just one, the same record as their equally fierce rivals in the NCAA championships: the all-white University of Kentucky Wildcats.  As the championship game got under way, in front of packed stands and a national television audience, Haskins made a decision that would alter everything: he chose to play an all-black starting lineup.  Though the Miners were considered a long shot, their tenacious rebounds, precision shooting and unflagging spirit spurred them to a victory so stirring that no one who saw it would ever forget it.   

The amazing triumph did more than excite the fans.  It helped shift the national perception of African American athletes and bring about the widespread desegregation of college sports. In turn, the desegregation of sports helped to spread greater equality throughout American society.  Haskins, who continued to be an inspirational and winning coach, became a hero.  Admired by his peers for his courage and his larger-than-life personality he was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997. 

Yet few people today know the story of Don Haskins and the dream-come-true NCAA victory – a story that producer Jerry Bruckheimer felt was one of the great classics of American history when he first heard about it years ago from NBA star Pat Riley.  When Bruckheimer had the opportunity to obtain the rights to Haskins’ story, he was thrilled to bring this largely unknown tale of courage and grit to the screen. 

“What’s so interesting about Don Haskins is that he wasn’t looking to make any kind of statement.  He simply was driven to win,” says Bruckheimer.  “Yet in making winning his priority, he changed history.  Prior to Haskins’ heartfelt decision to have an all African American starting line-up at the championship game, there were many opportunities missed by gifted athletes.  Haskins’ actions inspired a lot of players to go on and have illustrious NBA careers.  He was an amazing person who had an indelible impact on a lot of lives.”

Bruckheimer continues:  “I think this is an especially important story to tell today because a lot of kids no longer realize how hard the players and coaches in the 60s had to fight to bring them the incredible opportunities that exist now.” 

In developing the story of the 1966 NCAA championship into a feature film, Bruckheimer always saw it as much being much broader than simply a “sports drama.”  He saw it as being about the human drive to excel.       

“Don Haskins is a fascinating character:  a hard-charger and a tough personality who demanded a lot from the people around him,” observes Bruckheimer.  “He understood something very key – which is that to become a champion it takes a lot of character and a lot of hard work.  That is what lies at the heart of this story,” says Bruckheimer. 

Bruckheimer’s production team was equally excited by the material. “We felt that any story that was so inspirational, surprising and true would resonate deeply with audiences,” says executive producer Mike Stenson.  Adds executive producer Chad Oman, “There are a few iconic moments in sports that made a difference in history – and this is one of them.  But it’s also a very human story about a young coach who came out of nowhere and discovered he had something great to give.” 

Executive producer Andy Given, who grew up in El Paso and knew Don Haskins and his family, saw the film as a dream come true.  “I have wanted to see this movie made since I was a kid,” he says.  “I always knew it would make a great movie – it was a moment that became almost a kind of emancipation proclamation for sports -- but it took someone of Jerry Bruckheimer to get it made.” 

When director James Gartner came on board, he too began to see Haskins story in a larger light.  “The real story of GLORY ROAD is what happens off the basketball court,” notes Gartner.  “One of the original players from the team once said ‘We didn’t break down all the doors, but we opened some’ and that is why this story is so important to tell.”

Bruckheimer had been chasing after Gartner to make a feature film for years, having been highly impressed with Gartner’s directorial work in advertising. The veteran producer believed Gartner had the right sensibilities for GLORY ROAD’s mix of 60s innocence, hard-charging sports action and moments of human inspiration. “James has been directing touching, wonderful commercials for years, and he has a real moral vision matched the story. He also has very unique visual style, that is really important to this picture because it combines authenticity, heart and humor,” says Bruckheimer. 

When Bruckheimer approached him, Gartner had never even heard of Don Haskins, but he soon was completely taken with his story.  “For me it wasn’t just another script, but a true story about an important time in America’s history,” he says.  

For Gartner, tackling a real page out of recent U.S. history in his first outing as a film director was a thrilling challenge.  “The journey of making GLORY ROAD has been incredibly rewarding,” he says.  “Obviously we took some artistic license as this isn’t intended to be a biopic, but nevertheless I felt a tremendous responsibility to capture the true essence of Haskins’ story.  This story is beloved by so many from the streets of El Paso where it took place, to parents telling their children the tale as a bedtime story.  Just as Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, in many ways Don Haskins and his team did the same for basketball.”