Eric
01-16-2006, 09:42 AM
Miners guard claims possession of own '66 jersey
A day after an official with a collectibles company announced the company would auction off what it believed to be the game-used jersey of Texas Western guard Willie Worsley, Worsley himself insisted that a mistake had been made.
Darren Rovell
ESPN.com
Jan. 14 - A day after a collectibles company official announced the company would auction off what it believed to be the game-used jersey of guard Willie Worsley from Texas Western's 1966 national championship season, Worsley himself insisted a mistake had been made.
Chris Ivy, director of sports collectibles for Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers, said he believed that the jersey consigned to him by a former player and assistant of Texas Western and UTEP coach Don Haskins was the jersey worn by Worsley in the team's historic championship win over Kentucky.
But Worsley told ESPN.com on Saturday that the auction house is mistaken because he has the jersey he wore from the game, as well as the championship watch and the net that the team cut down that night.
"I kept the jersey and, three years ago, I put it in a glass case in my room," said Worsley, who is now head basketball coach at Spring Valley High in Spring Valley, N.Y.
Texas Western's championship season, in which Haskins started five African-American players and beat Adolph Rupp's Wildcats, has been memorialized in a book and just-released film, both titled "Glory Road."
The jersey that was advertised as Worsley's was the property of Danny Whitlock, who played backup point guard for UTEP from 1970-1972. Whitlock said that he had acquired six game-used jerseys from the championship team when team trainers wanted to discard them in 1974.
Over the years, Whitlock said the jerseys were tattered and worn from the abuse they took while his friends wore them to play pickup games. The only one that survived was the No. 24 jersey, which he believed originally belonged to Worsley.
Whitlock, who needs to pay off debts incurred from his handicapped son's 24-hour care and to raise money for a liver transplant Whitlock needs, presented his jersey to the auction house. Although it had not yet been authenticated, Ivy said that company officials perfectly matched up the jersey to photos of Worsley playing in the game.
However, Worsley said it could not be his because the players only wore one orange uniform and one white uniform throughout the entire '66 season. And both Worsley and Whitlock have the orange version -- the color that the Miners wore throughout the NCAA Tournament that year.
Since the jerseys didn't have names on the back, Worsley said it's possible the jersey was worn by another player who wore No. 24 before Worsley played with the team. The university changed its name to the University of Texas at El Paso in 1967, so the jersey could not have been worn by someone who played after Worsley.
Worsley was a backup guard during the 1965-66 season when the Miners went 28-1, but he started in the national championship game as Haskins went with three guards to help beat Kentucky's press. Worsley scored eight points in the Miners' 72-65 victory, which was his average for the season.
It's not clear what will happen to the auction, which was scheduled to start online in mid-March and culminate on April 1. Both Ivy and Whitlock could not immediately be reached.
One thing Worsley was happy to see was the auction company's appraisal price of $8,000 to $10,000.
Said Worsley: "I'm not trying to be mean to the guy who thought he had my jersey, but I can use that money, too." Darren Rovell, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, can be reached at darren.rovell@espn3.com.
A day after an official with a collectibles company announced the company would auction off what it believed to be the game-used jersey of Texas Western guard Willie Worsley, Worsley himself insisted that a mistake had been made.
Darren Rovell
ESPN.com
Jan. 14 - A day after a collectibles company official announced the company would auction off what it believed to be the game-used jersey of guard Willie Worsley from Texas Western's 1966 national championship season, Worsley himself insisted a mistake had been made.
Chris Ivy, director of sports collectibles for Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers, said he believed that the jersey consigned to him by a former player and assistant of Texas Western and UTEP coach Don Haskins was the jersey worn by Worsley in the team's historic championship win over Kentucky.
But Worsley told ESPN.com on Saturday that the auction house is mistaken because he has the jersey he wore from the game, as well as the championship watch and the net that the team cut down that night.
"I kept the jersey and, three years ago, I put it in a glass case in my room," said Worsley, who is now head basketball coach at Spring Valley High in Spring Valley, N.Y.
Texas Western's championship season, in which Haskins started five African-American players and beat Adolph Rupp's Wildcats, has been memorialized in a book and just-released film, both titled "Glory Road."
The jersey that was advertised as Worsley's was the property of Danny Whitlock, who played backup point guard for UTEP from 1970-1972. Whitlock said that he had acquired six game-used jerseys from the championship team when team trainers wanted to discard them in 1974.
Over the years, Whitlock said the jerseys were tattered and worn from the abuse they took while his friends wore them to play pickup games. The only one that survived was the No. 24 jersey, which he believed originally belonged to Worsley.
Whitlock, who needs to pay off debts incurred from his handicapped son's 24-hour care and to raise money for a liver transplant Whitlock needs, presented his jersey to the auction house. Although it had not yet been authenticated, Ivy said that company officials perfectly matched up the jersey to photos of Worsley playing in the game.
However, Worsley said it could not be his because the players only wore one orange uniform and one white uniform throughout the entire '66 season. And both Worsley and Whitlock have the orange version -- the color that the Miners wore throughout the NCAA Tournament that year.
Since the jerseys didn't have names on the back, Worsley said it's possible the jersey was worn by another player who wore No. 24 before Worsley played with the team. The university changed its name to the University of Texas at El Paso in 1967, so the jersey could not have been worn by someone who played after Worsley.
Worsley was a backup guard during the 1965-66 season when the Miners went 28-1, but he started in the national championship game as Haskins went with three guards to help beat Kentucky's press. Worsley scored eight points in the Miners' 72-65 victory, which was his average for the season.
It's not clear what will happen to the auction, which was scheduled to start online in mid-March and culminate on April 1. Both Ivy and Whitlock could not immediately be reached.
One thing Worsley was happy to see was the auction company's appraisal price of $8,000 to $10,000.
Said Worsley: "I'm not trying to be mean to the guy who thought he had my jersey, but I can use that money, too." Darren Rovell, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, can be reached at darren.rovell@espn3.com.