Steve Robertson will sign copies of his latest book “Alpha Dawgs,” from 5-7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 15, at TurnRow Books, 304 Howard St., Greenwood.
The book is the Starkville resident’s third. It tells the story of the 1963 Game of Change, a landmark basketball game between Mississippi State and Loyola in the NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament at Jenison Fieldhouse in East Lansing, Michigan.
Taking place in the midst of the civil rights movement, the game between the integrated Loyola team and the all-white Mississippi State team is remembered as a milestone in the desegregation of college basketball.
In an era when teams typically played no more than two black players at a time, Loyola had four black starters.
Loyola finished the 1962-63 regular season with a 24-2 record. Mississippi State came into the postseason with their fourth Southeastern Conference (SEC) title in five years. Due to an unwritten law that Mississippi teams would never play against black players, they had never before participated in the NCAA tournament. When university president Dean W. Colvard announced that he would send the team to the tournament, several state officials objected and attempted to keep the team in the state. Employing a plan involving decoy players, the Bulldogs avoided being served an injunction as they took a charter plane to Michigan the day before the game.
Loyola advanced to the second round after beating Tennessee Tech by 69 points, the largest margin of victory in tournament history, while Mississippi State had a first round bye. Loyola defeated Mississippi State, 61—51, and ultimately won the NCAA tournament with a victory over Cincinnati in the championship game.
Robertson has covered Mississippi State sports and college football recruiting in the state of Mississippi for over 20 years.
His bestselling book “Flim Flam” discussed the end of the Hugh Freeze era at Ole Miss and exposed the culture of non-compliance pervasive at Ole Miss.
Robertson’s second book, “Stark Villians,” details the in-state rivalry between Mississippi State and Ole Miss from a Bulldog perspective.
You can find out more about “Alpha Dawgs” and Robertson’s other books at https://alphadawgsthebook.com/ .
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