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Congratulations to Coach Guy V. Lewis

In the News, University Archives

ath004-ccOn the 30th anniversary of a historic Final Four run by Phi Slama Jama, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced that Guy V. Lewis would be inducted as part of its class of 2013.

Finally!

All it takes is a stroll through a darkened Hofheinz Pavilion to see the five Final Four banners hanging from the rafters there in the shadows, hear the ghostly squeak of sneakers belonging to Hall of Famers “Big E,” “Clyde the Glide,” and “Akeem the Dream,” and one begins to understand the indelible mark Lewis has left on the University of Houston basketball program.

For all of his accomplishments on the hardwood though, his legacy and imprint extend beyond Houston Cougars basketball, shaping the sport and collegiate athletics as a whole.  Lewis mentored countless student-athletes over his 30 years as head coach, propelled the sport forward with his role in the Game of the Century, and while the more highly-regarded programs of the old Southwest Conference held the line on racial segregation, Coach Lewis helped tear down those racial divides for major collegiate athletics in Texas and the South.

As we in Special Collections offer hearty congratulations to Coach Lewis, his family, and his teams, we also take this time to highlight some resources in our collection relating to his rich and storied career.gotc001

As a starting point, our collection of Athletics Department Records offers a look at the role of sport in the history of the University of Houston (including historic programs like the one featured here), while our stacks also hold a number of media guides covering the history of the Houston Cougar basketball teams.  In addition, Katherine Lopez does an excellent job of documenting the process of racial integration in the world of collegiate athletics at the University of Houston in her dissertation The Cougar Revolution:  Black or White They All Bled Red.  Her book, Cougars of Any Color:  The Integration of University of Houston Athletics, 1964-1968, is available in Special Collections thanks to a gift of the Frell Albright Endowment.

If you find yourself already missing March Madness, there is no need to fret.  Come on down and celebrate the legacy of one of UH’s own.

One thought on “Congratulations to Coach Guy V. Lewis

  1. This was a great read. I wasn’t aware that UH had such material readily available for the masses.