It was 1962, I was about 11 years old, and my dad was away.  Turns out, he and a group of his friends, all Butler basketball fans, had decided to take a road trip south to Lexington, Kentucky.

The Butler Bulldogs, under legendary coach Tony Hinkle, were about to play in the NCAA basketball tournament for the first time ever.  The Dogs had gone to the NIT a few times, but never the biggest show.

In those days, only 32 teams were invited to that tourney.  Butler had to play Bowling Green, a team from Ohio with two players that later had stellar NBA careers, Nate Thurmond and Howard Komives.

The reason that all came to mind was a June 30th article in the Indianapolis Star by reporter David Woods.  Two players from the team, Gerry Williams and Dick Haslam, have recently died.

Once I was old enough, my brother Tom & I started going to Butler basketball games with my dad and a neighbor.  Butler had some tough years after 1962 but it was always fun to watch the Bulldogs.

They always had some top-tier teams come to the Fieldhouse early in the season.  Hinkle had a reputation for having well-disciplined teams and made a good adversary for teams looking to prepare for the conference season.

I remember seeing Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Notre Dame and Ohio State face the Bulldogs during the 1960s.  Butler once beat Michigan by 20 points at a time the Wolverines were ranked 3rd in the nation.

The Brad Stevens era brought new glory days for Butler basketball, but the history of that program is worth retelling.  Thanks to David Woods for bringing back some great 1960s memories for me.