Bobby Joe Hill-Who was He?

Changing the face of college sports is not something many people can lay claim too. Perhaps that's why Bobby Joe Hill inspired the 2006 film Glory Road. Hill was from Highland Park, Michigan, but is best known for being the leading scorer for the Texas Western College Miners in the 1965-6 season.

What was so significant about Hill and his team? In the 1966 NCAA Championship, the all-black starting line up defeated the all-white line up of the University of Kentucky 72-65. Hill led scoring for both teams with 20 points.

Hill stayed in El Paso, TX and married his high school girlfriend. He then worked for El Paso Natural Gas as an executive before retiring. At age 59, he died of a myocardial infraction. He is buried at Restlawn Memorial Park in El Paso.

The team's success is arguably comparable to Jackie Robinson's success in terms of importance, both in sports and in terms of America's racial and civil rights landscape.