Introduction
- Academics and Athletics
- 1963 City Champions
- Student Athletes
- Extracurricular Activities
- "Ivy League Ideal"
- Adjusting to Campus
- "The Astonishing
John Wideman"
- The Covington Apartments
Conclusion
More
on the Big 5
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I. Introduction
This essay appears here without footnotes, bibliography,
and other source documentation. A printed copy of the full
text is available in the reference collection of the University
Archives. All intellectual property rights, including copyright,
are reserved by the author and the Trustees of the University
of Pennsylvania.
The 1963 Penn Basketball team did not play in the NCCA tournament.
They did not even win the Ivy League Title. In many ways,
though, the success of the 1963 basketball team may never
be matched. In 1963, Penn won its first Big 5 title, crowning
the team as the best in Philadelphia. Looking closely at the
individual players' experience at Penn, though, reveals the
teams' truly remarkable accomplishments. No other Penn athletic
team will ever consist of as many dynamic intellectuals and
leaders that perfectly fulfill the intended Ivy League relationship
between academics and athleticism. Based on the undergraduate
achievements and activities of the team alone, competing,
but not necessarily winning basketball games would seem satisfactory
and even noteworthy.
Despite receiving individual attention for their off-court
achievements, the success of the team did not depend on any
one single individual. While their shared desire to succeed
provided the necessary team cohesion for victory, their distinct
background differences, specifically racial, prevented them
from becoming true friends off of the court. Of the eighteen
players on the team, senior Captain John Edgar Wideman and
sophomore reserve Edward Temple Anderson were the only African
American and non-white players on the team. While athletes
of all racial backgrounds had no issues balancing academic
and athletic success, minority students regardless of intelligence
or athleticism were always conscious of their race and could
not assimilate into the overwhelmingly white campus community.
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