LOUISVILLE, Ky. — More than sixty years ago, the University of Louisville's men's basketball team broke barriers in Kentucky long before the Civil Rights Act came into law.
Legendary basketball player and coach Wade Houston spoke about his rise to success during the state's Civil Rights Movement and how his team at UofL broke the color barrier in the commonwealth.
Houston left his family behind in Alcoa, Tenn. and moved to the Bluegrass to play basketball at UofL in the 1960's.
But his loved ones, and even he, had concerns about coming to Kentucky.
"They were concerned, and I was concerned," he told WHAS11. "Because I didn't, there was so much of an unknown because you got to remember, you know, Civil Rights Act, one passing through 1964. So, in 1961, 1960, 1959, there was still a lot of issues taking place in the South. That was scary.”
Houston, along with teammates Eddie Whitehead and the late Sam Smith, found themselves often playing in areas of Kentucky where Black individuals were not accepted. But their road was paved in history.
"Football players had been in school before. So, the 50s, Lenny Lyles and Lee Callen, Ernie Green, those guys paved the way for us. So, it was much easier for me and Eddie and Sam to come here because those guys had paved the way and we stood on their shoulders,” Houston added.
Life on the basketball court was great for Houston, but adjusting during his freshman year was challenging. When the holidays came around, he made a trip home where he had an impactful conversation with his father.
Houston wasn't sure if he could go back to Kentucky.
“I said, 'It's just so much stuff that you have to go through,'" he recalled. "And [my father] looked at me, he said, 'Well, let me tell you something,' he said, 'Now we went through a whole lot more than you're going through.'”
It was at that point, Houston's father laid down the law.
“He said 'you're going back to school.' And I thought about it, I said he's right” Houston said, adding that the rest is history.
After graduation, Houston became as assistant coach at UofL for 13 years. He then became head coach at the University of Tennessee in 1989 to 1994.
Nowadays, Houston -- a successful entrepreneur -- still considers Louisville his home.
At the Roots 101 African American Museum, he's humbled to be featured in a new exhibit, "Breaking the Color Barrier," where his family can visit and celebrate his accomplishments.
He said one of the true secrets to success is simply being open and listening.
“A lot of people don't know how to listen. My father told me years ago, he said, 'It's hard to learn when your mouth is open talking,'" Houston said.
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