'He loved El Paso': Friends, family celebrate life of UTEP legend Willie Cager

Full of love, spirit, confidence, and forever a part of sports history. That was the theme Friday night at the Don Haskins Center in a celebration of life for an adopted son of El Paso, Willie Cager.

Cager, who grew up in the Bronx, New York, helped put UTEP (Texas Western in 1966) and El Paso on the map March 19, 1966, when he and his Miners teammates won the 1966 NCAA basketball national championship, 72-65, against Kentucky.

The 1966 team was the first national champion in NCAA history to feature an all-Black starting lineup.

Last month on the 57th anniversary of the national title win, Cager died at the age of 81, leaving behind a beautiful legacy.

Cager lived the rest of his life in El Paso and regularly attended Miner men's and women's basketball games at Memorial Gym and then in the Haskins Center when it opened in 1977.

He played 77 games for UTEP from 1964-68 and dedicated his life to helping children in El Paso, starting the Willie Cager Foundation and running the Yselta Independent School District's after-school basketball program.

Willie Cager's life celebrated at Don Haskins Center

Friends, family and ex-teammates shared their appreciation of Cager, a staple at UTEP basketball games throughout the years, often taking his seat just past the tunnel on the floor.

"He was my mentor. He may be gone but not forgotten. It's not goodbye, but to be continued," said Nevil Shed of Cager, his former UTEP basketball teammate and best friend. "We always ended our talks like that. I have tears of joy now for my friend."

UTEP President Heather Wilson and El Pasoan Wayne Thornton attended Friday's event. Togo Railey, who was on the 1966 team, and former UTEP basketball player and El Pasoan Nolan Richardson presented their thoughts via video.

"Great family man, he raised three great kids," Railey said. "I still remember when we landed in El Paso and he was one of the last speakers and told the crowd, 'No. 1 was the best we could do.' That was Willie, he was a great guy.

"He did more to promote our championship team than anyone on the team. He loved wearing his championship ring and showing it to people," his former teammate said. We don't win the championship without him. He was amazing in our win against Cincinnati in the NCAA Tournament. He took over when Nevil Shed got thrown out of the game and lifted us to the win. Against Kansas, he was great, and of course, in the win against Kentucky, he played so well."

Cager is one of five players from the 1966 Texas Western team who have died, joining Harry Flournoy, Bobby Joe Hill, Orsten Artis and Jerry Armstrong. Head coach Don Haskins, the longtime coach of the Miners, also died.

Shed grew up five minutes from Cager in the Bronx and shared many stories of their journey to El Paso.

"Great player," Shed said of Cager. "He always had confidence in himself. He never played high school basketball but was a great player and knew he would succeed. He had setbacks in life, but nothing could take away his smile, his love of life. He always bounced back."

Cager's three children, Kareem, Kenya and Kendeea, spoke at Friday's event.

"He was a living legend to our family, said Kareem, a basketball coach at Parkland. "He was always there for us. He loved us, he loved people, he loved El Paso."

Cager started the national championship and scored eight points, including making 6 of 7 from the free throw line and grabbing eight rebounds in 30 minutes. Cager started the game with David Lattin, Orsten Artis, Willie Worsley, and Bobby Joe Hill. The national title win inspired the movie "Glory Road." The team was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.

"Through the years, what has gone unnoticed is how big Willie's effort was in the championship game," said Joe Gomez, a longtime friend of the players on the 1966 team. "He was loved by the community, he was a key figure in the community."

Remaining 1966 Texas Western teammates who are alive

Nevil Shed

At 6-foot-8, Shed was the tallest of the '65-66 Miners. A native New Yorker used to an East Coast run-and-gun style of play, he had to make some major adjustments under Don Haskins' methodical dribbling and passing system.

He now lives in San Antonio and has seven children.

David Lattin

With a thunderous dunk, 6-foot-6, 240-pound Lattin set the tone for the 1966 championship game. He scored 16 points and pulled nine rebounds, living up to his two nicknames: "Big Daddy" and "Daddy D."

Lattin lives in Houston and published a book about his life, Slam Dunk to Glory.

Togo Railey

Railey graduated in 1962 from El Paso's Austin High School and earned a spot on Haskins' Texas Western team.

He retired from teaching in the Port Neches, Texas school district and moved back to El Paso.

Dick Myers

Myers played in 14 games during the Miners' championship season. After graduating from UTEP in 1967, he worked for Farah Manufacturing for 20 years in El Paso.

He retired in 2007 as the Vice President/Planning and Logistics for Coach Leather Inc. in New York City.

Willie Worsley

Though he was just 5-foot-6, Worsley was a big help for the Miners, scoring eight points and pulling down four rebounds in the championship game.

Worsley coached high school basketball in Spring Valley, New York. He does a lot of community service work with underprivileged kids, including basketball clinics and summer camps.

David Palacio

Palacio was born and raised in El Paso, graduating from Austin High School in 1964, where he was a member of three consecutive city championship teams. He played three years at Texas Western, including the 1966 championship team.

After graduating from UTEP in 1968 with a Business degree, he moved to Los Angeles. He worked in the music industry for 36 years before retiring in 2008 as Executive VP & CFO for Univision Music Group.

Louis Baudoin

Louis is a retired educator, lives in New Mexico and has two daughters and three grandsons.

Information on UTEP's 1966 team can be found at: The Team (utep.edu)

More: Willie Cager column Bloomquist: Willie Cager's smile brightened Haskins Center

Felix F. Chavez can be reached at fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on Twitter

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: UTEP basketball legend,1966 NCAA champ Willie Cager life celebrated