Posted: Wednesday, January 14, 2015

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1964-65 Evansville Aces. At that time, the Aces were not only an outstanding basketball team; they were a major Evansville social activity. Over 12,000 fans packed Evansville’s Roberts Municipal Stadium on a regular basis to cheer for their hometown team.

In honor of this anniversary, the public is invited to a panel discussion Saturday, January 24, with the starting five of this undefeated 1964-65 team. Mike Blake will moderate. The event will be at the Old National Events Plaza, Ballrooms B, C, and D. Doors open at noon, with the discussion taking place from 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

Following the program, the book The Undefeated Season: The Newspaper Story of the 1964-1965 Evansville College Purple Aces Basketball Team, edited by starting guard Russ Grieger and retired editor and publisher of the Evansville Courier & Press Tom Tuley, will be available for signing.

Later that day, when the present day Purple Aces play Southern Illinois University at the Ford Center at 3:05 p.m., the 1964-65 team will be recognized at half-time. A commemorative program will be available

Then January 25 - April 19, an exhibit on the team will be on display in the Evansville Museum’s Evansville Convention & Visitors Bureau Center of History and Science. “Winning Them All: The Evansville Aces 1964-65” will recall the season when the Aces went undefeated and claimed the school’s fourth College Division National Championship (today’s Division II).

For more information on the panel discussion and exhibit, contact Sylvia DeVault at 812-488-2586. 

Share this article: