Today In Sports History

Game of the Century

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Stock Photo

A view from the seats inside of the Astrodome on January 20, 1968.

John Cañamar, Sports editor

January 20, 1968 was the date, the Houston Astrodome was the location and the #1 ranked UCLA Bruins faced off against #2 U of H Cougars was the event.

For the first time in history a college basketball was broadcast nation wide and held in a dome stadium, which had a paid attendance of 52,693 fans.

The game was syndicated by the TVS Network and aired on 150 stations in 49 states.

The game itself was a thriller that had both teams enter undefeated with the Cougars walking out with the 71-69 victory ending the Bruins’ 47 game winning streak.

U of H was led by Elvin Hayes scoring 39 points, while the Bruins’ Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) was held to 15 points.

This game is considered the Greatest Game of the Century.