022 - Marvin Winkler

Marvelous Marv … That’s what the local high school and college scribes called him … To his teammates, one syllable was enough: Wink … His given name? Eddie—or so he and his family thought … Discovery came when he enrolled in school. That’s when they saw that Marvin got inked on the certificate—thanks to a young intern who insisted the first baby he delivered share his name … The alliterative moniker? Came by it the old-fashioned way—he earned it … Teamed with Indiana’s Mr. Basketball Billy Keller in ’65 to deliver Washington High’s first state title. Put up 15.5 for the Continentals, just behind Keller’s 17.9 a night … Coach Jerry Oliver: “I never had a team that could meld so well.” … Senior year: Shattered Oscar Robertson’s decade-old state scoring mark—590 points in 22 regular season games. Added 60 more in the sectionals. Final tally: 650 in 24 games, 27.1 per night ... Shot 49 percent from the floor, 70 from the stripe. Grabbed 10.5 boards. And one night? Lit it up for 43 … Finished second on the state career list with 1,127 points—19 short of teammate Ralph Taylor’s mark … All-Everything—All-City, All-Sectional, All-Tourney, All-Regional, All-State, Parade All-American, Third Team … Scholarship offers rolled in—more than Keller and Taylor combined a year earlier … Big campuses called. Turned them all down … Picked the one no one expected. Headed to the Deep South—to Southwest Louisiana. At Lafayette …

“I always wanted to be the first to do something. But I never had the chance before. I decided that I wanted to be the first Negro to play at USL.” …

Part of a trio of trailblazing black players to suit up for coach Beryl Shipley’s Bulldogs (now the Rajin’ Cajuns) during the turbulent mid-’60s—alongside Elvin Ivory and Leslie Scott ... Opened that freshman season playing before hostile Southern crowds. Eight road games in 15 days: North Texas, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Louisville, Houston, Auburn, Northeast Louisiana, Baylor … “There were 10,894 people at the Auburn game—and only four blacks in the whole place: the three of us and a janitor. Every time I’d take the ball out of bounds, someone would tug my shirt from behind and say, ‘Hey [slur], hey!’ Every time one of us dribbled, they’d yell it again.” … USL won just one of those eight—but finished with 19 victories in their final 23. “When we came back from that trip, we were ready. We walked the dawg, man.” … Quarterback of Shipley’s high-scoring Double-Post offense. All four seasons … Averaged 14.2 as a frosh, 18.4 as a soph … Up to 21.6 as a junior—led the GSC in scoring and earned MVP honors in ’69. Little All-American, Honorable Mention … Repeated as MVP and scoring champ his senior season—25.6 a night, 665 total. Little All-American, First Team. All-Gulf State Conference three years running. Two-time All-South … Wrapped his four-year run with 2,128 points in 108 games—19.8 per night … More than a scorer—led team in assists all four seasons, finishing with a then-school-record 580 … “There’s no telling how many assists I would have had if they scored them like they do now.” … In all, set some two dozen school records … But that wasn’t what he was about. “I wasn’t interested in records. I was more interested in playing the whole game.” … Ball hawker in the Bulldogs’ suffocating 1-3-1 zone defense … One rag credited him with averaging six steals a night … Shipley: “Marvin was the heart of our defense during his first two years but he has carried the burden on offense during the last two years.” … SWL finished 75-33 during his four-year run—62-11 vs. other small-college foes, 41-7 in GSC play, and 14-22 against the big boys … Taken by Milwaukee in the third round of the ’70 NBA Draft, New Orleans grabbed him in the fourth of the ABA Draft … Signed with the Bucks—but neck and back injuries sustained in a car accident that summer delayed his pro debut … Played in three regular-season games. Yet suited up for five playoff games for Milwaukee’s lone championship team—including the final 18 seconds of the Game Four clincher against the Baltimore Bullets. Got a ring along with Alcindor and the Big O … Cut loose that off-season. His theory: “I think there were too many blacks on the team. Only two whites were playing. I believe that’s the whole problem.” … Signed as a free agent with his hometown Pacers—joining former Washington alums Keller and George McGinnis … Caught the attention of coach Slick Leonard early on: “He can play defense and handle the ball, but he’s not looking for his shots and is passing up others.” … Got into 20 games for the eventual ABA champs—18 before New Year’s. But was waived before the playoff run … Yet somehow got dealt to Dallas that summer as the dreaded PTBNL in the controversial Donnie Freeman trade … His acquisition was meant to muffle the uproar caused by Chaps’ part-owner Joe Geary’s comments. Geary had said: “Last year Dallas had only two white players—Gene Phillips and Len Chappell—compared to 10 black players, and we drew less than 100 fans a game who were colored. A bunch of people want white faces—someone they can identify with.” … Didn’t stick around for long. “The roster got down to 13. They told me they had two guards with guaranteed contracts, and I was out. The coach said to stay near a phone if they needed me.” … His reply? Don’t call me … Born Marvin Winkler—sort of. On Feb. 18, 1948, in Indianapolis … Sold insurance for a couple of years in Indiana, then returned to Southern Louisiana and worked for an oil company for decades ... Played city league ball into his 40s. And by then, he’d developed the three-ball—making 13 in one game ... USL Athletic HOF, No. 14 retired in ’70. Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches HOF in ’81. Named to Washington High’s Silver Anniversary Team in ’91 … Indiana Basketball HOF? Still waiting for that call. When it happens? Simply marvelous.

Sources: Alexandria News Leader, 3/22/1970 [averaged six steals per game]; Columbus Republic, 3/16/1966 [received more scholarship offers than Keller and Taylor combined in ’65]; Elwood Call-Leader, 3/21/1985 [first state title for GW]; Evansville Courier and Press, 12/25/2019 [Coach Oliver: “I never had a team that could meld so well.”]; Evansville Press, 12/17/1967; Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9/22/1972 [waived by Chaps]; Franklin Evening Star, 3/22/19166; Hammond Times, 3/24/1966 [broke Oscar Robertson 10-year old scoring record; averaged 27 points a night;]; Herald Times-Reporter, 2/27/1971 [averaged 22 points per game for Milwaukee Muskies]; Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 2/26/1969; Indianapolis News, 12/18/1965, 1/10/1966, 3/22/1966 [All-State], 3/23/1966 [birth certificate detail], 3/28/1966, 9/3/1971 [signed by Pacers]; 9/15/1971 [Winkler quotes], 2/17/1972 [cut by Pacers], 9/15/1991 [Winkler quotes re Bucks tenure]; Indianapolis Star, 2/6/1966 [All-Tourney], 3/16/1966 [more scholarship offers than Keller and Taylor combined], 3/27/1966 [Parade All-American, Third Team], 3/11/1970, 3/28/1970, 4/16/2020 [silver-anniversary team; averaged 27.1 as a senior]; Lafayette Daily Advertiser, 11/18/1966, 3/3/1968, 12/22/1968, 2/16/1969, 3/16/1969, 3/23/1969, 1/28/1970, 2/28/1970 [ball hawker in the Bulldogs’ 1-3-1 zone defense], 3/5/1970, 3/11/1970, 3/24/1970, 6/5/1970 [SWL HOF; No. 14 retired], 8/20/1970 [SWL broken records listed], 7/15/1981, 7/20/1981 [LABC HOF, ’81], 11/4/1982, 12/12/1984 [SWL records, honors], 3/14/1989 [racism quotes]; Monroe Morning World, 3/13/1967; Roanoke Times, 3/7/1968; Shreveport Times, 2/18/1972 [waived by Pacers]; Town Talk, 3/14/1968, 11/20/1970; Vincennes Sun-Commercial, 3/14/1967 [Shipley’s shuffle offense], 3/15/1967; Waukesha County Freeman, 2/1/1971 [Milwaukee Muskies].

Edited 11/14/2025 at 12:19 a.m.—for style.