He has been a part of our lives since March 9, 1967. We didn’t realize it in the moment, of course. The papers that day all featured pictures of No. 52 for the Southern Illinois Salukis, the best team in what was then called the “college division” of NCAA basketball.
The Salukis would’ve been a shoo-in to win the college division tournament. They’d already won 22 games, already beaten defending Division I champ Texas Western and burgeoning D-I power Louisville that year, and craved the biggest stage and the best competition. So when the NIT came calling, Southern Illinois jumped at the chance.
“We would’ve walked from Carbondale, Ill., to New York,” No. 52 said a few years ago, on the anniversary of that Salukis’ team march to glory. By then, we knew him as Walt Frazier.
Knicks Walt Frazier (10) in action vs Baltimore Bullets Fred Carter (3) and Kevin Loughery (22) at Cole Field House in 1971. Sports Illustrated via Getty ImaBy then, we knew him as “Clyde.”
