Remembering the Aces: 1977-78 season brought optimism, then tragedy

First of a three-part series

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EVANSVILLE, Ind. — They would be in their 60s now, men of different career paths and life experiences, perhaps with families of their own.

Photos of them in white and purple basketball uniforms with “ACES” stitched on the front might be in frames or in a box somewhere. They would be memories, conversation starters, neat things to show friends, children and grandchildren from time to time.

Tragically, the 1977-78 University of Evansville men’s basketball team and its head coach – himself a relatively young man -- did not get to grow old.

In December of 1977, a DC-3 airplane carrying the Aces to a game in Tennessee crashed shortly after taking off in rain and dense fog. Pieces of the airplane, bodies and purple gym bags were strewn on a muddy hillside. 

All 29 people on board were killed, including 14 players, head coach Bobby Watson, two trainers, a well-known local broadcaster, UE athletic staff and fans, two employees of the charter plane company and three flight crew members.

Federal investigators blamed the disaster on flight crew negligence.

The city of Evansville and its namesake university sobbed uncontrollably. Bodies were identified and returned to grieving hometowns. A memorial service was held at Roberts Stadium, where, a few days earlier, the Aces earned their first-ever victory as an NCAA Division I program.

Now, fans streamed in to mourn the deaths of those same players. December 13, 1977, was described as “the night it rained tears.”

Lawsuits were filed. Financial gifts poured in. Condolences arrived from President Jimmy Carter and across the nation. 

Then-UE President Wallace Graves and Athletic Director Jim Byers vowed that basketball at UE would continue. A new group of Aces, consisting of freshmen and transfer students, took the court the following season. Mourning stopped, or at least slowed, and cheers returned. Roberts Stadium became a place of joy again.

It all happened 40 years ago this winter. Stafford Stephenson, one of three assistant coaches who, because they were on recruiting trips, did not leave with the team on its fateful night, recalls those forever young Aces players and their head coach.

For Stephenson and many others, the same painful, unanswerable question still lingers after all these years: What might have been?

“The kids had great potential on and off the floor,” Stephenson said recently. “They were good kids. They worked hard, and I think they enjoyed their experience, as short as it was … It’s hard to tell what contributions they would have made in their lives. That is always in my mind.”

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For UE basketball, a 1977-78 season that ended in disaster was supposed to be a time of excitement and change.

After establishing a winning tradition over many years in NCAA Division II, including five national titles, UE moved to Division I. The decision was not universally supported, but Aces fans were curious to see what the hometown team could do at college basketball’s highest level.

Prior to the season, UE officials looked for the right man to lead the transition. Their first choice was former Aces and NBA star Jerry Sloan. Sloan first accepted the head coaching job, but a week later changed his mind.

Byers then turned to Watson, who had been an assistant coach at Oral Roberts, Wake Forest and Xavier.

Watson inherited a mix of holdovers and newcomers, but the Aces squad grew close through their early practices and games, said Stephenson, who got acquainted with Watson while both coached at Wake Forest.

The roster skewed toward youth, with eight freshmen joining one sophomore, two juniors and a senior class of Kevin Kingston, John Ed Washington and Tony Winburn.

“We felt like they were really progressing,” Stephenson said. “We could see it, little by little. The kids were responding and doing what we asked them to do.”

Watson was frequently described as an outgoing, high-energy coach who interacted well with fans and media. The Pittsburgh-area native exuded confidence as his Aces prepared for a landmark season.

 “We are Division I-ready," Watson told the Evansville Courier. "We are as good as a lot of them … I’m sure. Our inconsistency – because we are young and new to each other – will hurt us at times against the stiffer competition. But, if this was a second-year ballclub, I would say we will be as good as 75 percent of Division I teams in the country.”

UE’s players shared their young coach’s optimism.

 “We seem to be much more together this year … and we’re all excited about getting the season started,” Washington, from Indianapolis, told the Sunday Courier & Press shortly before the Aces season opener vs. Western Kentucky.

UE basketball in those years had a region-wide following. The Aces played a series of preseason scrimmages in nearby communities. Many players came from towns short distances from Evansville.

Kingston and a freshman on the squad, Mike Duff, were high school standouts from Eldorado, Illinois. Greg Smith, a freshman, was from nearby West Frankfort, Illinois.

“I’ve been anxious to get going since the first day of conditioning in September,” Duff told the Courier. “But I know I’ve got a lot of work to do, particularly on defense.”

Bryan Taylor, a junior, and freshman Michael Joyner came from Tell City and Terre Haute, respectively. Winburn, a banking and finance major from Jeffersonville, was a fan favorite at Roberts because of his hustling style.

Junior Steve Miller, from New Albany, had recently married. Other Aces were recruited from Munster, Indiana, Cincinnati and Kettering, Ohio, and two were from Goldsboro, North Carolina.

Evansville Courier reporter Rich Davis was fairly new to the city in 1977, but he quickly became an Aces fan.

"I found myself getting caught up in the excitement because of the move to Division I," Davis said. "Bobby Watson was very charismatic and was speaking to every club in town.”

His tenure at UE lasted only four games.

The Aces dropped their season opener to Western Kentucky before a crowd of 8,708 at Roberts. UE traveled to Chicago and fell to DePaul, defeated Pittsburgh at Roberts, then lost on the road to an Indiana State team led by Larry Bird.

The 6-7 Duff emerged as a young star, averaging 20 points and 9.5 rebounds in those four outings. 

"People were saying he was going to be another Jerry Sloan," Davis said of Duff.

Next up after the Indiana State loss was a game at Middle Tennessee State, in Murfreesboro, southeast of Nashville. Watson told the Courier before the game that his 1-3 team needed more “courage” and mental toughness when playing away from home.

The headline of a Courier report previewing the Middle Tennessee contest said: “’Courage’ next lesson for Aces.” Read Part Two of this series here.