Loyola was the first major college team to start four black players, leading to events that, while little remembered, were a watershed in the civil-rights movement. In the second round of the tournament, Loyola drew Mississippi State. In previous years, Mississippi State had turned down NCAA invites rather than risk being matched up with an integrated team. But that year the school accepted the bid. With sheriff's deputies headed to a pep rally bearing an injunction that would have forced the SEC champs to stay home, the team hid out in a dorm. The next morning the freshman team showed up at the scheduled departure as a decoy and the varsity literally snuck out of the state on a private plane. The Bulldogs lost to Loyola 61–51, but won a far greater victory by defying the state's segregationist governor Ross Barnett in daring to cross the color line.

From a basketball standpoint, the '63 final was memorable too. It featured what is quite possibly the most remarkable comeback in tournament history and not just one, but two buzzer-beaters. Cincinnati was a powerhouse—the reigning, two-time national champion, a squad that would send three of its starters into the NBA. Six minutes into the second half, Loyola was buried by 15 points and—in an era with no shot clock and no three-point shots—appeared doomed.

Loyola was still 10 points down with little more than 10 minutes remaining when Cincinnati made the questionable decision to go into a stall. The quicker Loyola team harassed the Bearcats into repeated turnovers and clawed their way back in the game. But with 12 seconds left in the game, Loyola trailed by one and was forced to foul. If Cincinnati made both free throws, we would witness the first NCAA three-peat. But when Cincy missed the second, Loyola rebounded and raced down the court. Jerry Harkness, the team's leading scorer who had been held scoreless until less than five minutes remained, swished a shot from the corner to send the game into overtime.

Overtime was a cautious affair. With 1:20 remaining in a tied game, there was a jump ball. Back then there was no alternate possession rule and no doubt that whichever team controlled the tip would hold the ball for the last shot. Loyola controlled the tap and then the ball for 75 excruciating seconds. But the last shot skittered off the rim and off the backboard—and right into the hands of Loyola big-man Vic Rouse whose soft put-back beat the buzzer and the Bearcats 60–58. The game was a "first," but also a "last"—the last "Iron Man" team ever, as Loyola used just five players the entire game.

For me, that memorable contest alone is worth the price of admission ($16.99 on Amazon). For others, while the highlights might not be those you would choose, it's hard to go too far wrong with the embarrassment of riches that is NCAA tournament history. The DVD concludes, in obligatory fashion, with the most fabled final ever: the 1979 showdown between Michigan State with Magic Johnson and Indiana State with Larry Bird.

Though the Magic-Larry rivalry would produce some extraordinary games, this didn't happen to be one of them. Its most remarkable moment, at least on this DVD, stems from Bryant Gumbel's pre-game introduction—and then only with 30 years hindsight. Gumbel opens his broadcast by saying, "You have to be living in Iraq" not to have heard about this game and these two superstars. That today March Madness infects Iraq too is a jarring note about history and the passage of time, distinctly at odds with what is supposed to be a sentimental journey.

© 2009