AUSTIN WARD Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Sunday, June 28, 2009 12:00 am
The animosity has largely cooled down.
The story itself isn't as widely known anymore.
A 40-year anniversary is approaching, complete with another Wyoming home game against BYU.
Ryan Thorburn, a Natrona County High School and UW graduate, had plenty of reasons to write his first book, "Black 14: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of Wyoming Football," but good timing might have been the best of all.
"Obviously, the anniversary had a lot to do with it, and the age of the guys - I think the story needed to be out there now while they can still tell it," Thorburn said. "They're in their 60s and getting up there, so I think the timing was good for it from that standpoint, and that gives them some separation from it and some perspective.
"If you had pushed them 10 or even 15 years after it, I think they still would have been very sensitive about it. I think a lot of them, as time has worn on, they're ready to tell the story."
Thorburn was there to help in his first book, tackling one of the darkest periods in UW football history.
The former Casper Star-Tribune staffer and current reporter at the Daily Camera in Boulder, Colo., interviewed sources from all around the program and the infamous 1969 incident that led to 14 black Cowboys being kicked off the team and the eventual demise of a powerhouse.
The move obviously drew a great deal of attention in the racially-charged '60s, but it has gradually slipped out of the consciousness both nationally and locally as time has passed - another reason for Thorburn's look back.
"That's the thing, and my dad was at school there in the '60s and he said, 'You've got to remember, it was a different time back then,'" he said. "It was totally different, and the incident wasn't all one-sided, and I took that into account.
"A couple of the guys that I got hold of didn't want to talk about it. They were like, 'Thanks, but no thanks.' They didn't want to go there, and I think some of them have been approached over the years and nothing really ever materialized. Some of that might have just been like, 'Whatever, we'll see what happens.' But the stories I was told were really good and what I found really fascinating is you had some who viewed this as a race issue or they viewed the coach as a racist, they feel like they were wronged by the people at Wyoming, specifically [coach Lloyd Eaton]."
That attitude might not be surprising from the players, but there's blame to be found on both sides throughout the 143 pages.
But the point isn't really to assign it as much as learn from the mistakes as UW prepares for a completely new era.
"Obviously, this would not happen today at any program," Thorburn said. "But I was able to get in touch with most of the players, and obviously the fact they're playing BYU 40 years later at home adds to it.
"They'll have a new coaching staff, but they're also more old-school in terms of discipline and trying to get the tradition back."
The timing is right for it.
Contact sports reporter Austin Ward at (307) 266-0634 or austin.ward@trib.com.