Until Cliff Hagan Stadium, UK 'arena farewells' always produced epic wins
When Mississippi State took a 9-0 lead on Kentucky on Sunday in the final regular-season baseball game at Cliff Hagan Stadium, those well-versed in Wildcats sports history shared one reaction:
UK had MSU right where it wanted the Bulldogs.
Across the decades, it has been the tradition of University of Kentucky men's sports teams to close out their last games in UK's major sports venues with memorable comeback victories.
Farewell to Alumni Gymnasium
The date: Feb. 25, 1950
The opponent: Vanderbilt
The setup: Going into its final game in the tiny on-campus arena, UK had won an amazing 83 home games in a row.
The plot goes bad: In front of a stunned crowd of 3,000, Vandy led by as many as 15 en route to a 41-29 halftime advantage.
The comeback story: Kentucky rallied furiously behind seniors Jim Line (21 points) and Dale Barnstable (18). UK took the lead for good at 55-53 on a long shot from sophomore guard Bobby Watson.
The feel-good ending: Kentucky 70, Vanderbilt 66
The postscript: Adolph Rupp and his Wildcats moved down Euclid Ave. to the sparkling-new Memorial Coliseum with an 84-game, home-court win streak. UK won its first 45 home games in the new place, too, before Georgia Tech stunned the Cats, 59-58, on Jan. 8, 1955, to snap a 129-game, Kentucky home-court win streak.
Farewell to Stoll Field
The date: Nov. 11, 1972
The opponent: Vanderbilt
The setup: With three games left in John Ray's fourth season as Kentucky head football coach, the Wildcats were 2-6 and the former Notre Dame defensive coordinator was 9-31 at UK. Conventional wisdom was that a loss to Vandy in the final game on Stoll Field at McLean Stadium would cost Ray his job.
The plot goes bad: By the time the fourth quarter began, Vandy led 13-6 and a crowd of 30,000 (some 7,000 below capacity) had watched Kentucky fumble a whopping eight times. UK also entered the final period having not completed one pass.
The comeback story: Early in the fourth quarter, Kentucky inherited the football at is own 18-yard line. UK starting quarterback Dinky McKay, benched in the third quarter in favor of home-state hero Ernie Lewis, returned and completed two passes for a combined 41 yards.
Next, Kentucky star freshman running back Sonny Collins took over, toting the ball five times for 41 more yards, ending with a 4-yard touchdown run.
Down 13-12, UK's Ray called for the Cats to go for two. Kentucky put the ball back in the hands of Collins, who swept around right end for the game-deciding points.
The feel-good ending: Kentucky 14, Vanderbilt 13
The postscript: Beating Vanderbilt in the final game at Stoll Field did not save Ray's job. After road losses at Florida and Tennessee ended UK's 1972 season at 3-8, Kentucky fired its head coach. Fran Curci was the UK head man when 58,000-seat Commonwealth Stadium opened in 1973.
Farewell to Memorial Coliseum
The date: March 8, 1976
The opponent: Mississippi State
The setup: With Kentucky slated to move into the 23,000-seat Rupp Arena the following season, UK Coach Joe B. Hall had his iconic predecessor as Kentucky head man, Adolph Rupp, sit on the bench with the Cats for the Wildcats' final men's hoops regular-season game ever in Memorial Coliseum.
The plot goes bad: With only 1:23 left in the game, Mississippi State had an 84-77 lead. The unthinkable — Kentucky losing its final game in "The House That Rupp Built" — seemed imminent.
The comeback story: Hall inserted a small lineup with no player taller than 6-foot-4, and UK went into an all-out press. The scrambling Cats clawed back and, with eight seconds remaining, Jack Givens sank a short jumper that tied the game at 85 and forced overtime.
Once the contest got to OT, everyone in the Coliseum crowd of 12,200 knew the Cats were not going to lose.
The feel-good ending: Kentucky 94, Mississippi State 93 (OT)
The postscript: In 2009, Kentucky men's basketball made a one-night return to Memorial Coliseum. With Rupp Arena unavailable due to a scheduling conflict, Coach Billy Gillispie's Cats bested UNLV 70-60 in the first round of the NIT before 8,327 fans.
Farewell to Cliff Hagan Stadium
The date: May 13, 2018
The opponent: Mississippi State
The setup: In a nostalgic final regular season home game at "The Cliff" before Kentucky moves into a new $49 million baseball facility in 2019, the last six Wildcats head baseball coaches (one represented by his son) plus the real-life Cliff Hagan threw out first pitches.
The plot goes bad: Mississippi State led 9-0 after two-and-a-half innings, and 14-1 after five-and-half innings.
The comeback story: The Cats plated seven straight runs to pull within 14-8 entering the ninth inning.
The feel-good ending: Did not happen. Mississippi State scored four runs in the ninth and beat UK 18-8.
The postscript? Conceivably, Kentucky could earn another shot to get the ending right in its baseball home since 1969.
To do so, Coach Nick Mingione's Wildcats (34-18) must fare well enough in their final regular-season series at Vanderbilt and in next week's SEC Tournament to earn the right to host an NCAA Tournament regional.
If that doesn't happen, the long-standing UK custom of closing out major sports venues with memorable comeback victories is no more.
Mark Story: 859-231-3230; Twitter: @markcstory
This story was originally published May 16, 2018 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Until Cliff Hagan Stadium, UK 'arena farewells' always produced epic wins."