How you can own a unique piece of 1978 UK basketball NCAA championship memorabilia
Some weeks back, Phyllis Cronin was cleaning out her basement when she came upon a red trunk of uncertain contents. When the Lexington woman opened it, she was taken back to an illustrious moment in Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball history.
If you are old enough to remember the winter of 1978 in Kentucky, you will recall that it snowed and snowed and then snowed some more.
As a result, many Kentuckians spent much of that gray and gloomy winter stuck at home. Cronin, a married mother of three and, then, a devout University of Kentucky basketball fan, was one of those.
To help pass the time, Cronin decided to create a quilt that would honor Joe B. Hall’s 1977-78 Cats. “I always liked to do projects,” she says.
For this endeavor, Cronin envisioned a quilt on which each section would honor a different member of the Kentucky men’s hoops program.
“I traced (player uniform) numbers, cut them out, sewed them on,” Cronin recalls. “It’s not a great quilter’s work of art. It was more of a novice putting together what I thought was a great idea.”
One doesn’t need to be an advanced student of UK basketball history to know that the 1977-78 Wildcats ended their season in glory. Behind the 41 points of star forward Jack Givens, the Cats defeated Duke 94-88 in the NCAA championship game to capture what was UK’s first national title in 20 years.
In the post-championship euphoria, Cronin was struck by an idea: She should have her “UK basketball quilt” autographed by the newly minted NCAA champs.
Cronin and her husband, Lexington oncologist Dr. John Cronin, were social acquaintances of Hall and his wife, Katharine. That gave Cronin the confidence to call the UK basketball offices and ask if she could bring the quilt by and get it signed.
As Cronin recalls, Hall’s administrative assistant, Marta McMackin gave her the go-ahead. “I think I took a water-proof, black ink pen down there for them to use (in autographing the quilt),” Cronin says.
When Cronin got the quilt back, not only had it been signed by all 14 players on the 1977-78 UK roster, it had also been autographed by Hall and his assistant coaches, Dick Parsons, Leonard Hamilton and Joe Dean Jr., plus Bill Keightley, the beloved longtime Kentucky equipment manager known as “Mr. Wildcat.”
Initially, Cronin put the quilt on her oldest son’s bed. But after about a week, she decided that was “too treacherous” for a UK basketball national championship keepsake. So she stored the quilt.
As the decades rolled by, there it stayed — until just weeks ago, when Cronin came upon the red trunk.
When she again saw the quilt, Cronin says memories of the 1977-78 Cats came flooding back: Kyle Macy wiping his hands on his socks before shooting free throws; James Lee driving for ferocious dunks; the “twin towers” of Mike Phillips and Rick Robey.
Yet rather than keeping the quilt, Cronin, after conferring with her family, decided to try to deploy the autographed quilt for the greater good.
Cronin, 83, has long been associated with Camp Horsin’ Around, a non-profit organization that owns 191 acres in Boyle and Mercer counties to provide “an outdoor camp adventure for children whose health is compromised or who have special needs.”
The camp partners with organizations such as Kids Cancer Alliance, the University of Kentucky Children’s Hospital and Shriners Children’s Lexington to supply a summer camp experience to those whose health might otherwise prevent them from having that opportunity.
“What makes our camp really special is we focus a lot on accessibility,” says Carrie Truitt, executive director of Camp Horsin’ Around. “A lot of the more traditional camp activities are adapted to meet the needs of our unique campers.”
To provide memorable experiences to children who have been dealt a tough hand, Truitt says Camp Horsin’ Around relies “on the generosity of donors.”
Which is where the 1978 NCAA championship quilt now comes into play.
Cronin has donated the quilt to the camp to offer as a raffle prize. The plan is to try to sell up to 1,000 tickets at $50 apiece for the chance to win the quilt autographed by all members of UK’s fifth NCAA title team.
To purchase a raffle ticket, visit camphorsinaround.org/raffle/.
Three of those whose signatures adorn the quilt have passed away — Keightley in 2008; Phillips in 2015; and Hall in 2022.
Cronin says she is reaching out to other living members of the 1978 NCAA champs to have them authenticate their signatures. Already, she says Givens, Macy and Lee have done so.
“The quilt brought back so many memories of a lot of fun times,” Cronin says. “I hope we can use it now to provide for a special place for special kids.”
This story was originally published October 19, 2023 at 12:24 PM.
