Here's a special about DePaul Blue Demons head coach Ray Meyer and the story behind his team's advancement into the Final Four of the NCAA basketball tournament, as aired over WMAQ Channel 5. The host and narrator is Mike Leiderman.
This is from a master tape, so there are no breaks included.
Includes:
Opening preview, with footage from one of their games and how the rest of the nation just recently caught up to his track record in the wake of their beating UCLA, Ray's explaining to an NBC Sports reporter how he felt "born again," and how his quest took 37 years, followed by opening title
Footage of team returning to Chicago from Provo, UT, followed by comments on Meyer as family man from Al McGuire, former Marquette coach; Mike speaks of Meyer's early life, his days playing for St. Patrick's and Notre Dame, his arrival at DePaul in 1942 and molding of future early basketball star George Mikan who recalls his days playing for Ray who in turn speaks of his tutelage of Mikan; others who played under him included Ron Sobieszczyk in the 1950's and Howie Carl in the '60's; but the early '70's caught DePaul flat-footed, which McGuire and Meyer speak about - and the key to DePaul's turnaround, Ray's son Joey Meyer who worked as a recruiter (and later followed in his father’s footsteps by also coaching the Blue Demons), with such picks as Dave Corzine, Gary Garland, Clyde Bradshaw, Curtis Watkins, Mark Aguirre and James Mitchum.
Next segment starts with Ray at home with wife Margaret Mary Meyer in their Arlington Heights home, with only dog Jet (?) around (all six of their children are grown up); "Marge" speaks of how basketball was in the family's blood and another son (and coach), Tom, also recalls life growing up; Ray sees tapes of opposing teams' games, including Indiana State led by one Larry Bird, and uses them to anticipate opponents as well as set up their own play; Ray and Joe hold team meetings to map strategy; shots of DePaul practicing, with Ray eyeing every move; a list of walking wounded including Watkins and Bill Madey; and how it all came together in the lead-up to the time of this documentary (beating USC 89-78 in Los Angeles on March 11th; then against Marquette 62-56 in Provo, UT on March 15th; and against UCLA 95-91 in Provo on March 17th), leading to tickets being sold out; how it led to a media avalanche and popularity for Meyer unseen since Mayor Daley, and his proving why he was "good copy"; why he thought the players deserved more the accolades than he and how he couldn't get to see his grandkids; former Loyola coach George Ireland is also interviewed; and his leaving his office for the night which, with his comments, close the program.
Ending credits:
Produced and Written by Mike Leiderman
Field Producer-Writer - Jeff Davis
Directed By Joe Miguez
Minicam Operators - Bob DeServi, Hal Holck, Richard Hessel, James Stricklin, Hedy Zussman, Dale Schaeffer, Fred Talavera
Studio Technical Director - Hollis Richardson
Studio Audio - Jim McDonald
Video Tape - Wil Powell
Art Director - Jack Hakman
Graphic Artist - Yo Hara
Executive Producer - Richard Lobo
Thanks To: DePaul University Athletic Department - Fr. Robert Gielow, Athletic Director
Highlights Courtesy of: NBC Sports, WSNS-TV, WFLD-TV
Special Thanks to Coach Ray Meyer
Ray Meyer & The Final Four
Pre-recorded
(C) WMAQ-TV, 1979
"Ray Meyer has been a winner for all his 65 years."
This aired on local Chicago TV on Friday, March 23rd 1979 during the 6:30pm to 7:00pm timeframe (repeated on Saturday, March 24th from 1pm to 1:30pm).
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