Worthy Patterson doc illuminates a lesser-known period of UConn history
Ronnie Forchheimer had been kicking around the idea for years. An Avon resident who’d become interested in UConn basketball, and a veteran of CNN and ESPN now working on his own, he saw Worthy Patterson’s story as his to tell.
“I always was aware of Worthy’s story, and I always had this one in the back of my mind,” Forchhimer said. “So I decided to start investing time and money in it. I just kept plowing ahead. It was a passion project, basically.”
The result of Forchheimer’s efforts, “Pushing Boundaries,” illustrates the life, accomplishments and indomitable spirit of Worthy Patterson, the first Black captain in any sport at UConn, and the first Husky to play in the NBA.
Forchheimer began the project before Patterson died at 91 in December of 2022, so much of it features a very sharp and effusive “Big Worthy” telling of his rise during the civil rights movement and his handling of the racism he encountered during his time.
“When it’s all white, and you’re the only one who’s not, you get comfortable in that environment,” Patterson said in the film. “And you learn how it operates. It taught me how to maneuver in mainstream America.”
The 31-minute film, completed in time for February’s Black History Month, was first shown on Feb. 9 at the Greenwich Historical Society in Patterson’s hometown, with about 75 people in attendance. There was an enthusiastic reception and a question-and-answer session with Patterson’s wife, Queen, and son, Worthy Jr., via Zoom. The basketball team from The King School in Stamford came to watch as a group.
“A guy who was Worthy’s classmate at Greenwich High showed up with his class yearbook signed by Worthy,” Forchheimer said. “The [King] players actually stuck around for an hour and had their own discussion with the coach. There was nice community involvement.”
The film will next be shown, on a continuous loop, at UConn’s J. Robert Donnelly Husky Heritage Sports Museum before and after the UConn men play Providence at Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
“It shows the things Worthy Patterson went through,” UConn spokesman Mike Enright said, “and it illustrates a part of UConn basketball history that not many people may know about.”
Patterson played multiple sports at Greenwich High, where his single mother worked at home as a seamstress and tailor. At UConn, the 6-foot-3 Patterson averaged 11.5 points and
8.4 rebounds across 73 games.
His signature moment was a game-winning drive and lay-up to upset Holy Cross, ending the Crusaders’ 47-game home winning streak, on Feb, 27, 1954.
“I was never uncomfortable at UConn,” Patterson said. “I was right in the middle of it. Sometimes, I didn’t even remember I was a minority. I just did my thing.”
Outstanding footage from that game, including the winning shot, was located and worked into “Pushing Boundaries.”
“It was a great moment in Connecticut basketball,” Patterson said. “This was a key to becoming big time.”
After leaving UConn, Patterson nearly made the Celtics roster but was cut just before the season began when Don Barksdale came out of retirement. Patterson explained in the film that while the Celtics were integrated, they didn’t want to carry more than one African American player. During that camp, Patterson recalled knocking down a player who used a racist term.
After a stint in the military, Patterson did break into the NBA with the St. Louis Hawks, who sent him on a speaking tour of the city to introduce himself to fans as the team’s first Black player. In his first game, Patterson recalled, he had to get through a protest staged by the city’s Black leaders who did not know he was on the team.
Patterson left basketball and had a long career as an executive in the music industry.
He remembered telling his grandfather he wanted to one day have a job where he wore a suit and carried a briefcase. He made it happen.
“You have to prepare to be lucky,” Patterson said.
He was inducted into the Huskies of Honor at Gampel Pavilion in 2012.
Forchheimer is working with CPTV to air the film in March, and he hopes it will resonate and show there were many, not so well known, who overcame the racism of the times in different ways.
“He was just so confident and so sure of what he wanted to accomplish in life,” Forchheimer said. “Whether it be in basketball, or family or becoming a record company executive, he just kind of went on his merry way. Not merry because it was all happy, but he was single-minded in that he was not going to let outside forces stop what he wanted to do.”
More for your Sunday Read:
Blue Jays close one deal, more to come
The University of Saint Joseph men’s basketball team, ranked No.1 in Division III, completed an undefeated regular season, beating Johnson & Wales to finish 25-0, and 18-0 in the GNAC.
Next up, Glen Miller’s Blue Jays, the first undefeated team in conference history, will host the conference tournament in West Hartford beginning Tuesday night.
Sunday short takes ◼
South Kent honored Elmarko Jackson, 6-3 point guard, who was selected to play in the McDonald’s All-American Games in Houston. Jackson, from New Jersey, plays for former UConn assistant Raphael Chillious at South Kent and is committed to play at Kansas.
◼ Speaking from experience, I can confirm that encountering Tim McCarver at a ballpark made for a wonderful day. Never saw him without a smile there. McCarver died at 81 this week.
◼ The deadline to apply for the Bo Kolinsky Scholarship is March 7. The one-time, $3,000 scholarship, named for The Courant’s long-time high school sports editor who, full disclosure, brought me to the paper in 1988, is awarded each year to a Connecticut high school senior with plans to study in college for a career in sports media. Our beloved Bo died 20 years ago this month, and I am sure he is up there keeping painstakingly accurate records and thrilled to know he has helped, and is still helping young people get started. The Connecticut Sports Media Alliance oversees the scholarship, and one can apply at www. ctsportswriters.com/scholarship.
◼ Walked into the Milford Ice Pavilion for an interview this week and immediately noticed the youth hockey jersey of
Nick Capone, who now plays at UConn. Kinda neat.
◼ Tricia Fabbri got her 500th win as Quinnipiac women’s basketball coach with a 75-55 victory over Mount St. Mary’s on Thursday. The Bobcats, 13-3 in the MAAC, have a shot at the regular-season title. In 28 seasons Fabbri has won 60.2 percent of her games.
◼ More women’s basketball folks should be mentioning Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist in the player of the year conversations.
◼ Former UConn quarterback Dan Orlovsky, an NFL analyst of high regard at ESPN, tweeted a video of Kentucky quarterback Will Levis, the XavierMiddletown grad, comparing him to Josh Allen in form. Levis is considered one of the top quarterbacks available in the NFL Draft.
◼ Saint Joseph’s Board of Trustees approved the start of construction on a baseball field on campus.
Last word
Tremendous respect for the Eagles’ James Bradberry, who did not take the easy way out and go with the crowd in blaming the official for the holding call against him that helped Kansas City win the Super Bowl. Instead, Bradberry acknowledged in was the correct call. The sports world, like the real world, could use a lot more of this.