Top Cats: A Golden Era for College Basketball

Stockton, California experienced a high-voltage jolt of enthusiasm during the 1960s when a young basketball coach named Dick Edwards brought a city together. Hired by the University of the Pacific to coach its team, Edwards had an ability to go “outside the campus gates” and capture the support of the city of Stockton and the outlying community.

He built a rabid fan base that became honorary Pacific alumni and they all turned an old opera house in downtown Stockton into a “capitol” of basketball. The enthusiasm of the city helped Edwards develop a nationally-ranked program that the University of the Pacific, the city of Stockton, the county of San Joaquin, and the core of California's great Central Valley would grow to give unconditional support and interest.

Read how a fiery coach and a small group of dedicated assistants used a hardscrabble approach with a bunch of driven athletes to make Stockton and the University of the Pacific shine.

by Tom Jones

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