March 25, 1947: The College of the Holy Cross, based in Worcester, Massachusetts, 50 miles west of downtown Boston, defeats the University of Oklahoma, 58-47 at Madison Square Garden to win the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
They are led by George Kaftan, a New Yorker nicknamed the Golden Greek, who later played for the Knicks and the Boston Celtics. At the time, freshmen were eligible (this would later change, and change back), and one of coach Alvin "Doggie" Julian's freshman was another New Yorker, Bob Cousy.
Another player, Joe Mullaney, would later coach at Providence College, and would coach the Los Angeles Lakers to the 1970 NBA Finals and the Utah Stars to the 1974 ABA Finals, but lost both.
Holy Cross were the 1st team from a New England State to win a National Championship. There would not be another until the University of Connecticut did so in 1999, and they remain the only 2 New England schools to do it.
As of March 25, 2022, Cousy is the last one still alive, age 93.
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March 25, 1947 was a Tuesday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. There was 1 game in the Basketball Association of America, the first-year league that would become the NBA in 1949: The Cleveland Rebels beat the Boston Celtics, 72-64 at the Cleveland Arena.
And there was 1 game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 3-1 at the Montreal Forum.
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