‘Game of Change’ player passes

Former Mississippi State College basketball player and retired Air Force lieutenant colonel Stanley R. Brinker has died at the age of 71. Brinker played basketball at MSC in early 1960s. By 1963, State's teams had missed multiple NCAA tournament trips having been forced to abide by the "unwritten rule" that kept white Mississippi teams from playing integrated teams. In 1963, MSU President Dean Colvard and legendary coach Harrison "Babe" McCarthy risked their careers by arranging to sneak the team out of Mississippi to face the integrated Loyola University of Chicago team. The "Game of Change" – as it was known – changed college basketball. A Sports Illustrated photograph of Brinker shaking hands with Loyola player Vic Rouse made most every newspaper in the country. Brinker took part in three reunion events a half-century later – two in Chicago and one in Starkville - as MSU hosted those Loyola players along with their own. In 1966, he joined the Air Force and had tours at Eglin AFB, Fla.; Binh Thuy, Vietnam; and the Pentagon. He played significant roles in programs such as laser guided bombs; F–15 fighter jet and was missile defense advisor for former President Ronald Reagan's "Star Wars" program. After the AF, he began a second career as a consultant for the Defense Department and NASA; and finally retiring to North Alabama’s Lake Guntersville area southeast of Huntsville. Brinker is survived by his wife, two sons, five grandchildren, a sister and three brothers. (Source: Clarion Ledger 02/08/15)