George Raveling is one of those few men to have been connected to two of the most famous Americans in the world. Yes, the basketball Hall of Famer coach happens to be in close connection to not only NBA legend Michael Jordan but also to one of the most revolutionary American activists Martin Luther king jr.
George Raveling’s imprint on the game of basketball has extended far and wide. Raveling has had a hand in the game at every level, from his playing days at Villanova to coaching stints as far west as USC, to managerial jobs with Nike that have taken him all over the world. He brought that same toughness to teams at Washington State, USC, and the University of Iowa as a coach.
He was an assistant coach on the medal-winning Olympic teams coached by Bob Knight and John Thompson in 1984 and 1988. We already know that how George Raveling was the man behind Jordan’s decision to sign with Nike. But, how is the Olympic medal-winning coach somehow connected to Martin Luther King Jr?
Well, Ravelling was a volunteer event security guard for King’s inspirational ‘I Have a Dream’ address during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Martin Luther King Jr. handed over the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech to George Raveling
The security team for the event was around 15 people, George being one of them. “There were speakers all day long but Dr. King was the last speaker” per Raveling. MLK delivered his iconic speech that still echoes throughout American history. “Just as he was finishing, he started to fold the speech,” Ravelling told the Pac-12 Network once. “I said to him, ‘Dr. King, can I have that speech?”
Martin Luther King Jr. handed over the infamous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech to Raveling. And just like that the Pac-12’s first African American men’s basketball coach came to possess one of the most memorable speeches in American history.
People started gathering around MLK telling him that this was one of the best speeches they have ever heard, while George just stood there. George Rveling recalls his special connection with the American Baptist and activist and told Pac12 network, “It took 50 years for that speech to take on the historic significance that it has”.
Be it persuading Michael Jordan for the Nike deal or getting the iconic speech from MLK himself, George Raveling somehow had a hand in things that were going to be historic.