Troy Basketball’s Lonely Six: The Only Forfeits in Trojan History
Basketball is a sport of runs, shifts, and changes in momentum. Things can turn on a dime and moments can end abruptly. These changes can lead to wins.
So too can these lead to losses.
Troy has been competing in organized sports since the introduction of football in 1909. In those 114 years, Troy has only forfeited six games, and that includes all 15 of its fielded sports teams.
It all happened because a player was one hour shy of the hours he needed.
This is the story of the 1977-78 Troy Men’s Basketball season.
The 1977-78 season came right at the midpoint of the Wes Bizilia era in Troy basketball.
Aside from a lone Gulf South Conference co-title in 1976-77, the Bizilia era is remembered more as a foundation for the more successful tenure that followed with Don Maestri. It’s very much like how Charlie Bradshaw led into the Gailey/Rhoades run in the 1980s for football.
Coming off a 15-14 record in the 76-77 season, the future looked bright for the Trojans. Bizilia returned four starters in 1977-78.
The fifth starter was guard Terry Baker, a reserve from the previous campaign.
The magic seemed to have been lost in the new year though. Troy State started the year 0-4, losing to Austin Peay, Georgia Tech, FSU, and Georgia.
The Trojans got to their winning ways against Oglethorpe and Huntingdon, before dropping three more to Delta State, Livingston, and Alabama-Huntsville. To make things worse, all of Troy’s first nine games were on the road.
Troy seemed to be righting the ship during a three-game home stand, winning all three over St. Ambrose, Huntingdon, and Jacksonville State. Bizilia’s team finished out the rest of January going 1-3, beating Southeastern Louisiana in OT, but falling short against North Alabama, Nicholls State, and UAH.
Then everything went sideways. While looking over paperwork regarding player eligibility, Athletic Director Robert Stewart realized that Terry Baker had been playing ineligibly through the first 16 games of the season (Troy had a 6-10 record by that point).
Based on yearbook records, it was likely his sophomore year. According to the rules at the time, Baker should have passed a minimum of 36 hours’ worth of classes by this point.
He only passed 35 hours.
Stewart took swift action to rectify the mistake. On February 1, 1978, he reported it to the Gulf South Conference office and Baker was removed from the basketball team.
Troy would only win one more game that season. The Trojans beat Livingston in a 66-63 battle at Sartain Hall.
Despite going 1-7 in February, the worst news came almost halfway through the month: February 13th. Surprisingly, given the Trojans’ woes thus far, it wasn’t a Friday.
Earlier that day, Troy was informed by the Gulf South Commissioner Stanley Galloway that the games Troy won with Baker was on the roster would be forfeited. That put the Trojans at 1-20 overall and 1-10 in GSC play.
To pour salt in the wound, Troy lost 80-70 against Southeastern Louisiana that night.
Troy would finish the 1977-78 campaign at 1-23 (1-13 GSC), easily the worst record in Troy basketball history. The lone win that season happened after Baker was removed.
It was the worst season since the first recorded basketball team—the 1950-51 season, in which Troy went 3-15.
Assuming Troy won at a similar pace to the first half of the year (being clear of distractions), you could make the case that Troy would’ve probably picked up a few more wins and maybe even finished with 10, the average total for Bizilia’s other Trojan teams.
From the outset, the Trojans’ season seemed to be destined to go wrong. There were no doubt many questions on the minds of Trojan fans, but none have persisted longer than this:
Who was Terry Baker?
His only crime was missing a single credit hour, but it resulted in the worst season in program history… and he remains a mystery to this day.
Terry M. Baker was from Bargersville, Indiana. He enrolled at Troy in 1976, as far as we can tell, and was gone by 1978. He was a member of Pi Kappa Phi in both of his years at Troy. He was even on the Panhellenic Council in 1976-77.
After February 1, 1978, Terry Baker became a ghost. All information about him ceases to exist. Even his jersey number while at Troy is unknown.
It isn’t possible to reverse the Gulf South’s decision to forfeit those losses, but with the evidence laid out I think it would suffice to at least figuratively pardon him. Baker’s half-season may not be remembered fondly, but 45 years later, he’s still a Trojan basketball alum.
Also, who among us didn’t struggle with signing up for classes at some point? Baker did nothing wrong.
Troy basketball also moved on in spite of the setback. Bizilia coached for another four seasons, and in 1982 Troy would hire some coach named Don Maestri. I think that’s his name.