Photo by: Tyler Davis
CU Hall of Famer Ken Charlton Passes Away
July 20, 2024 | General, Men's Basketball, Alumni C Club
Basketball star of the early 1960s was 83
BOULDER — Ken Charlton, one of the University of Colorado's pivotal players on the highly successful men's basketball team in the early 1960's, passed away from complications of Alzheimer's disease on Wednesday (July 17) in St. Augustine, Fla. He was 83.
He was inducted into CU's Athletic Hall of Honor in 1980 and in the eighth class to be inducted into CU's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010, the fifth men's basketball player to be enshrined in the latter at the time. As a senior in the 1962-63 season, he was a consensus first-team All-American and was named to the first-ever Academic All-America team, coordinated by the College Sports Information Directors of America. He graduated from CU with a degree in English Literature.
A lanky 6-foot-6, 190-pound forward, Charlton battled through a history of knee problems to lead Colorado to a pair of Big Eight Conference titles, two top 10 national rankings and NCAA Championship berths (1962, 1963). CU was 19-7 each of those seasons, eventually succumbing to Cincinnati (the '62 national champion) both years in the NCAA tournament. In the three years he lettered, the Buffaloes were 53-14, with a 31-11 record in Big Eight Conference games. He was a two-time All-Big Eight performer after earning honorable mention honors as a sophomore.
He remains CU's 18th all-time leading scorer (1,352 points) and 17th in rebounds (671), numbers that ranked him first and second, respectively, at the time. He was third on the team in scoring his sophomore year (13.6 ppg), and would lead the Buffaloes as a junior (19.9) and senior (19.8). He scored a career high 35 points on two occasions, at Missouri his junior year and at Kansas as a senior, just under half of CU's total points in both victories. He also led CU in rebounding as a sophomore (8.8 per game) and as a junior (9.5) and was third his senior season (8.2).
A career 78.3 percent shooter from the foul line, during his senior year, he hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds to seal three straight road victories at Nebraska (58-56), Iowa State (58-55) and Oklahoma State (64-61).
He capped his career by being named the Most Outstanding Player in the '63 NCAA Midwest Regional at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan., when he scored 26 points in a 78-72 win over Oklahoma City, and despite being hobbled by a bad knee, came back with 23 in a 67-60 loss to top-ranked and defending national champion Cincinnati. The crowd, familiar with Charlton from his three previous visits to Lawrence, gave him several ovations for his gritty play against the two-time defending NCAA champions (he often had to have his knees drained weekly so he could play). He averaged 20.0 points per game in four NCAA tournament contests.
The starting five of those teams were Charlton and Milt Mueller at forward, Jim Davis at center, and George Parsons and Eric Lee at guard; Parsons is the last surviving member of the quintet and has fond memories of Charlton.
"Kenny was a great teammate, by far the star of the team," Parsons said. "He was NBA-bound, except for the knees, otherwise I had no doubt – none of us did – that he would have been a great NBA player. We really had two great players – Jim Davis the other – so I felt very fortunate to be on that team and was happy to have had the experience of playing with them. Kenny was 'money' -- he was an excellent free throw shooter, he'd drive around someone and all they could do to stop him was to foul, and he made those free throws more often than not. A good man, very intelligent and I can't say enough about him."
Parsons recalled the heartbreaking loss to Cincinnati in the Elite Eight.
"We had Cincinnati down by nine (21-12) in the first half, but they had two or three All-Americans and got back to within one at halftime," Parsons said. "The docs took a lot of fluid out of Kenny's knee at halftime, you want to talk about tough, he didn't miss a beat in the second half. He helped us get up again by five again, but Cincinnati went on a run and that's what kept us out of the Final Four."
His family moved from Oklahoma to Denver in the late 1940s, where he would eventually graduate from South High School. As a junior in 1958, he took part in one of the greatest upsets in the state's high school basketball championship. The Rebels defeated the heavy favorite Manual Thunderbolts, 47-45. Charlton made a one-handed shot that pulled South even at 41, and Brian Etheridge put them ahead for good with two free throws.
His head coach, the late Sox Walseth, called him "the finest offensive player I ever coached," which was quite the statement considering the talent Walseth had over his 20-year career. "On a leg-and-a-half, he's better than anyone else in the Big Eight." Charlton also had the privilege and experience to play for legendary coach John Wooden when he helped the West to an 82-79 win over the East in the annual Shrine All-Star game in 1963; he led the West squad with 15 points.
Charlton was selected by the Cincinnati Royals in the fourth round of the 1963 NBA Draft (the 32nd pick overall) but did not play professionally due to his knee injuries.
"Ken Charlton was truly a University of Colorado and Boulder icon," CU athletic director Rick George said. "But first and foremost, he was a true gentleman who loved his alma mater and the town he called home for over 40 years."
Colorado men's basketball head coach Tad Boyle knew Charlton well and was saddened to hear the news.
"Buff Nation truly lost a great one with the passing of Ken Charlton," Boyle said. "Ken was not only great on the court as one of the best of all time, he was a great supporter and inspiration beyond his playing days. Our hearts go out to his wife Kathy and the entire Charlton family."
"My first memories of Ken were when we were both in school at the same time," said former CU skier and later athletic director, Bill Marolt. "If we were in town, Balch Fieldhouse was the place to be to see Sox' teams and in particular the mastery of Ken on the court. When I returned as the AD, he was one of the most influential people in Boulder and his support of the athletic department was unparalleled."
After Colorado joined the Pac-12 Conference, CU was included in the annual inducting of men's basketball players into the prestigious Pac-12 Hall of Honor; Charlton was selected for the 2014 award.
The memory of that experience resonated with his daughter, Corri.
"Reminiscing when we were in Las Vegas with family and friends, my Dad was inducted into the Pac-12 Hall of Honor for some truly golden years of CU basketball in the early 1960s," she recalled. "His towering height was to his credit as an athlete. His knees inhibited him from continuing his basketball career, but he continued to reach heights in banking and community service. He's always towered over my life as a loving Dad and as a model of honesty, commitment to family and to doing what is right."
Kenneth Wayne Charlton was born March 20, 1941 in Oklahoma City, Okla. A long-time Boulder banking executive and a pillar of community service, after his playing days, he relocated to St. Augustine, south of Jacksonville, in 2004. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, the former Kathleen (Kathy) Curtis, son Curt, daughter Corri Charlton Ogburn and her husband, Bret, who Ken fully considered his second son, and two grandchildren, Christine and Jonah Ogburn.
He had been in Hospice care since last December. The night before he passed, Christine read to him his favorite poem, "Oh Captain! My Captain!" (by Walt Whitman), and she also played some of his favorite music.
There is a small family gathering next week in St. Augustine, as well as a memorial service being planned in Boulder, most likely in October.
He was inducted into CU's Athletic Hall of Honor in 1980 and in the eighth class to be inducted into CU's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010, the fifth men's basketball player to be enshrined in the latter at the time. As a senior in the 1962-63 season, he was a consensus first-team All-American and was named to the first-ever Academic All-America team, coordinated by the College Sports Information Directors of America. He graduated from CU with a degree in English Literature.
A lanky 6-foot-6, 190-pound forward, Charlton battled through a history of knee problems to lead Colorado to a pair of Big Eight Conference titles, two top 10 national rankings and NCAA Championship berths (1962, 1963). CU was 19-7 each of those seasons, eventually succumbing to Cincinnati (the '62 national champion) both years in the NCAA tournament. In the three years he lettered, the Buffaloes were 53-14, with a 31-11 record in Big Eight Conference games. He was a two-time All-Big Eight performer after earning honorable mention honors as a sophomore.
He remains CU's 18th all-time leading scorer (1,352 points) and 17th in rebounds (671), numbers that ranked him first and second, respectively, at the time. He was third on the team in scoring his sophomore year (13.6 ppg), and would lead the Buffaloes as a junior (19.9) and senior (19.8). He scored a career high 35 points on two occasions, at Missouri his junior year and at Kansas as a senior, just under half of CU's total points in both victories. He also led CU in rebounding as a sophomore (8.8 per game) and as a junior (9.5) and was third his senior season (8.2).
A career 78.3 percent shooter from the foul line, during his senior year, he hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds to seal three straight road victories at Nebraska (58-56), Iowa State (58-55) and Oklahoma State (64-61).
He capped his career by being named the Most Outstanding Player in the '63 NCAA Midwest Regional at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan., when he scored 26 points in a 78-72 win over Oklahoma City, and despite being hobbled by a bad knee, came back with 23 in a 67-60 loss to top-ranked and defending national champion Cincinnati. The crowd, familiar with Charlton from his three previous visits to Lawrence, gave him several ovations for his gritty play against the two-time defending NCAA champions (he often had to have his knees drained weekly so he could play). He averaged 20.0 points per game in four NCAA tournament contests.
The starting five of those teams were Charlton and Milt Mueller at forward, Jim Davis at center, and George Parsons and Eric Lee at guard; Parsons is the last surviving member of the quintet and has fond memories of Charlton.
"Kenny was a great teammate, by far the star of the team," Parsons said. "He was NBA-bound, except for the knees, otherwise I had no doubt – none of us did – that he would have been a great NBA player. We really had two great players – Jim Davis the other – so I felt very fortunate to be on that team and was happy to have had the experience of playing with them. Kenny was 'money' -- he was an excellent free throw shooter, he'd drive around someone and all they could do to stop him was to foul, and he made those free throws more often than not. A good man, very intelligent and I can't say enough about him."
Parsons recalled the heartbreaking loss to Cincinnati in the Elite Eight.
"We had Cincinnati down by nine (21-12) in the first half, but they had two or three All-Americans and got back to within one at halftime," Parsons said. "The docs took a lot of fluid out of Kenny's knee at halftime, you want to talk about tough, he didn't miss a beat in the second half. He helped us get up again by five again, but Cincinnati went on a run and that's what kept us out of the Final Four."
His family moved from Oklahoma to Denver in the late 1940s, where he would eventually graduate from South High School. As a junior in 1958, he took part in one of the greatest upsets in the state's high school basketball championship. The Rebels defeated the heavy favorite Manual Thunderbolts, 47-45. Charlton made a one-handed shot that pulled South even at 41, and Brian Etheridge put them ahead for good with two free throws.
His head coach, the late Sox Walseth, called him "the finest offensive player I ever coached," which was quite the statement considering the talent Walseth had over his 20-year career. "On a leg-and-a-half, he's better than anyone else in the Big Eight." Charlton also had the privilege and experience to play for legendary coach John Wooden when he helped the West to an 82-79 win over the East in the annual Shrine All-Star game in 1963; he led the West squad with 15 points.
Charlton was selected by the Cincinnati Royals in the fourth round of the 1963 NBA Draft (the 32nd pick overall) but did not play professionally due to his knee injuries.
"Ken Charlton was truly a University of Colorado and Boulder icon," CU athletic director Rick George said. "But first and foremost, he was a true gentleman who loved his alma mater and the town he called home for over 40 years."
Colorado men's basketball head coach Tad Boyle knew Charlton well and was saddened to hear the news.
"Buff Nation truly lost a great one with the passing of Ken Charlton," Boyle said. "Ken was not only great on the court as one of the best of all time, he was a great supporter and inspiration beyond his playing days. Our hearts go out to his wife Kathy and the entire Charlton family."
"My first memories of Ken were when we were both in school at the same time," said former CU skier and later athletic director, Bill Marolt. "If we were in town, Balch Fieldhouse was the place to be to see Sox' teams and in particular the mastery of Ken on the court. When I returned as the AD, he was one of the most influential people in Boulder and his support of the athletic department was unparalleled."
After Colorado joined the Pac-12 Conference, CU was included in the annual inducting of men's basketball players into the prestigious Pac-12 Hall of Honor; Charlton was selected for the 2014 award.
The memory of that experience resonated with his daughter, Corri.
"Reminiscing when we were in Las Vegas with family and friends, my Dad was inducted into the Pac-12 Hall of Honor for some truly golden years of CU basketball in the early 1960s," she recalled. "His towering height was to his credit as an athlete. His knees inhibited him from continuing his basketball career, but he continued to reach heights in banking and community service. He's always towered over my life as a loving Dad and as a model of honesty, commitment to family and to doing what is right."
Kenneth Wayne Charlton was born March 20, 1941 in Oklahoma City, Okla. A long-time Boulder banking executive and a pillar of community service, after his playing days, he relocated to St. Augustine, south of Jacksonville, in 2004. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, the former Kathleen (Kathy) Curtis, son Curt, daughter Corri Charlton Ogburn and her husband, Bret, who Ken fully considered his second son, and two grandchildren, Christine and Jonah Ogburn.
He had been in Hospice care since last December. The night before he passed, Christine read to him his favorite poem, "Oh Captain! My Captain!" (by Walt Whitman), and she also played some of his favorite music.
There is a small family gathering next week in St. Augustine, as well as a memorial service being planned in Boulder, most likely in October.
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