It was Aug. 14, 1965, and the headline along the New Orleans States-Item read, “First Negro Cager at Loyola.”

Charlie Ray Powell, a 6-foot-2 basketball guard, signed a letter of intent with Loyola among the more than 25 colleges pursuing him.

Powell, a Parade All-American, was the first black man to sign an athletic scholarship at any of the previously all-white colleges in Louisiana.

Four years later, Powell left the university – having gone toe-to-toe with Hall of Fame members “Pistol Pete” Maravich and Elvin Hayes – as the all-time individual scoring leader.

His senior year in high school, Powell led an inexperienced team, which lost 10 seniors the year before to graduation, to a 26-8 record and the District I title. Powell was one of six players to sign with a Division I school.

Powell averaged 28 points per game for the freshman team (14-1). Their only loss came in their opening game, in which Powell didn’t play.

His debut year on varsity was short on talent. Led by sophomores Powell and Ron Britsch, a product of Jesuit High School, Loyola tallied an 11-11 record.

Powell dazzled fans with his speed and deadly accurate shot. He once scored eight consecutive field goals against Memphis State and put in a season best 28 points in a win over LSU, 87-86. That same year, Loyola upset No. 3 Michigan State 74-70.

His junior year remains the highest scoring average in Loyola history. Powell averaged 26 points per game and was among the country’s most prolific scorers.

Perhaps no state knew the talent of Powell’s better than Florida.

In back-to-back games Powell dropped 40 points against Miami and then 45 points against Jacksonville, breaking the all-time school record of 41 points set by Don Kalinowski in 1966 against Tampa.

Powell was named honorable mention All-American in 1968.

He dueled with “Pistol Pete” Maravich on two occasions, with the latter occasion drawing a record home crowd at the Field House with 6,523 people in attendance.

Loyola never had a winning record while Powell played because of a combination of too few quality players and stiff competition.

Powell ended his tenure at Loyola with 1,525 career points, making him the No. 1 career scorer at the time. He has since been surpassed and ranks No. 4 all-time.