Preserving History & Legacies
Dr. Doom Makes His Way into Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2018
(Courtesy of NFL Films Production)
Robert Lorenzo Brazile, Jr.
February 7, 1953-
Mobile, Alabama
Jackson State University ‘75
Robert Brazile was the sixth pick in the first round of the 1975 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers.
He helped make the 3-4 defense popular (as a rushing outside linebacker) and excelled in pass coverage and against the run. He ranked at or near the top as a team leader in tackles for ten seasons from 1975-1984 with the Oilers.
He was named to the Pro Bowl in his first seven seasons, and was All-Pro 5 straight seasons (1976–80), helping the Oilers to back-to-back AFC Championships in 1978 and ’79.
He was named to the 1970s All-Decade Team after 48 career sacks and 1281 tackles, the second highest in team history.
Brazile joins three other former Jackson State Tigers in the Pro Hall of Fame: Lem Barney (1992) Walter Payton (1993) and Jackie Slater (2001).
Celebrations
THIS MONTH in BLACK COLLEGE SPORTS HISTORY …1886 Kentucky State University chartered as the State Normal School for Colored Persons, only the second state-supported institution of higher learning in Kentucky…1951 JEAN PATTON became the first of the famed TENNESSEE STATE TIGERBELLES to become a World Record holder…1980 BETTYE MCCLENDON became the FIRST FEMALE OFFICIAL to call a MEN’s BASKETBALL GAME…Jan. 22…other firsts: FIRST FEMALE STARTER (Track & Field)…FIRST FEMALE to call a NCAA DIV. II WOMEN”S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT GAME…
Where are They Now ...
The “Clown Prince of Basketball”
Hubert “Geese” Ausbie attended Douglas High School in Little Rock, AR where he became a basketball and baseball standout.
He followed his brother to Philander Smith College and earned All-Conference and All-American basketball honors from 1956 to 1960. He was a leading scorer in NCAA’s College Division (Div. II), averaging 30 points per game. He joined the Harlem Globetrotters in 1961 and after the retirement of Meadowlark Lemon, he took the title of the “Clown Prince of Basketball” for his dazzling play and irrepressible pranks on the court. Ausbie retired from the team in 1985 and in 1994, he received a Globetrotters Legends ring, a recognition given to only select former players. He became head coach and manager of operations for the Globetrotters. In 2017, the Globetrotters retired his jersey, just the 7th ‘Trotter to receive that honor. Married for 25 years to his college sweetheart, Awilda, he resides in his hometown , Little Rock, Arkansas.
The Secret Game: The Fast Break
(Excerpt from Scott Ellsworth’s “The Secret Game,” published by the New York Times, March 31, 1966)
1944 was a banner year for basketball in the Tobacco Road area of North Carolina. The Duke University Blue Devils won the Southern Conference championship (North Carolina Tarheels finished 4th). The North Carolina College for Negroes Eagles in Durham had lost only one game all season, led by 28-year-old John B. McLendon, a rising coaching star. His Eagles were led by standouts – Aubrey Stanley, Henry “Big Dog” Thomas, Floyd “Cootie” Brown, and James “Boogie-Woogie” Hardy – were masters of the “fast break style that revolutionized the game of basketball.”
Coach McLendon, the architect and now a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame believed his Eagles “could have beaten anyone.”
See the whole story…
Black College 'Trotter Legends
Hugh Evans, Class of 2018
All-time 2nd Best in NBA
Evans Joins Class of 2018
Former NC A&T standout (and teammate of Hall of Famer Al Attles), was among 12 inductees in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Evans was a top official for 28 years in the NBA (1972-2001). He worked 1,969 regular season and 35 NBA Finals games. He currently serves as an assistant supervisor of officials in the NBA front office