https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...2f53fc-38ba-11eb-9276-ae0ca72729be_story.html:
"Ronnie Hogue Sr.’s loved ones say he always left a legacy.
As the first African American to receive a full athletic scholarship to the University of Georgia, Hogue battled racism and set a path that dozens of young athletes have followed.
After setting the single-game basketball scoring record at Georgia, he was drafted by the then-Washington Bullets, though he was not ultimately chosen for the team. He lived in the Washington suburbs and raised a family while building a career as a retail manager.
'Every step that I took or every decision that I made, I talked to him,' said his son, Ronnie Hogue Jr. of Atlanta. 'He was a really humble guy but was known wherever he went.'
Hogue Sr. died Sept. 18 at age 69 after contracting the novel
coronavirus and pneumonia.
One of 14 siblings, he grew up in Georgetown and on Capitol Hill and led the “
Magnificent Seven” basketball team at McKinley Technical High School to a city championship in 1969.
He started playing basketball in junior high and was so dedicated to the sport, his sister Rennese Bumbray said, that he would shovel the court near his home after snowstorms so he could practice.
Ronnie Hogue Sr. was the first Black student to receive a full athletic scholarship at the University of Georgia, shown here in 1970. (University of Georgia)
The prep all-American player was recruited by dozens of colleges, including Harvard and Stanford, sports commentator James Brown, a longtime friend and high school basketball rival, said at his memorial service in Maryland.
But it was Bulldogs recruiter John Guthrie who went to Hogue’s home and convinced the apprehensive 6-foot-3 guard of the great work he could do in Athens.
Hogue Jr. said his father told him that a Black man was killed by the Ku Klux Klan in the Deep South shortly before he was supposed to arrive on campus; his father, then 19, was scared to go. But he went, becoming a pioneer in college athletics.
Hogue was a
breakout and explosive star for the Bulldogs. In only three seasons, he scored 1,367 points, including a record-setting 46-point performance against Louisiana State University in 1971. He was named to the Southeastern Conference All-Sophomore team after playing out of position at forward his second year on the squad and, the following year, was named the team’s most valuable player.
Yet despite his star power, Hogue faced racism.
'The first year I played, I can remember having spit balls and hot pennies thrown at me during games, but my teammates would huddle around to cover me up,' he said in
an interview the university published in 2011. 'By the second year, after I proved I could play basketball, people were lining up to get my autograph.'
His family says Hogue never complained but was honest about his experience. He told his siblings about driving down back roads in rural Georgia and seeing someone hanged from a tree.
Hogue Jr. said his dad had a drive for making change. During his freshman year of college, Hogue realized that the Confederate anthem “Dixie” was played before home and away games. He went to the athletic director’s office and spoke about how offensive the song was and how it went against Black culture, his son said. Georgia and the other SEC teams stopped playing the song."
"The University of Georgia held a moment of silence in Hogue’s memory before the national anthem at the men’s basketball home opener on Nov. 29, and an image of Hogue was placed on both of the basket standards that will be in place for the season. The school is discussing long-term plans for honoring Hogue.
During his memorial service, head basketball coach Tom Crean talked about Hogue’s imprint on collegiate sports.
'He stood for himself, he stood for his teammates and for the future of college basketball. And we are all beneficiaries of that,' Crean said. 'We have 13 African American players on full-ride scholarships because Ronnie paved the way.'”
