Robert Hughes (basketball) explained

Robert Hughes
Birth Date:15 May 1928
Birth Place:Bristow, Oklahoma, U.S.
Death Place:Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Coach Start:1958
Coach End:2005
Cyears1:1958–1973
Cteam1:I.M. Terrell HS
Cyears2:1973–2005
Cteam2:Dunbar HS
Cstats League1:PVIL
Cwin1:373
Closs1:84
Cstats League2:UIL
Cwin2:960
Closs2:163
Highlights:
  • 5× Texas State champion (1963, 1965, 1967, 1993, 2003)
  • Texas Basketball Hall of Fame inductee (2003)
  • High School Basketball Hall of Fame inductee (2003)
  • NHSCA National High School Coach of the Year (2003)
  • Morgan Wootten Lifetime Achievement Award (2010)[1]
  • Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame (2010)[2]
Hof:robert-hughes

Robert Hughes Sr. (May 15, 1928 – June 11, 2024) was an American high school basketball coach. Hughes was the United States' all-time winningest high school basketball coach from February 11, 2003,[3] to December 7, 2010,[4] and, is the most successful boys' high school basketball coach in the United States with 1,333 wins.[5] He was passed in wins by Leta Andrews of Granbury High School in Granbury, Texas, who compiled a national record 1,416 career victories in girls' high school basketball before retiring in 2014.[6]

Early life

Hughes joined the Army after high school. At 6inchesft6inchesin (ftin), he was recruited for a special unit that just played basketball; it was the first integrated team Hughes ever played on.[5] When he left the Army, Texas Southern University offered him a basketball scholarship. Playing for coach Edward H. Adams, Hughes was an All-American at Southern.[7] [8] He started playing for the barnstorming Harlem Magicians in 1954,[9] and was selected by the Boston Celtics as a supplemental draft pick in the 1955 NBA draft,[10] but he did not make the team. Hughes returned to the Magicians in 1955, and met his wife, Jacquelyne Johnson, while playing in a tournament in Memphis, but a ruptured Achilles tendon later that season forced him to give up playing basketball.[5] He returned home to Oklahoma and attended the University of Tulsa, graduating in 1957.[5]

Coaching career

Hughes was hired by Douglas Aircraft as a mechanic after graduating from Tulsa, and worked there until his former coach at Texas Southern called to ask if Hughes had ever considered coaching. Hughes was not initially interested, but Adams persisted and Hughes was hired at I. M. Terrell High School, in Fort Worth, Texas (an all-black high school) during segregation.[5] Hughes led Terrell to three PVIL state championships and one runner up in the five years from 1963 to 1967.[11]

After segregation ended and I. M. Terrell was shut down in 1973, Hughes began coaching at Dunbar High School in the Fort Worth Independent School District. At Dunbar, Hughes won two state titles, finished as state runner-up three times, and took the team to the final four 12 times between 1977 and 2003, including ten final fours in the 17-year run between 1977 and 1993.[12] In 32 seasons at Dunbar, Hughes had only one assistant coach, Leondas Rambo, who retired with Hughes in 2005.[13]

Between Terrell and Dunbar combined, Hughes won five state basketball titles, and retired in 2005 as the then all-time winningest high school basketball coach, passing Morgan Wootten in 2003.[3] "If you can't work hard and put out the best, you probably need to go home to your mama," Hughes was known for telling his players.[14]

Personal life

Hughes's wife of 57 years, Jacquelyne Sue Johnson Hughes, died on July 1, 2014.[15]

Hughes's son, Robert Hughes Jr., took over head coaching duties at Dunbar after Hughes Sr. retired in 2005, and, is the coach at Dunbar High School.[16] He has two daughters. One, Carlye J. Hughes, was ordained the 11th Episcopal Bishop of Newark in September 2018.[17] Another daughter, Robin L. Hughes, was named dean of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Education, Health and Human Behavior in July 2019.[18]

Hughes resided in the Stop Six neighborhood of southeast Fort Worth.[7] He died in Fort Worth on June 11, 2024, at the age of 96.[19]

Halls of fame and awards

Hughes was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on March 31, 2017.[14] [20] [21] Additional halls of fame include: Texas Basketball Hall of Fame (1993),[22] High School Basketball Hall of Fame (2003),[22] Texas Sports Hall of Fame (2003) and the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame (2013).[2]

Hughes was selected as the NHSCA National High School Coach of the Year in 2003,[22] and received the Morgan Wootten Lifetime Achievement Award by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.[1]

Popular culture

In anticipation of Hughes's induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, filmmaker and former Dunbar basketball player, Mike Byars, created a feature length documentary 5700 Ramey Ave: The Story of Robert Hughes to chronicle Hughes's career.[23]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Morgan Wootten Lifetime Achievement Award: Previous Winners . Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame . June 6, 2020 . June 6, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200606193210/https://www.hoophall.com/awards/the-morgan-wootten-lifetime-achievement-award/previous-winners/ . live .
  2. News: Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame: FW Dunbar legend Robert Hughes among inductees . Brad . Townsend . February 14, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201022072448/https://www.dallasnews.com/high-school-sports/basketball/2014/02/15/texas-black-sports-hall-of-fame-fw-dunbar-legend-robert-hughes-among-inductees/ . October 22, 2020 . live . May 31, 2020.
  3. Web site: February 11, 2003 . Dunbar's Hughes becomes winningest HS coach . June 13, 2024 . ESPN.com via the Associated Press . June 13, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240613024512/http://www.espn.com/moresports/news/2003/0211/1507519.html . live .
  4. Web site: Leta Andrews . Texas Sports Hall of Fame Inductees: Lets Andrews . September 26, 2020 . June 13, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240613024511/https://www.tshofinductees.org/blog/ . live .
  5. Duke of Dunbar . Michael . Hall . January 1, 2004 . . May 20, 2020 . October 25, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201025225544/https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/duke-of-dunbar/ . live .
  6. Web site: March 1, 2014 . Leta Andrews retires with 1,416 wins . May 21, 2020 . ESPN.com via the Associated Press . June 13, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240613024505/https://www.espn.com/espnw/news-commentary/story/_/id/10537818 . live .
  7. Melton . Marcia . 2016 . Stop Six: A Brief History of a Fort Worth Community . May 31, 2020 . TCU Magazine . September 23, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200923165441/https://magazine.tcu.edu/spring-2016/stop-six-history-fort-worth-community/ . live .
  8. Web site: Classic Named for Former TSU Basketball Standout, Robert Hughes . HBCU Sports . December 17, 2009 . hbcusports.com . May 20, 2020 . January 20, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210120073615/https://hbcusports.com/2009/12/17/classic-named-for-former-tsu-basketball-standout-robert-hughes/ . live .
  9. Web site: Texas Southern Hall of Fame: Robert Hughes . tsusports.com . September 13, 2020 . April 23, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220423094847/https://tsusports.com/honors/texas-southern-hall-of-fame/robert-hughes/19 . live .
  10. Web site: Robert Hughes . thedraftreview.com . June 5, 2019 . September 13, 2020 . June 29, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170629142240/http://www.thedraftreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=28:1955-nba-draft&Itemid=158&layout=default . live .
  11. Web site: PVIL State Championship Results: Basketball . pvilca.org . https://web.archive.org/web/20201022060633/http://pvilca.org/records.html?sport=basketball . October 22, 2020 . live . May 27, 2020.
  12. Web site: Boys Basketball State Archives School Search: Fort Worth Dunbar . uiltexas.org . https://web.archive.org/web/20201022061226/https://www.uiltexas.org/basketball/archives-boys-school-search/4813a2f77d658c6a8b1075b7e25dbcec/ . October 22, 2020 . live . June 6, 2020.
  13. News: Leondas Rambo, a silent Fort Worth legend to Hall of Fame coach Robert Hughes, has died . Mac . Engel . December 16, 2020 . . January 3, 2021 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210103110800/https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/mac-engel/article247887265.html . January 3, 2021.
  14. News: Humphrey . David . April 1, 2017 . Dunbar's Robert Hughes voted to Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200517195736/https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nba/article142139009.html . May 17, 2020 . May 17, 2020 . Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
  15. News: Jacquelyne Sue Johnson Hughes, 1936–2014 . July 4, 2014 . Fort Worth Star-Telegram . May 17, 2020 . May 21, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170521010901/http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dfw/obituary.aspx?n=jacquelyne-sue-johnson-hughes&pid=171598527 . live .
  16. News: Watch this Dunbar basketball flashback from 1977 state tournament . Eric . Zarate . March 22, 2018 . Fort Worth Star-Telegram . May 20, 2020 . June 13, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240613024421/https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/dfwvarsity/article206393214.html . live .
  17. News: Carlye J. Hughes ordained 11th bishop of Newark . Episcopal News Service . September 24, 2018 . May 20, 2020 . September 24, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200924133330/https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2018/09/24/carlye-j-hughes-ordained-11th-bishop-of-newark/ . live .
  18. Web site: Robin Hughes named dean of SIUE School of Education, Health and Human Behavior . June 11, 2019 . advantagenews.com . May 20, 2020 . June 13, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190613151241/https://advantagenews.com/news/robin-hughes-named-dean-of-siue-school-of-education-health-a/ . live .
  19. Web site: Legendary Fort Worth basketball coach Robert Hughes, known as Mayor of Stop Six, dies. Engel. Mac. June 12, 2024. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. June 12, 2024. June 13, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240613024436/https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/dfwvarsity/article289210784.html. live.
  20. Web site: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Announces 2017 Enshrinement Ceremony . August 24, 2017 . Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame . June 6, 2020.
  21. News: The fighter can rest — Robert Hughes is a Hall of Famer . Mac . Engel . Fort Worth Star-Telegram . April 1, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200517195521/https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/mac-engel/article142203394.html . May 17, 2020 . live . May 17, 2020.
  22. Web site: Fort Worth ISD's Robert Hughes Sr. named to Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame . FWBP Staff . April 1, 2017 . October 30, 2020 . November 1, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201101180607/https://fortworthbusiness.com/sports/fort-worth-isds-robert-hughes-sr-named-to-naismith-basketball-hall-of-fame/ . live .
  23. News: Documentary chronicles rise, achievements of Fort Worth basketball coach Robert Hughes . FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth . April 5, 2019 . May 20, 2020 . August 6, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190806201713/http://www.fox4news.com/news/documentary-chronicles-rise-achievements-of-fort-worth-basketball-coach-robert-hughes . live .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Robert Hughes (basketball)".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.