Harold Hunter

Harold Hunter


Born:
April 30, 1926
Kansas City, KS

Died:
March 7, 2013
Hendersonville, TN


Career
1942-43 Sumner High School - Kansas City, KS (High School)
1943-44 Sumner High School - Kansas City, KS (High School)
1946-47 North Carolina College at Durham (College)
1947-48 North Carolina College at Durham (College)
1948-49 North Carolina College at Durham (College)
1949-50 North Carolina College at Durham (College)
1950-51 Williston High School - Wilmington, NC (High School) Head coach
1951-52 Washington Capitols (ABL)
1952-53 P.S. Jones High School - Washington, NC (High School) Head coach
1953-54 P.S. Jones High School - Washington, NC (High School) Head coach
1954-55 Williston High School - Wilmington, NC (High School) Head coach
1955-56 Williston High School - Wilmington, NC (High School) Head coach
1956-57 Williston High School - Wilmington, NC (High School) Head coach
1957-58 Tennessee State University (College) Assistant coach
1958-59 Tennessee State University (College) Assistant coach
1959-60 Tennessee State University (College) Head coach 
1960-61 Tennessee State University (College) Head coach 
1961-62 Tennessee State University (College) Head coach  
1962-63 Tennessee State University (College) Head coach 
1963-64 Tennessee State University (College) Head coach  
1964-65 Tennessee State University (College) Head coach 
1965-66 Tennessee State University (College) Head coach  
1966-67 Tennessee State University (College) Head coach 
1967-68 Tennessee State University (College) Head coach  
1970-71 Vanderbilt University (College) Assistant coach 
1974-75 Xavier University - Louisiana (College) Head coach - Men's and Women's
1975-76 Xavier University - Louisiana (College) Head coach - Men's and Women's
1976-77 Xavier University - Louisiana (College) Head coach - Men's and Women's
1980-81 Dillard University -  (College) Assistant coach - Women's team
1981-82 Dillard University -  (College) Assistant coach - Women's team
1982-83 Dillard University -  (College) Assistant coach - Women's team
1983-84 Dillard University -  (College) Assistant coach - Women's team
1984-85 Dillard University -  (College) Assistant coach - Women's team
1985-86 Dillard University -  (College) Assistant coach - Women's team
Southern University - Louisiana (College) Assistant coach

Born in Kansas City, Kansas, to Claude and Alta Hunter played at the North Carolina College at Durham (now known as North Carolina Central University). In 1950 he was drafted in the 10th round of the NBA draft by the Washington Capitols. He became the first black player to sign a contract with an NBA team, but he was cut prior to the start of the season. In 1951, after the Capitols had dropped from the NBA and joined the lesser ABL, Hunter signed with the club again, playing in all 22 games before the team folded in January of 1952. In 1957, he was hired as an assistant coach for the Tennessee State basketball team, and two years later became the school's head coach He held that post for nine seasons, leading the Tigers to a 172-67 record in his tenure. 17 of his players were NBA draft picks. He left TSU to coach the U.S. National team on a pre-Olympic tour of Europe and the Soviet Union. When he was hired as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt in 1970, he became the first black member of a coaching staff in the SEC. He went on to coach at Xavier University in Louisiana, both the men's and women's teams. After Xavier, he was an assistant coach for the women's team at Dillard University and later coached at Southern University.

He and his wife, Jacqueline, had a son and a daughter.

Source:
Obituary, Hendersonville Standard, March 7, 2013
Obituary, tsutigers.com, 2013
The Tennessean, March 11, 2013
nola.com, March 2013


Stats: