Obit of the Day
Looking at the unique lives that have shuffled off this mortal coil. OOTD is the most popular obituary blog on Tumblr.
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Obit of the Day: “A Tree Stump in the Valley of Redwoods”
Kenneth Hudson was first noticed by NBA legend Bill Russell as Hudson was officiating a college game. Russell told his coach, Red Auerbach, that Hudson was excellent and should serve as ref for the Boston Celtics’ scrimmages. Both Russell and Auerbach had eyes for talent, so when the NBA brought on its second African American referee they turned to Ken Hudson. (The first was Jackie White in 1967-1968. However White didn’t ref in the 1968-1969 season so Hudson was the only black official on the court that season.)
He would wear the stripes in four full NBA seasons (1968-1972) before retiring. After leaving the court he would help found one the premiere high school basketball tournaments in the country, The Boston Shootout. He would later serve on the board for Coca Cola New England.
Hudson, who was only 5’6” (the post title was the title of his autobiography), died at the age of 72.
Additional source: USA Today
(Image courtesy of USAToday.com. Interesting that this was the only photo of Hudson I could find in uniform.)
