The Allstate Sugar Bowl Sports Awards Committee will highlight the accomplishments of eight outstanding sports figures as it celebrates Black History Month this February. The sports figures, all members of the Allstate Sugar Bowl's New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, had careers which combined to span over 100 years of history. They include a pair of Olympians, a pair of record-setting basketball players, a baseball star from the early days of the sport, an ageless tennis legend, an NFL standout with a memorable nickname, and a ground-breaking golf course architect.
 
The Sugar Bowl will share these memorable stories via its social media channels throughout the month of February.
 
New Orleans Legends:
Billy Ray Hobley – Basketball, 1973-98
John Wright – Baseball, 1934-55
Rich Jackson – Football, 1961-72
Bernard Griffith – Basketball, 1967-2020
Sandra Hodge – Basketball, 1980-87
Theron Lewis – Track & Field, 1960-68
James King – Basketball, 1962-68
 
James King – Basketball, 1962-68
A star basketball player at Clark High School (1959-62) and then at Oklahoma State University (1962-65), James King went on to a very successful career in the AAU leagues and earned a gold medal for the United States at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. He was selected for the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
 
King led Clark to two city championships and one trip to the state finals. His teams posted a 56-11 record and he averaged in double figures in points each year, including 19 points per game as a senior.

From 1962-65, King was an all-conference performer at Oklahoma State while playing for legendary coach Henry Iba, who called King "one of the highest-class players we ever had at Oklahoma State."
 
Known for his competitive spirit and off-court style, King is one of 15 Cowboys to earn three all-conference honors, notching spots on the 1963 and 1964 Second-Team All-Big Eight team as a sophomore and junior before earning a first-team nod in 1965 with averages of 12.1 points and 10.6 rebounds. King helped lead the Cowboys to the Big Eight Conference Title and an NCAA Elite Eight appearance as a senior. 
 
After being named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Second-Team All-District Team in 1964, he earned First Team All-District Team honors in 1965 for his play, participating in the NABC East-West All-Star the same year.
 
The 6-foot-5 forward finished as one of the greatest rebounders to step foot in Stillwater, hauling down 200+ rebounds in three seasons with the Cowboys to rank second all-time at OSU in career rebounds per game at 9.9 and ninth in career rebounds with 761.
 
King's grind-out play caught the attention at the next level, being selected in the fourth round by the Detroit Pistons with pick No. 32 of the 1965 draft. But, he opted for a career in the AAU Leagues, playing for the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots of the National Alliance of Basketball Leagues (NABL).
 
It took King no time to shine in Akron, being named the National AAU Championship Most Valuable Player as a rookie in 1966-67 after leading the Wingfoots in rebounding and taking home AAU All-America honors on route to the league title. As the winner of the NABL title, the Wingfoots represented the United States in the FIBA Intercontinental Club in Italy. Akron defeated Corinthians, the South American champion from Sau Paulo, Brazil; and Ignis Varese, from Italy, to win that championship as well.
 
King achieved Olympic gold with the United States at the Mexico City 1968 Olympic Games alongside Basketball Hall of Famers Spencer Haywood and JoJo White, among others.
 
Theron Lewis became one of the fastest men in New Orleans in the early 1960s during his days at Carver High School and then developed into one of the fastest men in the world as a three-time All-America sprinter at Southern University. He was a member of the 4×400-meter relay team for the United States in the 1964 Olympics.
 
Lewis, who set a New Orleans record in the 400-meter dash (46.9) as he was named the top performer in the first integrated Sugar Bowl Track Meet in 1964, recorded a time of 46.3 in the 400-meter dash at the 1964 Olympic Trials to finish fourth and earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team for the Tokyo Games.
 
In 1965, Lewis ran the anchor leg on the Southern mile-relay team which set a world-record with a 3:04.5 timing in 1965. He helped Southern to the 1966 NAIA Indoor National Championship by winning the 440-yard dash (48.9) and anchoring the winning mile-relay team, which set an NAIA record (3:15, which still stood as of 2013).
 
He was also a key to Southern's 1965 and 1966 NAIA Outdoor National Championships, earning overall Outstanding Performer honors both years. In 1965, he won the 440-yard dash (46.6) and anchored the winning mile relay (3:09.3); and then in 1966, He also won the NCAA Division I Indoor Championship in the 400-meter dash with a time of 47.8 seconds. In 1966, he posted the second-fastest time in world history in the 440-yard dash at 45.2 seconds to win that event. He also anchored the winning mile relay (3:10.7).
 
Lewis was the anchor of the first team (with Olympians Lee Evans, Tommie Smith and Robert Frey) to run under three minutes for the 4×400-meter relay when the U.S. clocked 2:59.6 at an international meet in Los Angeles in 1966.
 
In 1967, he set the world record in the indoor 440-yard dash. He also set the National AAU Indoor record in the 600-meter run with a time of 1:09.2.
 
Lewis was inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1990, the same year he was selected for the Southern University Sports Hall of Fame.
 
Sandra Hodge – Basketball, 1980-87
Sandra Hodge, a native of Clinton, Miss., is one of the greatest basketball players in UNO history as well as one of top scorers in NCAA basketball history. Playing for the UNO Buckettes as they were known at the time, Hodge averaged 26.9 points per game for her career (1980-84) while leading UNO to four straight 20-win seasons. Her career scoring average is the third-best in NCAA Division I history behind only Patricia Hoskins of Mississippi State (28.4 ppg from 1985-89) and current NCAA star Caitlin Clark of Iowa (28.3 ppg as of February 21, 2024).
 
Hodge remains atop the UNO charts (as of 2024) for career points (2,824), career scoring average, field goals made (1,179), and free throws made (466), while ranking second all-time at the school in free throw percentage (.808), rebounds (948) and steals (239).
 
She was also the Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Female Amateur Athlete of the Year an unmatched three straight years (1982, 1983 and 1984).
 
The Buckettes had won a total of 20 games in the first five years of the program (1975-80). However, when Hodge exploded onto the collegiate scene as a freshman in the 1980-81 season, she scored 816 points for an average of 29.1 points per game – and UNO posted a 20-8 record. As a sophomore, Hodge led her team to a 21-7 record as she averaged 22.4 points per game.
 
For her first two seasons, Hodge and the Buckettes played in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). However, prior to her junior season, the NCAA officially began sponsoring women's basketball and UNO began competing as a Division I Independent.
 
The name of the governing body had little effect on Hodge – she averaged 27.3 points per game in 1982-83. The team posted a 20-8 regular season record and was selected to play in the National Women's Invitational Tournament (for the top eight teams that didn't make the 32-team NCAA Tournament) in Amarillo, Texas. After edging Texas Tech, 66-65, in the opening round, the Buckettes cruised to a 100-70 win over Weber State in the semifinals and then defeated Memphis, 68-58, in the championship. Hodge, unsurprisingly, was the tournament MVP.
 
The 5-9 guard-forward set the school's still-standing record for scoring average with 29.5 points per game as a senior in 1983-84 as UNO went 22-6. The teams only losses came to LSU (twice), Utah, Louisville, Kentucky and UL Lafayette (then Southwestern Louisiana) while it beat Tulane and won the Miami Masonic Classic with victories over Cal State Fullerton, St. Joseph's (Pa.) and Wake Forest.
 
After graduation, she played professionally in Sweden and Spain, and in 1987, she became just the fourth woman to play with the Harlem Globetrotters when she joined the team on a South American tour. Over the next six years, Hodge would play over 200 games a year around the world (she visited six continents) with the Globetrotters.
 
"Seeing those happy faces in the places we play in is an extremely satisfying feeling for me, and the rest of the team," Hodge told the Newport News (Va.) Daily Press in 1992. "At least for two hours or so, people can forget their problems and have some fun with us."
 
"Sandra is one of the purest shooters I have ever seen," Billy Ray Hobley, a Globetrotters teammate and also a member of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, said in a 1990 SI For Kids article. "I'd bet on her jump shot against any basketball player alive."
 
Hodge also showed a knack for prognostication. "My advice to girls is to keep playing ball because you never know," Hodge said in a 1991 Los Angeles Times interview. "Another generation from now, there could be a women's NBA. Things change."
 
Hodge, whose UNO jersey (#44) was retired on February 23, 1989, was inducted into the Privateer Hall of Fame that same year. She was also selected to the Louisiana Sports Writers Association's LSWA All-Time Collegiate Team.
 
Bernard Griffith – Basketball, 1967-2020
Bernard Griffith established himself as one of the most successful prep basketball coaches in Louisiana during his 18 years at St. Augustine High School. He won nearly 80 percent of his games, posting a 491-127 record with the Purple Knights, winning one national championship (ESPN, 1995) and three Louisiana High School Athletic Association State titles (1992-95-99). He was inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 2021.

What separated Bernard Griffith teams from most was discipline.

"It's all about focusing on your task," he said. "You don't have to be the best at your task, but you have to be able to perform it. The more you practice at it, the better you get at it. A lot of things in life will not go your way, including officiating. You can't raise hell about it. Step back, evaluate the situation and take on the challenge."

The winner of 13 Catholic League titles, including 11 in a row, Coach Griff had some decorated players; like Torrey Andrews (Rice), Pointer Williams (Tulane), Hollis Price (Oklahoma) and Kerry Kittles (Villanova). But the "star system" was never part of the "Griffith Plan."

"He always stressed the team concept.  No one was bigger than the collective," said Kittles, a 2014 inductee into the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame. "He was demanding of everyone and was always big on working hard to achieve. If you didn't, you suffered the consequences. You didn't want to suffer Coach Griff's consequences."
 
A Washington D.C. native, Griffith graduated from Xavier University in 1971 after joining the Gold Rush as a transfer from Kansas State in 1967. He also coached at Sarah Towles Reed (three years); at Dillard University (head coach, 2011-15); and with the Dallas Mavericks (assistant coach, 2005-07). He also served as athletic director at Landry High, Sophie B. Wright High and at SUNO (2017-20). Prior to his term at St. Aug, Griffith was the interim head coach at Xavier University in 1976-77 and 1977-78.

"I didn't take any shots or play any defense. Some might say all I did was 'fuss and cuss,'" Griffith joked when he was inducted into the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame. "But this is about all those guys who participated. The majority have gone on and got degrees and they are doing well. And a lot of them are still using the discipline and principles we tried to teach them. One star doesn't shine brighter than the whole galaxy. I'm proud that there are a whole bunch of 'twinklers' out there."
   
Rich Jackson – Football, 1961-72
Rich "Tombstone" Jackson became a football legend for his skill and relentless toughness during his NFL career, but he first established himself as a star in New Orleans, playing in the Louisiana Interscholastic Athletic and Literary Organization (LIALO). The LIALO was created as an alternative to the Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA), which was segregated until 1969. It included 280 Louisiana schools.

Playing for the legendary coach Felix James, also a member of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, at New Orleans' Landry High School, Jackson showed his outstanding skills and determination as a 210-pound end. When a Landry sprinter beat Jackson in a 100-yard race, then chided him, "You're too big to beat me," Jackson spent the entire school year working on his speed. When track season came around, Jackson convinced Coach James he could match speed with the school's best sprinter. And he did just that, outracing him to the finish line to earn a spot on the Bucs' relay team.

Despite his foray into track, football would always be his primary pursuit. As a senior in 1959, he led Landry to the district championship and earned a spot on the Southern University football team. A four-year starter at linebacker and defensive end for the Jaguars, he also saw time on offense for the powerhouse teams. He also didn't forget his track roots – though not as a sprinter. He won seven SWAC track championships (four in the discus and three in the shotput) and still holds the Louisiana collegiate shot-put record with a mark of 58 feet, one inch.

Undrafted after a productive career at Southern University, Jackson signed as a free agent with Oakland in 1966. He became a three-time All-Pro defensive end in five-plus seasons with the Denver Broncos, but a devastating knee injury in 1971 would end his career. Despite the brevity of his career, he was a charter member of the Broncos' "Ring of Fame" at Mile High Stadium. In 1999, Paul Zimmerman, Dr. Z of Sports Illustrated, picked Jackson as one of his starting defensive ends on his all-time NFL team and in 2014, the Denver Post called him "the toughest Bronco who ever lived."

"When I think of him, I think of pain," Chiefs Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson said. "I can remember he nailed me and knocked the breath out of me."

"People want to know why they call me Tombstone. That's the termination of life, a symbol of death, the end of the road — how you like that?" Tombstone told the Denver Post in 2014. "When I came to line up across somebody, I just had the mentality of 'search and destroy.' I would look straight through the linemen at the quarterback, and when I took off, it was just like the guys weren't there. I had moves to eliminate that person. I prided myself that no one lineman could block me."

In 67 games with the Broncos, he recorded 43 sacks according to the Broncos – that would average out to 10.3 sacks in today's 16-game season.

The Algiers, La., native was elected to the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1988 and is also a member of the Broncos' Ring of Fame, the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, and the Black College Football Hall of Fame.

 
Billy Ray Hobley – Basketball, 1973-98
Billy Ray Hobley established himself as one of the top collegiate basketball players in New Orleans history during his playing days at Dillard University, however his true stardom came on the world-stage during a long and storied career with the Harlem Globetrotters.

A Florida native, Hobley scored a total of nearly 1,500 points in his Bleu Devil career, scoring 612 points for an average of 22.6 points per game in 1975. More than his statistics, the 6-8 forward was known for spectacular slam dunks, dribbling wizardry and a vivacious personality.

Those showman skills developed at Dillard led to an offer to join the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters in 1977 following his graduation with a degree in health and physical education.

"When [the Globetrotters] recruit a player, he's got to be more than just a basketball player," Hobley said in a 1997 interview. "He's got to be an outstanding basketball player. Plus, you've got to have a pleasing, audience personality. If you're a happy guy, enjoy people, and can get along with people, that's a Globetrotter. A Globetrotter is a person that is born with natural personality, with a giving heart, with exceptional athleticism. We take that and cultivate it into our system."

He would spend 22 seasons traveling the world with the Globetrotters – it was said that he traveled around the world the equivalent of six times during his career. His longevity, coupled with his skills and personality earned him the nickname "Supertrotter."

Hobley saw the world with the Globetrotters, playing in locations like the Soviet Union, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. His team averaged 250 shows per year, visiting over 120 countries. In 1996, Hobley participated in a special ceremony with Nelson Mandela, in Pretoria, South Africa, at which Mandela was made an honorary Globetrotter.

"We went to South Africa not only to be part of basketball development, but also cultural development," Hobley said. "We went over there to bring hope and inspiration to not only the children but also the adults. It was such a great success that we were invited back this summer. So that's how powerful what we do is. You know what President Mandela told me when I met him? As a President he shook all of our hands and I told him, 'What you're doing is so magnificent. God Bless You.' He told me, 'What you guys do for the world, I can never measure up to.' Now, that's a compliment, isn't it?"

Throughout all of his travels, he remained loyal to his hometown as well as New Orleans, taking part in community activities on a regular basis. The Billy Ray Hobley ASK Foundation was formed to focus on programs for children.
Hobley, who passed away from a heart attack on July 31, 2002, at the age of 48, became the 29th person in the Globetrotters' storied 95-year history to receive the "Legends" distinction when he was honored posthumously during a Globetrotter appearance in New Orleans on February 13, 2011.

The Dillard legend added to his New Orleans legacy when he was inducted into the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in July of 2022.
 
John Wright – Baseball, 1934-55
John Wright's name and story aren't well-known to casual baseball fans; in fact, his amazing story isn't even known to many of the most historically-aware fans of the game.

However, after Branch Rickey and the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson in October of 1945, they followed up by signing Wright, an ace pitcher from New Orleans, on January 29, 1946 – the second Black player signed by a Major League Baseball team.

"John had all the ability in the world," Jackie Robinson said when interviewed about Wright. "But John couldn't stand the pressure of being one of the first. If he had come in two or three years later when the pressure was off, John could have made it in the Major Leagues."

"When Negro League players who didn't make it in the major leagues it rarely had to do with talent," said Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo. "It had to do with being given a fair opportunity and having to deal with the immense social pressure they were confronted with. The fact that Johnny Wright was selected to be with Jackie in Montreal says what kind of player he was. Not making it to the majors does not diminish what he gave to this game."

While Wright's career didn't end with Major League success, he was a tremendous pitcher for one of the greatest teams in history – the Homestead Grays of the Negro Leagues. His team featured five members of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Born in New Orleans in 1918, Johnny Wright attended Hoffman and McDonogh 35 Schools and started his professional career with the New Orleans Zulus in 1936. The slender hurler joined the Homestead Grays in 1941 – the best move of his professional career.

Midway through the 1943 season, Wright sported a 13-1 won-loss record and pitched before 51,000 fans in the East-West All-Star Game at Chicago's Comiskey Park. He finished the season 26-4, one of the best seasons on the mound in Negro League history.  Not included in those 26 wins on the hill were exhibition victories over white teams like the New Cumberland Army club with six major leaguers on the roster and a nine-hit, 10-3 complete-game victory over a semi-pro club of former big leaguers called the Brooklyn Bushwicks.

Another significant outing by the 170-pounder came in June of 1943. Wright held the fabled Kansas City Monarchs to six hits in a 10-2 win defeating the great Satchel Paige before 20,000 fans at Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C.

With hall of famers Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Jud Wilson, Ray Brown and Cool Papa Bell in the lineup, the Grays defeated the Birmingham Black Barons 4-3 in the best-of-seven Negro League World Series in 1943. Two of the Grays victories came courtesy of shutouts by Johnny Wright. A 9-0, five-hit blanking put the Grays up 2-1 in the series. He got the call again after the Barons pulled even at 2-2 and he delivered with another shutout, holding the opposition to six hits in an 8-0 victory.

Wright, who was inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl's New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 2022, died on May 4, 1990, in Jackson, Miss.