Though he became an NBA legend, Elvin Hayes almost didn’t play basketball. If not for a school teacher who pushed him into sport in middle school, his life may have been quite different. The NBA Hall of Famer was born November 17, 1945 in Rayville, La.
Hayes was incorrectly punished for a class prank and en route to the principal’s office, a teacher allowed him to come to his classroom and introduced him to basketball. Already tall in ninth grade, Hayes was a shy and introverted kid who at the time had absolutely no skills on the court. In the summer, he worked out and willed himself to become adept, becoming a basketball star in the latter part of his high school career.
In 1966, Hayes saw basketball as a way out of poverty and the racism of the Deep South. The talented big man joined the University of Houston Cougars men’s basketball team. He and future Temple University basketball coach Don Chaney were the first Black players for the squad. (READ MORE)
