Kenny Hudson, the second black referee in NBA history, willprovide a Boston connection to this year's Basketball Hall of Fameceremonies, joining Bob Lanier and Alonzo Mourning as the recipientsof the Mannie Jackson Human Spirit Award.
Hudson, an NBA referee from 1968-72, was among the founders ofthe Boston Neighborhood Basketball League and the Boston Shootout.
'Red Auerbach recommended me,' recalled Hudson of his start as anNBA referee. 'He had watched me in the Boston area and thought I hada chance to be a referee. When I started, there were only two of usin the league. I made $100 a game and had an airline credit card fortravel.'
Jackie White was the league's first black referee, Hudson thesecond.
'Being a referee gave me a platform to do things with youngpeople,' Hudson said. 'I got involved in different activities, theBNBL and the Shootout, working with good people willing to sharetheir expertise and make a difference.'
Hudson, the son of a Pittsburgh steelworker, resided in Bostonfrom 1964-88, when he moved to Atlanta to become a vice president ofmarketing and development with Coca-Cola.
'People told me all the time Boston was a tough city, but Ididn't find it that difficult,' Hudson said. 'I was about, `What canwe do to make it better?'
'The Roxbury Boys & Girls Club is special. This is the 40th yearof the BNBL. When it started, a group of us - Wayne Embry, SatchSanders, Roscoe Baker, Ray Flynn, Alfreda Harris - got together.You had the busing situation going on and I was one of the fewpeople of color going into South Boston and Hyde Park and the NorthEnd.
'We had a citywide league, and what made it successful was thatwe knew that if you did something in one neighborhood, you had tomake sure to do it in the other neighborhoods.
'We communicated, and that was the main thing. With sports, wecould communicate with each other.'
Hudson calmed potentially tense situations with a combination ofhis diminutive stature (he is about 5 feet 5 inches) and unflaggingoptimism.
'All I wanted was for people to respect me and I respected them,'Hudson said. 'I never allowed that negative stuff to enter into mythinking. I was about doing something positive. I came from anintegrated neighborhood in Pittsburgh, so to me it was not difficultto interact with different nationalities in Boston.
'When I got to Boston, I knew two people - Sam Jones and StacyJohnson, a retired school administrator. When I left - and I leftkicking and screaming - most people thought I was born there. Istill miss the city. It was very good to me and I hope I was goodfor Boston.'
The Shootout began with a four-game, two-night program at SargentGym at Boston University in 1972. The motivation was to providecompetition for the Boston Six, a group of high school players thatincluded future NBA players Bob Carrington and Ronnie Lee.
'It was before the AAU and all the craziness,' Hudson said.'Little did we know Washington would bring in Adrian Dantley and NewYork had Phil Sellers, and that first night you couldn't get in thegym. Every game was decided by 1 point.
'We decided to expand it, but never in my wildest dreams did Ithink it would grow to what it grew into, to having players likeBernard King, Patrick Ewing, Doc Rivers, Paul Pierce, and BaronDavis coming here.'
Hudson was a basketball Zelig in Boston. He considered Auerbach asurrogate father. He worked with Bob Cousy and Bobby Orr.
'One time I asked Bill Russell what I could do to show myappreciation that he had been willing to assist me,' Hudson said.'And he told me to just reach out and help other people.'
