After graduating from Manhattan College in 1953, Junius Kellogg signed a contract with the Harlem Globetrotters. However, the 6-10 center's promising basketball career was cut short at the age of 23, when a car crash in 1954 left him a paraplegic and confined him to a wheelchair.
Kellogg was honored in November 1997 for an act of courage that rocked college basketball in 1951. A star center and the first black player at Manhattan College, Kellogg declined a gambler's offer to shave points in a college game and informed his coach of the offer. By the time the nationwide scandal…
Continue Reading
After graduating from Manhattan College in 1953, Junius Kellogg signed a contract with the Harlem Globetrotters. However, the 6-10 center's promising basketball career was cut short at the age of 23, when a car crash in 1954 left him a paraplegic and confined him to a wheelchair.
Kellogg was honored in November 1997 for an act of courage that rocked college basketball in 1951. A star center and the first black player at Manhattan College, Kellogg declined a gambler's offer to shave points in a college game and informed his coach of the offer. By the time the nationwide scandal was fully investigated, 32 players from seven national powers were found to have fixed over 85 games between 1947 and 1950. Kellogg was acknowledged by the media as a hero all across the country for his honesty and courageous decision to report the scandal. A standout at Norcom High School in Portsmouth, Va., Kellogg was presented with his "Legends" Ring in New York on Feb. 14, 1998. Kellogg passed away on Sept. 16 of that same year, at the age of 71.
Read Less
