Roy Skinner
Encyclopedia
Roy Gene Skinner was an American
basketball
coach who was best known for his time as head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball
where he holds the record for most wins as coach and helped break the racial barrier by recruiting the first African American
athlete to play varsity ball for a team in the Southeastern Conference
.
. He played basketball as a point guard
in high school, at Paducah Junior College, and at Presbyterian College
, where he earned his undergraduate degree in 1952. His first basketball coaching job was in 1955 at his alma mater Paducah Junior College in 1955 (now part of West Kentucky Community and Technical College
).
He was hired by head coach Bob Polk at Vanderbilt as an assistant coach two years later after Skinner led his Paducah team to a win against Vanderbilt's freshman squad. He spent the 1958-59 season as the acting head coach in Polk's absence, and led the team to an overall record of 14-10.
Skinner succeeded Polk as head coach in the 1960-61 season. With the support of Vanderbilt University
chancellor G. Alexander Heard
, he pursued the recruitment of African American players for the basketball team. The first player to make the team was Perry Wallace
, a local schoolboy star at Nashville's Pearl High School, who enrolled at Vanderbilt in 1966 and first started playing for the team in 1967, becoming the Southeastern Conference's first African American varsity player. Skinner faced opposition from alumni who were opposed to integrating the team;
Skinner was primarily looking at recruiting Wallace as someone who would be "a great player, and also a great student, a valedictorian" and that the fact that he was making history was a secondary aspect of the choice. Wallace recalled in a 2009 interview that Skinner practically lived at his house from the time he started trying to recruit him while he was a high school junior.
Skinner led the team to the Elite Eight in the 1965 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
behind a 24–4 record that season, losing to the University of Michigan
by two points. Skinner was chosen as coach of the year in the SEC in 1974 by the Associated Press
after leading the team to a 23–3 season record, with Skinner receiving seven votes from the 10-member board that selected the winner. Saying that "I don't want to get old being basketball coach", Skinner announced in March 1976 that he would be stepping down as head coach after 16 years and turning the reins over to assistant head coach Wayne Dobbs. Skinner led the Commodores to a 278-135 record during his tenure, the most of any head coach in team history, and was named SEC coach of the year in 1965, 1967, 1974 and 1976. In 2009, Skinner was inducted into the Vanderbilt Sports Hall of Fame.
at the age of 80 on October 25, 2010, due to respiratory failure
. He was survived by his second wife, Nathleene, as well as by two daughters, three sons and eight grandchildren, all from his first marriage.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
coach who was best known for his time as head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball
Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball
The Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team represents Vanderbilt University in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference . The Commodores have won three SEC regular season titles . They have competed in ten NCAA Tournaments, making it to the Elite Eight once and the Sweet 16 six times...
where he holds the record for most wins as coach and helped break the racial barrier by recruiting the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
athlete to play varsity ball for a team in the Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
.
Biography
Skinner was born in 1930 in Paducah, KentuckyPaducah, Kentucky
Paducah is the largest city in Kentucky's Jackson Purchase Region and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River, halfway between the metropolitan areas of St. Louis, Missouri, to the west and Nashville,...
. He played basketball as a point guard
Point guard
Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...
in high school, at Paducah Junior College, and at Presbyterian College
Presbyterian College
Presbyterian College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, South Carolina, USA. Presbyterian College, or PC, is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA. PC was founded in 1880 by William Plumer Jacobs, a prominent Presbyterian minister who also founded the nearby Thornwell Home and...
, where he earned his undergraduate degree in 1952. His first basketball coaching job was in 1955 at his alma mater Paducah Junior College in 1955 (now part of West Kentucky Community and Technical College
West Kentucky Community and Technical College
West Kentucky Community and Technical College , located in Paducah, KY, is one of 16 two-year, open-admissions colleges of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System . It was formed by the 2003 consolidation of Paducah Community College and West Kentucky Technical College...
).
He was hired by head coach Bob Polk at Vanderbilt as an assistant coach two years later after Skinner led his Paducah team to a win against Vanderbilt's freshman squad. He spent the 1958-59 season as the acting head coach in Polk's absence, and led the team to an overall record of 14-10.
Skinner succeeded Polk as head coach in the 1960-61 season. With the support of Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
chancellor G. Alexander Heard
G. Alexander Heard
George Alexander Heard was chancellor of Vanderbilt University from 1963 to 1982. He was also a political scientist and adviser to U.S...
, he pursued the recruitment of African American players for the basketball team. The first player to make the team was Perry Wallace
Perry Wallace
Perry Wallace is a professor of law at Washington College of Law. He was the first African American varsity athlete in the Southeastern Conference, playing basketball for Vanderbilt University.-Education:...
, a local schoolboy star at Nashville's Pearl High School, who enrolled at Vanderbilt in 1966 and first started playing for the team in 1967, becoming the Southeastern Conference's first African American varsity player. Skinner faced opposition from alumni who were opposed to integrating the team;
Skinner was primarily looking at recruiting Wallace as someone who would be "a great player, and also a great student, a valedictorian" and that the fact that he was making history was a secondary aspect of the choice. Wallace recalled in a 2009 interview that Skinner practically lived at his house from the time he started trying to recruit him while he was a high school junior.
Skinner led the team to the Elite Eight in the 1965 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
1965 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1965 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 23 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 8, 1965, and ended with the championship game on March 20 in Portland, Oregon...
behind a 24–4 record that season, losing to the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
by two points. Skinner was chosen as coach of the year in the SEC in 1974 by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
after leading the team to a 23–3 season record, with Skinner receiving seven votes from the 10-member board that selected the winner. Saying that "I don't want to get old being basketball coach", Skinner announced in March 1976 that he would be stepping down as head coach after 16 years and turning the reins over to assistant head coach Wayne Dobbs. Skinner led the Commodores to a 278-135 record during his tenure, the most of any head coach in team history, and was named SEC coach of the year in 1965, 1967, 1974 and 1976. In 2009, Skinner was inducted into the Vanderbilt Sports Hall of Fame.
Death
Skinner died in Nashville, TennesseeNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
at the age of 80 on October 25, 2010, due to respiratory failure
Respiratory failure
The term respiratory failure, in medicine, is used to describe inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, with the result that arterial oxygen and/or carbon dioxide levels cannot be maintained within their normal ranges. A drop in blood oxygenation is known as hypoxemia; a rise in arterial...
. He was survived by his second wife, Nathleene, as well as by two daughters, three sons and eight grandchildren, all from his first marriage.