Houston Sports - Elvin Hayes

Elvin Hayes

Born: November 17, 1945

Sport: Basketball (2-time All-American, Collegiate Player of the Year, 12-time All-Star, 6-time All-NBA, Hall of Fame)

I originally had other plans for our focus this week, but hopefully my change of plans is well-received.  All of the major professional sports are currently underway, with baseball about to wrap up and crown a new champ, football in the midst of their regular season, and both hockey and basketball recently getting started.  It was basketball that caught my attention, however, as the local team has welcomed a new superstar who will likely end his career in the Hall of Fame.  But since he's new in town, I'll give him a year before we let him get onto our list.  Instead, I've decided to go back in time to learn about someone who had a laundry list of "firsts" for the city of Houston, a giant man known as much for his skill as his durability, Elvin Hayes.

Hayes played at numerous arenas across Houston during his three stints in town

Born in Rayville, Louisiana, Elvin Hayes was the youngest of six children.  Both of his parents, Christopher and Savannah Hayes, worked in the small town's cotton mill and the young man's development into one of the greatest basketball players of all time was completely accidental.  While in school, young Elvin was an honor student but frequently found himself in trouble due to playing pranks and creating mischief.  A teacher and coach, who was also the reverend at a local church, arranged for Hayes to participate on the basketball team.  Although clumsy at first, Elvin showed a commitment to practice and creativity that led him to developing a turnaround jump shot that would eventually be his offensive trademark.  Britton High School reached dizzying heights behind Hayes, winning 54 consecutive games and a state championship while he averaged 35 points per game as a senior.  In Houston, the head coach of Texas Southern University, Isaac Morehead, was concerned that he would commit to play for conference rivals Grambling State or Southern University, so he reached out to the head coach of the University of Houston, Guy V. Lewis.  The Cougars had just gotten permission from school administrators to recruit African American high school players, and once Lewis' assistant coach traveled to Louisiana to watch Hayes play, he reported that it was the best high school performance he'd seen.  Lewis quickly reached out to Hayes, who had been recruited by over 100 collegiate teams but eventually joined Don Chaney in 1964 as the first two African American members of the Cougars basketball team.  When Christopher Hayes died while his son was just 17, Elvin credited Coach Lewis and his assistant, Harvey Pate, with becoming father figures for him while also developing his game.

Once in Houston, Elvin Hayes established himself as one of the country's top stars by leading his conference in scoring all three years he played, including leading all of D1 in field goals and points during both his junior and senior seasons as the Cougars advanced to their first two Final Four appearances.  Both years ended up with consensus All-American selections for Hayes, while he performed at the highest stage in games like the "Game of the Century" at Houston's Astrodome on January 20, 1968.  In the first-ever nationally televised regular season matchup in college basketball history, the Houston Cougars defeated the UCLA Bruins, ending their historic 47-game winning streak.  Hayes, nicknamed "Big E" as a comparison to the US Navy's Enterprise aircraft carrier, was the focus for Houston against UCLA's Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and outscored the Bruins big man 30-19, including the final two free throws that provided the final 71-69 margin of victory.  Before his senior season, Hayes married Erna Livingston and the couple would eventually have four children together.  His final year saw him named Player of the Year on his way to becoming the first overall pick by the San Diego Rockets in the 1968 NBA Draft.  He was also selected first overall by the Houston Mavericks of the ABA, but opted to play for the more established league rather than stay in town.  Hayes became the first NBA rookie since Wilt Chamberlain to lead the league in scoring (and the last to claim the accomplishment to date) by contributing 28.4 points per game, and not missing a single contest.  Although he lost the Rookie of the Year award to Wes Unseld, Hayes earned his first of 12 consecutive All-Star nods.  The following year saw no regression as he not only led the league in minutes played but also total rebounds.  After a third year in San Diego, Hayes was a recognized force in the league who had played all 82 games each season, and it was at this point that he returned to his previous home as the Rockets were sold to an investment team that decided to relocate to Houston.

With the team moving to Houston in 1971, Elvin Hayes quickly became one of the first NBA stars in the city's history, alongside teammates Calvin Murphy and Rudy Tomjanovich.  Although the fans he'd gained during his college career were happy with Hayes as he produced his fourth All-Star caliber season, the only player on the team to earn the honor and the first in Houston's history, he developed a personality conflict with head coach Tex Winters.  After just one season in Houston, Hayes was traded to the Baltimore Bullets.  That franchise would soon move to the outskirts of Washington, D.C., and Hayes would realize his full potential there as he became one of the greatest power forwards of all time.  Teamed with Wes Unseld, he helped lead them to three appearances in the Finals and an NBA Championship in 1978.  His well-rounded game was evidenced by his two selections to the All-Defensive team in addition to being listed as either first or second team All-NBA six times in seven years.  During his time in the league, his outspoken Christian faith was a constant fixture and he would frequently deliver speeches at churches during road trips.  After his ninth season ended in 1981 without being named to the All-Star team for the first time in his career, Hayes requested a trade to return to Houston for three seasons to wrap up his career.  In 16 years the big man only missed nine total games while appearing on numerous career leaderboards: 3rd in points scored, 3rd in rebounds, 3rd in blocked shots, and 1st in minutes.  Soon after retiring from basketball, Hayes returned to the University of Houston to complete the remaining credit hours to earn his degree.  He fulfilled a lifelong ambition in 2007 by becoming a sheriff's deputy in Liberty County, just outside of Houston, and spent some time as a broadcaster for the Houston Cougars.  In addition to his #44 being retired by the Cougars, both the Rockets (#44) and Bullets/Wizards (#11) franchises have his jersey hanging in their rafters, and Hayes has been named to the UH Athletics Hall of Honor (1974), Texas Sports Hall of Fame (1986), Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame (1988), and finally to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1990) - the first Rockets player to be enshrined there.

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