Welcome back, Hal

by ELINE M. LOEFGREN SKEIDE
reporter

Upon his return to his hometown and his alma mater, Hal Greer offered the same advice to his friends and fans that he gave his daughter.

"I just want to tell everyone at Marshall what I have always told my daughter: Have fun, work hard and be the best," Greer told the audience at a benefit to support the Boys and Girls Clubs of Huntington on Friday.

His speech was part of "Hal Greer's Homecoming" at the Radisson Hotel.

Greer, who now lives in Arizona, became one of the most recognized Huntington natives after he played in the National Basketball Association for 15 years and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1981.

"It is great to be back and see the wonderful new campus," Greer said.

Greer was the first African American athlete to play at a state college in West Virginia. In 1957-58, he led the Thundering Herd to its first and only Mid-Eastern Conference Champion-ship in men's basketball.

Greer was an NBA All-Star for 10 straight seasons with the Syracuse Nationals, who are now the Philadelphia 76ers.

Greer was given a tour of the campus and had the opportunity to speak with the men's basketball team.

"Being at Marshall was the four best years of my life," Greer said.

"When people ask me where I am from, I say very proudly that I was born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia."

Former Marshall interim president A. Michael Perry stressed the importance of Greer not only being the first African American to attend Marshall, but being the first African Amer-ican to attend any West Virginia college.

"It is OK to take credit for a lot of things you do that you had nothing to do with, be-cause there are a lot of things you get blamed for that you had nothing to do with either," Perry said.

During the banquet, several of Greer's childhood friends paid their regards.

Bill Walker remembered playing basketball with Greer when they were about 7 years old.

"I remember playing with a tennis ball and a soup can as the hoop," he said.

Perry added, "If he can put a tennis ball through a soup can, no wonder he makes it look so easy to get the ball through the net."

"I came here today to say hello to man who has carried himself in a dignified way throughout his life," Walker concluded.

Jack Freeman, who played basketball with Greer at Marshall, said, "Hal was not only a great player, but also a great person. He was the most consistent person Marshall ever had."

Huntington businessman Mar-shall Reynolds, who is president of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Huntington, noted that Greer has a street in Hunting-ton named after him.

"Hal Greer is the only man who grew up here who has a road named after him," Rey-nolds said. "He has made a tremendous impact on our society."

At the end of his speech, Greer asked the audience if they had any questions.

Someone asked Greer what he thought of NBA bad boy Dennis Rodman, who recently waived by the Dallas Mave-ricks for a string of technical fouls and ejections.

"Rodman is a headcase, and every time you have a player that sets himself apart in that way, you have a problem," Greer replied.

John Miller, of the Boys and Girls Club of America, spoke after Greer.

"The Boys and Girls Clubs help in a very simple way," Miller said. "We give them a safe place to go.

"We try to provide for them a sense of usefulness and a sense of belonging."