[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 12864-12865]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




HONORING COACH ROBERT HUGHES' NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME 
                               INDUCTION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MARC A. VEASEY

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 5, 2017

  Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Robert 
Hughes, local Fort Worth legend, for helping to bridge the divide of 
the segregated basketball community in Texas and for his commitment to 
developing all-star athletes on and off the court.
  Robert Hughes was born May 15, 1928 as the youngest of five brothers. 
A phenomenal man who served our country during the Korean War, Coach 
Hughes is widely recognized for his successful basketball career. 
Hughes played college basketball at Texas Southern University. In 1955, 
he was drafted to the Boston Celtics, but instead played for the Harlem

[[Page 12865]]

Magicians. During his time with the Harlem Magicians, Coach Hughes 
ruptured his Achilles tendon and began his legendary coaching career.
  From 1958 to 1973, Hughes coached the then-segregated Fort Worth I.M. 
Terrell High School basketball team, with an astonishing record of 378-
84. The I.M. Terrell team played in the Prairie View Interscholastic 
League (PVIL). Hughes won three PVIL championships and placed second 
during two more tournaments during his time at Terrell. When public 
schools desegregated in 1973, I.M. Terrell was closed and Hughes forged 
an impressive career at Fort Worth Dunbar High School.
  Coach Hughes remained at Fort Worth Dunbar until he retired in 2005 
with an astonishing overall career record of 1,333-264. He had the most 
wins in the entire nation until recently when Coach Leta Andrews 
surpassed his record. During his 47 seasons at Dunbar, Coach Hughes led 
his teams to victory while also transforming the lives of thousands of 
students. As a coach, he broke the racial divide and bridged the gap 
between communities. For 50 years, the Southwest Conference denied 
entry to African-American high school athletes. Coach Hughes navigated 
around the prejudiced policies and created relationships with the Big 
Ten, Pacific 8 and Missouri Valley Conferences so that all of his 
players could be offered the same opportunities as their white 
counterparts.
  In February 2015, Coach Hughes' career was commemorated in a feature-
length documentary about his career called ``Relentless''. The film 
captured the accomplishments of Hughes and his impact on the Texas 
basketball community.
  Today, we recognize Robert Hughes for his induction into the Naismith 
Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Coach 
Hughes will join the more than three hundred inductees in the Naismith 
Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and finally inducted during the 
weekend of September 7, 2017.
  I honor Coach Robert Hughes, a pillar of the Fort Worth and Texas 
athletic community.

                          ____________________