Hall of Fame
Hal Perry was born on December 15, 1933 in Madison, IL, but his family moved to California in 1947 where he attended Ukiah High School. In high school, Perry played not only basketball, but also football, baseball, and track and field.
As a 5’ 10” guard, he gained his starting position on the Dons when a white player on the team, Bill Rush, gave up his place because he believed Perry should start. Perry was notably one of three African-American players who were part of a history-making starting team in 1955 and 1956. USF had made the ground-breaking decision to go against the gentlemen’s agreement, in effect during the early years of basketball, not to play more than two African-American players at a time. Under Head Coach Phil Woolpert, the starting lineup included three African-American players: Bill Russell, K.C. Jones and Hall Perry, along with Carl Boldt and Mike Farmer.
The Richmond Free Press reported in 2020 that it was rarely easy for the team on the road. In Oklahoma City in 1954, the Africa-American members of the team were denied hotel lodging. In a show of unity, all the members of the team and the coaches spent the night in a nearby college dorm.
Perry’s junior year, he averaged 6.9 PPG and 1.9 RPG, and during his senior year the Dons went undefeated as he averaged 9.1 PPG and he was named to the Second Team All-Conference. However, when star guard K.C. Jones became ineligible to play the NCAA Tournament, Perry took a larger role and averaged 14.0 PPG in the Final Four, and joined fellow Hall of Fame player Bill Russell on the All-Tournament Team. Woolpert said of him: "he is not only a great hustler and team man, but he is also the fastest man on the squad (USF Athletics)."
Following graduation, Perry played briefly for the Harlem Globetrotters, however the owner Abe Saperstein offered to pay Perry’s way through law school, stating he was too smart for a life of basketball. Perry agreed and attended Lincoln Law School, and ran a successful civil rights law practice in Oakland for many years. He was also an accomplished musician.
