Junius Kellogg

Who was Junius Kellogg?

Junius Kellogg was an American basketball player, coach, and civil servant. He was the first African-American to play basketball for Manhattan College.

In 1951, Kellogg is noted for refusing a $1,000 bribe to shave points during basketball games. He contacted the authorities and touched off the largest college betting scandal in American history. Ultimately, the investigation involved 32 players from seven colleges and encompassed 86 games between 1947 and 1950.

Kellogg left college for a stint in the Army; he then returned to Manhattan College where he doubled-up on courses. He graduated in 1953 and began playing for the Harlem Globetrotters. In 1954, he sustained a cervical spinal cord injury in an automobile accident and was paralyzed. Three fellow Globetrotters were unscathed during the accident.

Kellogg received treatment at the Veterans Administration Hospital in the Bronx, New York City, New York. He became an ardent supporter of wheelchair athletics. He coached the Pan Am Jets as well as the Brooklyn Whirlaways. He was Head Coach of the USA Stoke Mandeville Games team as well as the Head Coach of the 1964 US Paralympic Basketball Team. He was inducted into the National Wheelchair Basketball Association's hall of fame in 1981.