Former athletic legends pass away
Two University of Indianapolis athletic legends passed away recently.
George Crowe, a Major League Baseball player and one of the first African-American UIndy athletes passed away on Jan. 18, at the age of 89.
Crowe, a 1943 University of Indianapolis, then called Indiana Central College (ICC), graduate was a three-sport athlete, playing basketball and baseball and running track for the Greyhounds. He earned 12 varsity letters in the three sports during his time at the university.
He was Indiana’s first high school Mr. Basketball in 1939, an honor at a time when big-time college athletics were typically segregated.
Ralph Davis, a 1942 University of Indianapolis graduate, remembered the charged climate of the time.
“When the team would stop to eat, some restaurants wouldn’t serve them because there was a black man on the team,” Davis said.
While this blatant racism would anger some, Crowe maintained his composure.
“George was a perfect gentleman who took everything in stride,” Davis said. “He was a very quiet man.”
Following his final semester, Crowe was drafted and served in the army from 1943 to 1946. During his service, he participated the sports clubs.
After the war, Crowe played professional basketball for seven years, spending part of the time with the New York Rens, the first African American-owned, all-African-American basketball team. He also played for the Los Angeles Red Devils and the Harlem Yankees.
Crowe then moved to MLB in 1952, spending his rookie year with the Boston Braves. He also played for the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals.
When he retired in 1961, Crowe had tallied 702 games, 81 home runs, 299 RBIs and a career .270 batting average.
“He was probably one of the best athletes to go through the school,” Davis said. “It’s certainly a star in the crown of this university.”
Bill Bright ‘54, a UIndy baseball legend, former basketball player, coach and long-time athletics director passed away Feb. 1. He was 78.
Bright still holds career and season records as a pitcher, leading in career ERA and strikeouts. He also competed as a member of the men’s basketball team.
Bright was a three-time UIndy Hall of Fame inductee, once as an individual pitcher, once as a member of the 1952 baseball team and once as 1963 assistant basketball coach.
Following his athletic career, Bright began coaching at UIndy in 1956 as a baseball, cross country and basketball assistant coach. He eventually became head coach of baseball, basketball, cross country and softball.
Bright also was a mathematics teacher for the university.
Jeff Irvin, a 1965 ICC grad, was both coached and taught by Bright.
“He was just a young man himself when he was coaching us, so he connected with us,” Irvin said.
Irvin ran cross country underneath Bright for two seasons. He remembers Bright’s relaxed and informal relationship with his teams.
“The meets were always cordial and practices were always friendly. But he took the sport seriously and made sure we did as well,” said Irvin.
While Bright enjoyed leading his teams to success, he also made sure they succeeded in the classroom, particularly his.
“He got us into sports but got us into the classroom as well which was impressive,” Irvin said.
According to Irvin, Bright’s high standards for himself in his speech, coaching technique and behavior set him apart from most people.
“He was a coach on and off the field,” Irvin said.
Bright served as UIndy athletic director for 17 years, from 1977 to 1994.
Both Bright and Crowe remain legends in UIndy athletics, and their contributions will by remembered by many.
