Adolphus Pulliam (born March 14, 1946) is an American former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and television sportscaster. He played collegiately at

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

. He was named to Drake University's All-Century basketball team. He helped lead the Drake men's basketball team to the 1969 Final Four and a third-place finish. On 7 February 2009, Drake University retired Pulliam's #5 jersey that he wore for the Bulldogs. In 2019 he was inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame. Pulliam was born in

West Point, Mississippi West Point is a city in Clay County, Mississippi, Clay County, Mississippi, United States, in the Golden Triangle (Mississippi), Golden Triangle region of the state. The population was 10,105 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is t ...

and grew up in

Gary, Indiana Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...

. He had eight siblings, and at age 6 Dolph, his mother and siblings left Dolph's father. As a child he picked cotton in

Oran, Missouri Oran is a city in Scott County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,294 at the 2010 census. History Oran was originally named "St. Cloud", and under the latter name was founded in the late 1860s. A post office called Oran has been ...

. His mother died on 24 October 1952, and while her death was officially ruled to be accidental carbon monoxide poisoning in a vehicle, Dolph was never satisfied by that conclusion. He was raised by his aunt and uncle after the death of his mother. Pulliam attended

with a four-year athletic scholarship, and graduated with a B.A. in Speech, and a minor in Radio/TV Broadcasting. He served as color analyst alongside Larry Cotlar on

KRNT KRNT (1350 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a sports format. Serving the Des Moines, Iowa, United States, area, the station is owned by Saga Communications through licensee Saga Communications of Iowa, LLC; it operates as part of Saga's Des ...

radio, the home of

Drake Bulldogs The Drake Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Drake University, located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The Bulldogs' athletic program is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and competes at the NCA ...

basketball, and as director of Community Outreach and Development at Drake University. He was drafted by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

in the 6th round (80th overall) of the 1969

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

. He was also drafted by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

in the

NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

. Pulliam decided to take a job at Drake instead of becoming a professional athlete. He was the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

broadcaster in the state of

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

when he joined KRNT (later

KCCI KCCI (channel 8) is a television station in Des Moines, Iowa, United States, affiliated with CBS. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios on Ninth Street in downtown Des Moines and a KCCI Tower, transmitter in Alleman, Iowa, A ...

) television as a sportscaster. Pulliam retired from Drake University effective May 31, 2013, where he had worked in marketing.

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20090209055110/http://www.midmajority.com/2008/02/the-midmajority-interview-dolp.php *https://web.archive.org/web/20080215235635/http://www.blackiowa.org/exhibits/moments/dolph_pulliam.html *http://www.serveouryouth.org/publications/newsletter_03-2006.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Pulliam, Dolph 1946 births Living people Basketball players from Mississippi Boston Celtics draft picks Drake Bulldogs men's basketball players Sportspeople from West Point, Mississippi American men's basketball players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen