Emilio E. Huyke Colón (February 28, 1912 – December 17, 1983) was a Puerto Rican writer, boxing television broadcaster and sports enthusiast. He was a sports administrator in the Caribbean, as the head of various sports organizations in the Caribbean area. He is a member of the Puerto Rican Sports Hall of Fame.
In Puerto Rico, Huyke is known as the "father of basketball" (in that nation).
Career in sports
In 1930 he graduated at
Central High School in
Santurce, Puerto Rico
Santurce (, meaning Saint George from Basque language, Basque ''Santurtzi'') is the largest and most populated Barrios of San Juan, Puerto Rico, barrio of the Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, the cap ...
. In 1936 he was the Secretary of the First Puerto Rican Olympics and in that same year he founded the Club de Futuro Estrellas del Baloncesto. In 1938 he was Secretary of the Basketball Commission of the Central American and Caribbean Zone. In 1937 Emilio founded the Insular Federation of Basketball, (F.I.B.) and Future Basketball Stars, action for which he was baptized as the Father of Puerto Rican Basketball. He was president of this Federation during the years 1937–1942, 1945–1946, 1981–1982.
He was then recruited to serve as Executive Secretary of the
Professional Baseball League where he rose to Executive Vice President. In 1956 he founded the Fraternity of Sports Writers. In 1958 he was a member of the Constituent Assembly of the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee. He was Secretary General of the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee from 1964 to 1972 and in 1966 he was the President of the Organizing Committee of the X Central American and Caribbean Games held on the island.
Death
He died on December 17, 1983, in
Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
Río Piedras () (Spanish language, Spanish for ''stones river'') is a highly urbanized commercial and residential district in San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, the capital Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico. Adjacent to th ...
, at the age of 71. He was buried at Buxeda Memorial Park Cemetery in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.
Legacy
The
Emilio E. Huyke Coliseum in Humacao is named after him.
In addition, there is a Middle school named after him in
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to:
* San Juan, Puerto Rico
* San Juan, Argentina
* San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines
San Juan may also refer to:
Places Arge ...
.
See also
*
List of Puerto Ricans
This is a list of notable people from Puerto Rico which includes people who were born in Puerto Rico (Borinquen) and people who are of full or partial Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican descent. Puerto Rican citizens are included, as the governm ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huyke, Emilio
1912 births
1983 deaths
People from Humacao, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rican people of Italian descent
Puerto Rican writers
Boxing commentators
Puerto Rican people of German descent
Puerto Rican sports executives and administrators