Roy Gene Skinner (April 17, 1930 – October 25, 2010) was an American

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 ...

coach who was best known for his time as head coach of

Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball The Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team represents Vanderbilt University in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Commodores have won three SEC regular-season titles (1965, 1974 and 1993) and two SEC Tournament championships (1951 and 20 ...

. Skinner helped break the racial barrier by recruiting the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

athlete to play varsity ball for a team in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

. He has the second-most wins in program history, behind Kevin Stallings.

Life and career

Skinner was born in 1930 in

Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in the Upland South, and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located in the Southeastern Unit ...

. He played basketball as a

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

in high school, at Paducah Junior College, and at

Presbyterian College Presbyterian College (PC) is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, South Carolina, United States. It was founded in 1880 and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). History Presbyterian College was founded in 1880 by Willia ...

, where he earned his undergraduate degree in 1952. His first basketball coaching job was in 1955 at his alma mater Paducah Junior College in 1955 (now part of West Kentucky Community and Technical College). He was hired by head coach Bob Polk at Vanderbilt as an assistant coach two years later after Skinner led his Paducah team to a win against Vanderbilt's freshman squad. He spent the 1958–59 season as the acting head coach in Polk's absence, and led the team to an overall record of 14–10.Slotnick, Daniel E
"Roy Skinner, Who Recruited First Black Basketball Player in SEC, Dies at 80"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', October 30, 2010. Accessed October 31, 2010. Skinner succeeded Polk as head coach in the 1960–61 season. With the support of

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

chancellor G. Alexander Heard, he pursued the recruitment of African American players for the basketball team. The first player to make the team was Perry Wallace, a local schoolboy star at Nashville's Pearl High School, who enrolled at Vanderbilt in 1966 and first started playing for the team in 1967, becoming the Southeastern Conference's first African American varsity player. Skinner faced opposition from alumni who were opposed to integrating the team; Skinner was primarily looking at recruiting Wallace as someone who would be "a great player, and also a great student, a valedictorian" and that the fact that he was making history was a secondary aspect of the choice. Wallace recalled in a 2009 interview that Skinner practically lived at his house from the time he started trying to recruit him while he was a high school junior. Skinner led the team to the Elite Eight in the 1965 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament behind a 24–4 record that season, losing to the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

by two points. Skinner was chosen as coach of the year in the SEC in 1974 by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

after leading the team to a 23–3 season record, with Skinner receiving seven votes from the 10-member board that selected the winner. Saying that "I don't want to get old being basketball coach", Skinner announced in March 1976 that he would be stepping down as head coach after 16 years and turning the reins over to assistant head coach

Wayne Dobbs Wayne Dobbs (June 12, 1939 – February 10, 2015) was an American college basketball and baseball coach. He served as head basketball coach at Belmont University, George Washington University and Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University ( ...

. Skinner led the Commodores to a 278–135 record during his tenure, the most in school history until Kevin Stallings passed him during the 2013–14 season. He was named SEC coach of the year in 1965, 1967, 1974 and 1976.Mullen, Bryan
"Vanderbilt Commodores pay tribute to Roy Skinner: Vanderbilt Commodores fans, players remember former coach"
''

The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, w ...

'', October 31, 2010. Accessed October 31, 2010. In 2009, Skinner was inducted into the Vanderbilt Sports Hall of Fame.Lockridge, Jeff
"Vanderbilt Commodores legend Roy Skinner dies: Skinner was Vanderbilt Commodores' winningest basketball coach"
''

'', October 26, 2010. Accessed October 31, 2010.

Death

Skinner died in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

at the age of 80 on October 25, 2010, due to

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a r ...

. He was survived by his third wife, Nathleene, as well as by two daughters, three sons and eight grandchildren, all from his first marriage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skinner, Roy 1930 births 2010 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Kentucky Basketball players from Kentucky Deaths from respiratory failure Junior college men's basketball coaches in the United States Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Presbyterian Blue Hose men's basketball players Sportspeople from Paducah, Kentucky Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball coaches Point guards 20th-century American sportsmen