The late Bob Huckaby, of Bogue Chitto, will be inducted into the Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame on Tuesday, April 28, at the Hinds Community College Clyde Muse Center in Pearl.
Bob Huckaby, of Buford, Georgia, graduated with an associate’s degree from Copiah-Lincoln Community College in 1954, where he played basketball. He continued his education at Mississippi College, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
A member of the Bogue Chitto High School Class of 1952, he was named an All-American after leading his team to a state championship. He had a successful two-season stint at Co-Lin under Coach Ray Busby, where he was the leading scorer and rebounder. He was inducted into Co-Lin’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1984. At Mississippi College, he earned Little All-American honors and continued his streak as the team’s leading scorer and rebounder. He was inducted into MC’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1983, and he is a member of the 500-point club.
After graduating from college, he was drafted into the United States Army and spent two years at Fort Chaffe in Fort Smith, Arkansas. In the Army, he continued to excel in basketball, softball, and track, including a fourth-place finish in the Army High Jump. He coached at State Line, Miss., for seven years before returning to Co-Lin. He was the head basketball coach from 1966 to 1968. He eventually left coaching and became a vocational counselor until his retirement in 1995. He passed away on Oct. 13, 2021.
“I saw him play at Mississippi College against Southern Miss, and he was scoring every time he got the ball,” said Alton Ricks, former Co-Lin basketball coach and Huckaby’s colleague. “He was a left-hander; he was considered the best with his left-handed hook shot.”
Huckaby and his wife, Katherine, have three children: Cheryl Shelby (Gus), Julia Everett (Jack), and Robert Huckaby (Leanne).