Black History Month Celebrates the legacy of Bucky Hatchett - a story about 2 athletes, friendship and color braveness in the 1950's

In the spirit of Black History Month , thank you to my Accenture team & colleagues for asking me to share more of the story about my late father William “Bucky” Hatchett that I briefly spoke about on stage at the Apollo at the Accenture MLK Day Event- a true African American Hero. The story is summarized in this touching letter below that is a testament of a beautiful friendship between 2 incredible athletes that transcended all racial boundaries in the late 1940’s and 50’s. It is a story of compassion and hope. This letter was written to my family by my father’s basketball teammate and best friend Don Parsons who happens to be white a week before my father’s death.  Kindness and compassion is the best form of humanity- Thank you Don Parsons.

And thank you Accenture for giving us the platform and the stage to share our stories around inclusion & diversity openly every day. Diversity is a core value of Accenture - the commitment runs deep. #Blackhistorymonth #accenturemoments #tributes

October 2, 2011

Letter from Don Parsons Rutgers’s Teammate 1946-1950 

Bucky meant a lot to me from my first day at Rutgers till today. My Dad and I were unloading our when I was this big black guy walk through the arches into the quadrangle dorm area. I whispered to Dad “I think that’s Bucky Hatchett, All State basketball and football player”. Before the words were out of my mouth, Bucky said “You’re Don Parsons from Clifton High”. Amazing, he was famous, I was just a skinny kid, but he knew me.

We started practicing, and he and I were always on the same team. First game was way up in New Hampshire against Dartmouth. Neither of us started, but within 5 minutes, we were in the game and never came out for the 4 years. From 1946-1950 we were Rutgers basketball. He set a school record for season scoring as a freshman, I broke his record as a sophomore, he broke it again as a junior and senior. Both of us are in the 1000 point club. He’s # 18, I’, #26 even after all these years.

But the stats don’t tell the story about Bucky. As a forward I got the ball into him in the post, sometimes just stood there and watched him operate. He was beautiful, strong and delicate at the same time. One reporter called him “Poetry in motion on the basketball floor!”

By the way, a year before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, Bucky and I roomed together on all road trips. Don’t know how he felt, but I never thought it was unusual until in Baltimore, they wouldn’t let him stay in our hotel. Most of us wanted to beat up the rude hotel clerk, but Bucky was the most calm, told us he had cousins there, would see us at the gym the following night. That game night I never saw him play a better game. He was taking rebounds at one end, making the outlet pass, and scoring baskets on the other end. He wound up with 31 points, very unusual for the era. Coach took him out with a minute to play and he got a standing ovation from those Baltimore fans! Last year, 60 years late while visiting him in NJ, I apologized for not going with him that night. He laughed it off, but I felt better after all those years. When he graduated, I was drafted by the Knicks, he by the Baltimore Bullets. 

We stayed in touch over the years, visited each other in Florida, Virginia and New Jersey. I brought him down to the Martin Marietta plant in Orlando to make a presentation to our management about hiring minorities. To this day some of them were so impressed that they still ask me about him.

I know he’s left an impact on his family. He talked about them all the time, and he was very proud of their accomplishments. He also had an influence on lots of others, including me. I think I’m a better person for having him as a friend. My wife adores him, always looked forward to seeing him. My kids were impressed with my stories about Bucky and meeting him. Perhaps he was part of the reason they took up basketball in high school, college and the latest, Chandler, drafted by the Houston Rockets.

Again, I regret that I can’t be up there to celebrate his life, but our thoughts and prayers will be with Bucky and his wonderful family.

God Bless you all

Don Parsons