July 27, 2009
By Samantha Franz
Oakland University Athletics Communications
In Oakland University's 52 years as an academic institution, the university has undergone radical changes, expansions and renovations, with that being especially evident in the department of athletics. There have been many who have contributed to the growth of the Golden Grizzlies name, but one man in particular provided OU with the building blocks for the future. That man was former men's basketball coach Gene Boldon.
Every basketball odyssey has a beginning and for Boldon, his days on the hardwood began by shooting hoops in recreation ball before joining the ranks of the Air Force, where he continued to play service ball and was named to several Air Force All-Star teams. After his discharge, Boldon could frequently be found playing at the Brewster Center, famous for housing the training of Detroit boxing legend Joe Louis. It was there where a friend suggested that Boldon attend college. So, in 1949, Boldon suited up for Wayne State University and played basketball for the Warriors until his graduation in 1954.
It was then his love for the game turned to coaching. After starting at the elementary school level, he followed with coaching gigs at Cass Tech and Pershing high schools before being offered the head basketball coach position at the newly-opened Murray-Wright High School in 1965. Three years later, Boldon led his team to the state championship in 1968, where they played Persing at Cobo Hall in front of 15,000 fans. Boldon was named PSL Coach of the Year that season.
Shortly after leading Murray-Wright to its first championship title of any sport, Boldon received a phone call from a man named Hollie Lepley from the up-and-coming school Oakland University.
"At first I had no idea where Oakland University was," Boldon said with a laugh. "Hollie told me he would like to invite me out to Oakland because he wanted to hire me as a basketball coach. After talking with him, I agreed to come visit."
What began as a visit turned into a head coaching position for Oakland. But for a basketball program that was in its infancy, there wasn't much for Boldon to work with in the early days.
For one thing, upon Boldon's arrival, attendance to Pioneer basketball was free of charge to fans.
"It was a walk-in program prior to 1968 and I said, 'Hold up, we can't go this way!'" said Boldon. "People paid to see us play in high school, so surely these people are going to pay to see us play at the collegiate level. That was sort of the beginning [of ticket sales]."
Boldon also got the ball rolling in terms of scheduling opponents for the young Oakland program.
"Looking at the schedule when I first started, there were some schools on there that I had never heard of, like Mackinac College," said Boldon. "I tried to upgrade the program as much as I could by adding some bigger names to our schedule."
Within a few seasons, the Pioneers were playing opponents from the likes of Alabama State, Ball State, Northern Illinois, Detroit, Illinois State, Eastern Michigan, Wisconsin-Green Bay and Wisconsin-Milwaukee, in addition to joining the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1973-1974 season.
The late 1960s and early 1970s were also a time of unrest in the United States. The Civil Rights Movement in full swing and college athletics were not immune to its impact. Being one of the first African-American head coaches in college sports, Boldon faced his fair share of adversity.
"[Who I had on my roster] became a black and white issue," said Boldon. "I would get pressure from civil rights people in Pontiac because I didn't have enough black ballplayers on my team," said Boldon. "I had to have them understand that I am not here to coach black athletes. I am not here to coach white athletes. I am here to coach student-athletes and that's the only thing that mattered to me."
Yet, he never allowed the pressure of the times to dampen his passion for Oakland University basketball and his influence on Pioneers athletics extended beyond the basketball court.
"Hollie made me his assistant athletic director and anything I could do to get people involved with Oakland University, I was doing it," said Boldon. "I represented OU in bringing the K-Mart Invitational Ladies Indoor Tennis Tour to campus in the 1970s and brought Renee Powell, one of the first black golfers in the LPGA, to conduct a clinic at Oakland."
Boldon mentored many student-athletes during his tenure at OU and two have been enshrined in the Hollie L. Lepley Hall of Honor, John Eley and Carvin Melson, who to this day, holds the all-time record for career points with 2,408.
"Carvin came to me as a ninth grader with an ugly jump shot and I always said I was going to change it," said Boldon with a laugh. "But he kept shooting around 40 percent, so I kept putting it off. The year he graduated from Oakland, he was one of the last players to get cut for the Detroit Pistons program. Had the situation been then what it is today, he might have been able to play over in Europe some place, but those opportunities didn't exist in that time. It was either do it in the NBA or not do it at all. But, that's the thing I liked about him. Win, lose or draw, you could never get under his skin."
Today, Boldon has retired from coaching and is now inseparable from his five-year-old grandson, Jaden. Throughout his more than 40 years of basketball experience, Boldon has seen a lot of talent come through the game at varying levels of success. However, more important to him than the jump shots, free throws and a sixth sense for the court, is the value of a good education and having a plan for the future.
"Forget about what we're feeding students about being everything you want to be," said Boldon. "All dreams have to have a foundation and if you don't have a solid foundation, you're not going to get there. It's okay to dream about being the professional athletes, but you better put something behind there that you can have a better guarantee on.
"There are too many people down here looking for something easy to do, and areas like engineering, science and other subjects are overlooked," he continued. "I say if it's difficult there, you'll find more room up here for employment." He motioned with his hand, indicating that the sky is the limit. "Don't be afraid to say, 'I have an academic mission' and to choose a career that won't be affected on whether you pull a muscle or break a leg, but rather on your brains and what you are able to contribute to mankind."
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