Bobby Speight

Who was Bobby Speight?

Robert W. "Bobby" Speight, Sr. was an American college basketball standout and, later, successful businessman. A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Speight chose to stay close to home to play college basketball and decided on NC State. He would play from 1950–51 to 1952–53 under the future-Hall of Famer Everett Case. During Speight's three-year varsity career he scored 1,430 points and grabbed 1,057 rebounds, and his rebound total still ranks fourth all-time. He was named an NCAA All-American in his senior year and was then drafted by the Baltimore Bullets in the 1953 NBA Draft, although he ultimately never played a game in the league. For two years after college, Speight played basketball for the Phillips 66ers of the Amateur Athletic Union, which was a popular alternative to the National Basketball Association during that era. He then enlisted in the United States Army. After his military service he co-founded the trucking company E&S Contract Carrier which he worked for up until his retirement in 2006. Speight died on March 1, 2007, after losing his fight with cancer.