Julius Pegues, first Black basketball player at Pitt, dies of cancer

Julius Pegues, the first Black varsity basketball player at Pitt who went to serve the U.S. Air Force as a weather forecaster and later was an advisor to the Federal Aviation Administration, died Tuesday at the age of 85 after a long battle with cancer, the university announced. Pegues died at the John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation in his hometown of Tulsa, Okla.

Pegues was one of the best high school players in Oklahoma in the 1950s, but he was forced to matriculate to Pitt because Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Tulsa did not have any Black players.

It didn’t take long for Pegues to make his mark. He was one of the best players on the Pitt freshman team during the 1954-55 season before earning a scholarship. At 6-foot-9, he went on to start all 77 games of his three-year varsity career, finishing with 1,050 points and 377 rebounds while leading the Panthers to only their second and third all-time NCAA Tournament appearances in 1957 and 1958.

As a senior, Pegues averaged 17.6 points and 5.2 rebounds.

“Julius Pegues’ impact on the game of basketball here at the University of Pittsburgh was immense,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said in a statement. “The life he lived and the impact he made on the Tulsa community beyond basketball was even more impressive. He was a trailblazer for the Black community and an unquestioned leader. The more I have learned of his impact on the world the more impressed I am with the life and legacy of Julius Pegues. With his passing, we have lost a great man and a tremendous role model.”

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Julius Pegues,” Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke said. “He lived an impressive life of service with the constant goal of creating opportunities for others, especially those in underrepresented communities. Julius was a trailblazer at the University of Pittsburgh and went on to become an icon in the Tulsa community. We are proud to recognize him as one of the exceptional people in the history of Pitt Athletics.”

While playing basketball for coach Robert Timmons, Pegues earned an engineering degree on his way to a career in the aerospace industry.

Although he was chosen with the 31st overall pick in the 1958 NBA Draft by the St. Louis Hawks, he was unable to play professionally because of a five-year postgraduate commitment required by the U.S Air Force ROTC.

He graduated from Pitt with a degree in aeronautical engineering and studied meteorology at St. Louis University. He became an Air Force weather forecaster before returning to Tulsa to work for Douglas Aircraft and American Airlines, eventually landing as an advisor to the FAA.

Pegues also served on boards of the Tulsa NAACP, the Tulsa Urban League and the Tulsa Board of Education Human Relations Committee.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Wennette, their three children, Mary Pegues, Michael Pegues and Angela Guillory, and their families.