Reggie Warford, who was the first Black basketball player to have a four-season career and graduate at Kentucky, died Tuesday at age 67.
He was known as a trailblazer and patriarch of integration for the Kentucky basketball program.
Warford spent five seasons as an assistant basketball coach at Pitt under Roy Chipman in the 1980s. He also coached one season at Seton LaSalle in 2004-05.
Warford played at Kentucky from 1973-76. According to reports he had a variety of health issues over the past decade and had multiple organ transplants.
“I know how much Reggie meant to Kentucky and how he inspired others,” Kentucky coach John Calipari Tweeted. “…I’m going to miss my brother. May God bless you Reggie.”
Calipari coached with Warford at Pitt during the 1985-86 season and said the two remained friends.
In addition to Pitt, Warford was an assistant coach at Long Beach State and Iowa State and also coached the Harlem Globetrotters in 2003.
At Pitt, he won the United States Basketball Writers Association’s Most Courageous Award in 1984 after he and Chipman rescued an elderly couple from a house fire.
He later returned to his native Muhlenburg County, Ky., and coached his sons Grant and Tyler.
“Reggie Warford played an important role in the history of UK Athletics,” Kentucky director of athletics Mitch Barnhart said in a statement. “His career as a player and student, and his presence as a native Kentuckian, helped set the stage for the continued growth of integration of Kentucky basketball and our entire athletics program. We are deeply saddened by his passing and our condolences are with his family, friends and teammates.”
Warford is survived by his wife, Marisa, and sons Grant and Tyler.
