Bobby Speight

Robert Wilton "Bobby" Speight, Sr. (October 7, 1930 – March 1, 2007) 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.^[1] He would play from 1950–51 to 1952–53 under the future-Hall of Famer Everett Case.^[2] 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.^[2] 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.^[2] For two years after college, Speight played basketball for the Phillips 66ers of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), which was a popular alternative to the National Basketball Association (NBA) 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.^[1] He is survived by his grandson, University of Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight.

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