Friends of Basketball

Earl Hammond

Year Inducted: 1991

Category: Friends of Basketball

Schools / Organizations:
Roanoke-Bensen High School

Biography:

Earl Hammond has been a close friend to three long-time Roanoke-Benson High School coaches. He served as the yearbook advisor and ticket taker at all home games beginning in 1954 through his 1991 induction. As yearbook sponsor, Earl made sure the R-B basketball and athletics were properly covered. He made sure that sports had pages and pictures prominently displayed in the yearbook. As a ticket taker, Earl Hammond operated under one simple principle, if your name was not on the pass list, you paid. It didn’t matter if you were an Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Famer or the basketball coach at the U of I. Once when Illini coach Lou Henson came to Roanoke, bedecked in this orange blazer, to scout a player, he ran up against Hammond. SInce his name wasn’t on the pass list, Hammond made Henson pay to attend the game. If you ever attended a basketball game at R-B, you probably met Earl. He was a southern-type gentleman who greeted you at the door with a big smile, a friendly handshake and “How y’all doing tonight?”. Earl retired after 34 years as a business teacher, but still resided in Roanoke.  Earl Hammond died on August 18, 2001 at the age of 76.