FORT SMITH — For all of his accolades on the basketball court, Almer Eugene Lee may have received the ultimate honor off the court five years ago when Fort Smith city officials placed a plaque at Martin Luther King Jr. Park naming the courts after “Godfather of Fort Smith Basketball.”
Lee died in 2014 at the age of 63.
But his lasting legacy within Fort Smith and the surrounding area affects kids some 50 years after he took his last jump shot for the Northside Grizzlies.
Longtime Northside girls basketball coach Rickey Smith believes Lee’s impact is felt beyond his native Sebastian County as well.