Sad news: Perry Wallace, who became the first African-American varsity basketball player in Southeastern Conference history when he took the floor for the Vanderbilt Commodores on December 2, 1967, died on Friday at the age of 69.
A 6’5” forward from Nashville’s Pearl High School, Wallace played three seasons for the Commodores, graduating in 1970 with a degree in engineering. On the court, Wallace scored 1,010 points and grabbed 894 rebounds; the latter mark still ranks second in Vanderbilt history. Wallace never played in the NBA, but he earned a law degree from Columbia University and later became a law professor.