NORFOLK, Va. – Sonny Allen knew that when he signed the first African-American to an athletic scholarship at a predominantly white institution in Virginia, he would have to be strong enough to withstand racist and often insulting chants from opposing fans.
Allen found his guy on the hardscrabble playgrounds of Huntington, West Virginia, in Arthur "Buttons" Speakes, whom Allen had come to know well while an assistant basketball coach at Marshall.
Shortly after being named head basketball coach at Old Dominion, Allen signed Speakes, who played on the freshman team basketball team in 1965-66 and then varsity the next three years.
Speakes endured the insults, taunts and jeers with grace and humility and paved the way for other Black athletes. Former ODU basketball coach Paul Webb called him "ODU's Jackie Robinson."
Speakes, who earned that moniker, passed away Wednesday morning in his suburban Atlanta home, said Jeanne Speakes, his wife of 12 years.
Speakes, 76, was lauded as a humble man who didn't seek the limelight.
"He wanted to stay to himself and be in the background as much as possible," said Webb, who was the coach at Randolph-Macon when Speakes played at ODU.
"I didn't know Buttons well. But I'm sure what he went through was difficult. He went through the same kind of stuff on the road that Jackie Robinson withstood" while breaking the color barrier in baseball.
Dr. Wood Selig, ODU's director of athletics, said ODU broke both the color and gender barriers. A few years after Speakes graduated from ODU, the University awarded the first scholarships in Virginia to female athletes.
"I can't imagine what he had to endure, what he went through and the tenacity and perseverance that he exhibited while representing ODU," Selig said.
"I think the world of Buttons Speakes. I had the chance to meet him and he's one of the nicest and kindest human beings I've ever met. He will leave a lasting impact on ODU athletics."
Billy Allen, the son of the late Sonny Allen, said Buttons Speakes was his babysitter during their time in Norfolk and that they became close over the years.
"My dad told me that he was fast and just a great athlete, that he was the best player to run the fast break at Old Dominion and that was going to recruit the best regardless of race," Allen said.
"My dad watched him on the playgrounds and knew he was strong and special enough to handle all of the things he faced.
"When my dad was recruiting him, and met his mom, she said to him, 'Coach, are you going to take care of my son?' My dad said yes, that she had his promise.
"She replied, 'That's good enough for me. I trust you.'
"Years later, when I was talking to Buttons, he said my dad always took care of him. He kept his promise."
Speakes also played baseball at ODU and was among the first African Americans to graduate from the University. He finished with 1,004 career basketball points and ranks among the top 50 ODU career scorers in spite of playing just three seasons – freshmen were ineligible at the time.
Bob Pritchett, second from left on the front, and Buttons Speakes, fourth from left.
During his sophomore and junior seasons, he teamed with fellow African-American Bob Pritchett, a junior college transfer who signed with ODU a year after Speakes. In 1967-68, they helped lead ODU to average 98.2 points per game, the highest in school history. Pritchett finished with 1,188 points in two seasons and scored a school record 67 points in a game against Richmond Professional Institute, which is now VCU.
They were roommates at ODU and have both been inducted into the ODU Sports Hall of Fame.
"We had so many things in common, our backgrounds, how we were raised," Pritchett said. "We did what was right and not what people want you to do.
"We just had a great rapport throughout the years. We were almost like brothers at ODU.
"What I had at Old Dominion, he had at Old Dominion. Be it money or clothes. We were about the same size.
"I'm going to miss him. I'm really going to miss him."
Buttons Speakes on the ODU Freshman Team.
Former ODU All-American Dave Twardzik, who had a long NBA career, was a freshman when Speakes was a senior and the freshman and varsity teams often practiced together.
"He just beat me up all year," Twardzik said. "Talk about a guy that competed. He was athletic, physical and so tough. Off the court, you couldn't help but like the guy. He was such a good guy."
Former ODU baseball and basketball star Tony Zontini, who played two seasons with Speakes, in both sports, said "Sonny Allen was a wise man when recruiting and signing Buttons.
"He not only had to get a great athlete who by his play would overcome people's apprehension, but he also had to be an even better person to win people over and withstand the animosity that came with being the first.
"Sonny stood his ground as well, checking with restaurants and hotels while on the road to make sure they didn't have a problem with African-Americans. He often changed venues because they wouldn't accommodate African-Americans."
Jeanne Speakes said her husband has been sick since May, when he had triple bypass surgery, and that he recently had been on kidney dialysis. After a lengthy hospital stay, he asked to come home and she took him home on Monday.
"He's been sick for a long time and suffered so much," she said. "When he came home, he had the best day. He was lucid and spent time with his dog. He was just very happy."
Jeanne and Buttons Speakes.
She said he passed away early Wednesday morning in his sleep.
Jeanne Speaks said that people associated with ODU, including Virginia Beach businessman Jim Bush and Nashville attorney Mike Terry, who befriended her husband at ODU, "really helped us in recent months.
"Billy Allen," she added, "held my hand throughout this entire ordeal."
Jeanne and Buttons met in high school. She was white and grew up in an affluent neighborhood and he was black and grew up in a poor neighborhood. "But we were friends. We made it work," she said.
She was living in West Virginia and was on the phone with Speakes, complaining about a recent snowstorm, when he suggested he move to Atlanta with him.
"He told me I would like it there," she said. "So, I did, and the rest is history.
"Please let people know how humble he was and how grateful he was for everything he had. He grew up poor, but he had a very good life.
"He went through so much pain, but he never complained and never felt sorry for himself. He just took things in stride. He was a humble kind of guy who always stood in the background and waited his turn."
Funeral arrangements have not yet been made.
Dr. Selig said that ODU will hold a moment of silence in Speakes' honor on Wednesday, Nov. 22, when the Monarch basketball team hosts Princeton.
Contact Minium at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Buttons Speakes, ODU Basketball's 'Jackie Robinson,' Passed Away Wednesday in Atlanta
