Before he became a politician, and educator and a father, Ted Blunt was a star point guard at WSSU. He passed away in January, but nearly 60 years after his last game, he suited up with Winston-Salem State once again.
WSSU, as well as Virginia Union, was provided with special uniforms from Under Armour for Saturday’s HBCU Classic at NBA All-Star Weekend. WSSU’s black jersey featured a red patch with the name and number of Blunt, who starred for Big House Gaines from 1961 through 1965.
“My coaching staff is always in tune and I had just come from the funeral itself with Mr. Ted Blunt and we said, wow, that that would be a perfect tribute to do this – not only on national TV, but international TV,” WSSU head coach Cleo Hill Jr. said on Tuesday. “One of the greats, great, great players and of people of Winston-Salem State University to have his number and patch. So not just across the country but across the world. I thought that was fitting for us to do.”
Ted Blunt came to Winston-Salem Teachers’ College from Philadelphia on a train with little to eat and no scholarship. He tried out for Gaines and not only made the team, but became a starter and an internal part of the program from the very beginning. He led WSSU to the CIAA title in 1963 and was named the game’s most valuable player. He then graduated with a degree in education, becoming a teacher before climbing the political ladder and becoming a part of the national Democratic Party scene as well as in his adopted home of Wilmington, DE where he eventually served as City Council President.
Blunt’s daughter, Lisa Blunt Rochester, is currently the first woman and the first African-American to represent Delaware in Congress. She is currently running for the United State Senate. She took the time to thank WSSU for honoring her father via Twitter over the weekend.
“Dad would have been proud to see his number on the jersey of the school he loved so much,” Blunt Rochester tweeted. “What a beautiful tribute.”
As the son of a WSSU legend himself, Hill made sure his players were not only familiar with Blunt’s accolades but got the chance to interact with him as well.
“It was it was gratifying for me. He told a couple of jokes, but then he said some serious things that the guys resonated with. And each time he came to campus, he always wanted to meet with the guys and share some some life life stories with them. So I think it was great for me.”
Ted Blunt surprised Hill last winter when he showed up to watch WSSU play Lincoln University in the CIAA Championship Game. He showed up to watch the program compete for – and win – the CIAA title 60 years after his team pulled off the same feat. The two men shared a big hug courtside in what turned out to be Blunt’s final trip to the CIAA.
“When I first got the job he and Earl kind of got that (19)67 team together. And we shared a lot of conversation about expectations of the program and the expectations of the student-athletes,” Hill recalled. “But to see him there and – that’s his last memory of the CIAA Tournament – it’s just a good feeling.”
