Herbert Washington Jr., founder of Dirt Bowl, dies at age 71

Herbert Washington Jr., the face behind the Dirt Bowl summer basketball league and longtime advocate for Lexington's youth, died Monday from complications of throat cancer. He was 71.

Mr. Washington was a prominent figure in Lexington since helping found the league in the early 1970s. In 1978, the Dirt Bowl tournament became the main attraction at the city's Super Sunday celebration, an annual tradition in Douglass Park featuring arts and crafts, food and live entertainment.

Mayor Jim Gray issued a statement calling Mr. Washington an inspiration. The city in 2007 named the facilities at Douglass Park the Herb Washington Basketball Complex.

"Herb Washington created a remarkable legacy when he turned the Dirt Bowl into a nationally recognized amateur basketball event," the statement said.

At its peak in the 1970s and '80s, the Dirt Bowl was one of the nation's premier summer leagues. It has been featured in books and national publications, including Sports Illustrated. Its alumni include the University of Kentucky's Melvin Turpin, Jack Givens and James Lee; Darrell Griffith of the University of Louisville; and Kentucky State University's Billy Ray Bates.

Mr. Washington's sons — Jonathan, 49, Shaun, 48, and Kerry, 42, — said Tuesday that their father had mentored countless young athletes who didn't have father figures, helping many of those athletes get college scholarships.

Mr. Washington was also a longtime deacon at Main Street Baptist Church in Lexington. He reached out to youth through Sunday church services at Douglass Park and Friday Night Flicks, a weekly event that projected movies on the wall of the Booker T. Washington Academy elementary school.

"He wanted to keep kids out of trouble. He wanted to keep kids in school," Jonathan Washington said. "He didn't do it by himself. He had a lot of people helping him."

In addition to his sons, Mr. Washington is survived by his wife, Barbara.

Visitation will be at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Main Street Baptist Church, 608 West Main Street in Lexington, with funeral services there at 12:45 p.m. Kerr Brothers Funeral Home on Harrodsburg Road is in charge of arrangements.

This story was originally published July 31, 2012 at 8:50 PM with the headline "Herbert Washington Jr., founder of Dirt Bowl, dies at age 71."