Houston Hogg, who helped Kentucky lead integration of SEC football, dies
Houston Hogg, a football player who helped break the color barrier at the University of Kentucky and in the Southeastern Conference, died Thursday. He was 71.
Hogg was one of four black players — along with Greg Page, Nate Northington and Wilbur Hackett — who pioneered integration at UK. The four men have been memorialized with a statue, erected in 2016, that stands outside of the Joe Craft Football Training Facility, adjacent to Kroger Field. Their trail-blazing story was chronicled in a documentary, “Black in Blue,” released last February.
Hogg was a native of Hazard but finished his high school career at Daviess County in Owensboro. He played in 31 games over three seasons at UK. According to College Football Reference, he totaled 245 yards and two touchdowns on 92 carries and 135 yards on 20 receptions. A long run by Hogg on third-and-5 helped put UK in position for its lone touchdown in a 10-9 win over No. 8 Mississippi, a victory ranked among the 25 best in Wildcats history.
“Houston’s contributions to our football program, our university and the SEC go well beyond the football field,” UK Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart said in a statement released by the school. “His pioneering legacy will live on for generations to come through the young people for whom he paved the way and the dozens of foster children for whom he gave exceptional care. We are so proud he was a Wildcat and send our heartfelt condolences to his family and all those whose lives he touched.”
Hogg served as an honorary captain for UK’s game against Toledo on Aug. 31, its opener of the 2019 season. In 2018 he was inducted into Owensboro’s Walk of Fame at the city’s RiverPark Center.
Page and Northington signed with UK as part of its 1966 class but were ineligible to play until their sophomore seasons due to rules disallowing freshmen to letter. Page before the 1967 season suffered a spinal injury in practice that left him paralyzed; he died 38 days later. Northington the day after Page’s death played in Kentucky’s 26-13 loss to Mississippi, becoming the first black player to take the field in an SEC football game.
Northington, grief-stricken over Page’s death, did not finish that season at UK and eventually transferred to Western Kentucky University. He implored Hackett and Hogg, set to be eligible in 1968, to stay the course.
“He said, ‘I can’t take it anymore,’ because of his closeness to Greg,” Hackett told the Herald-Leader’s Mark Story in 2007. “But he told us, ‘You all have to tough it out. You have to stay and make this thing a reality.’”
Both men did.
“It has made me proud we opened the doors for the other kids to come in,” Hogg told the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer in 2018.
In a profile of Hogg published by Owensboro Living in 2016, he said that in his youth he did not experience overt racism during his time in Hazard or Owensboro, but did at UK — at times from his teammates.
Hogg and his wife, Deborah, raised six children and fostered more than 200. The Houston Hogg Youth Fund for impoverished children was established in 2017.
“Houston has been a true asset to the community, especially to the children he and his wife fostered and mentored,” said Terry Hendricks, a classmate of Hogg’s at Daviess County, in 2017. “His leadership and dedication to providing a loving home to so many children have set the standard of Christian generosity for all of us.”
This story was originally published January 3, 2020 at 12:28 AM.
