With 15 seconds left in a tightly contested game at 10th-ranked West Virginia, starting senior guard Hardy Williams crossed midcourt and confidently made the game-winning basket. The 1952 Nittany Lion team defeated three ranked teams that season, including a sweep of 10th-ranked West Virginia. The Nittany Lions would record the program's first 20-win season, post a record 15-game win streak, a mark that still stands to this day, and would play in their second NCAA Tournament.
While Williams' game-winner was one of the most crucial in Nittany Lion basketball history, helping Penn State vault to No. 14 in the Associated Press poll rankings, his reputation was built on the many assists he provided to others during his noteworthy life.
The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, product, born 90 years ago on April 14, 1931, was the first African American to earn a varsity letter in men's basketball (1949) at Penn State. A leader on and off the court, his life of service for others may have started during his time in State College. Fans witnessed his efforts for the cagers at Rec Hall while he experienced Jim Crow laws while representing the Blue & White. The liberal arts major easily won his first election for the position of secretary-treasurer of the athletic association, polling 55 percent of the total votes in a three-man race.
A gifted athlete who lettered in baseball, basketball and football at West Philadelphia High School, Williams first went to Cheyney State Teachers College as a freshman before transferring to Penn State. He was a starter for two seasons, averaging 8.9 points per game as a senior on a successful team that featured a talented freshman named Jesse Arnelle.
Williams balanced his exploits on the basketball court with a rigorous academic program as a pre-law major and president of the Pi Lambda Sigma pre-law honor society. He was a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, graduated in the top 20 of his class, and then spent two years as in the Army in South Korea, earning a Korean Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal and United Nations Service Medal. Upon his return, he enrolled in law school at the University of Pennsylvania and was inducted into its honor society.
Establishing his career in law and his own practice, Williams found time to mentor, encourage and assist others. In 1968 he pursued his calling for public service and was elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. In 1971, became the first African American candidate mayoral candidate in Philadelphia to gain widespread support. His efforts helped other African American candidates win key elections, highlighted by W. Wilson Goode, the first African American mayor of Philadelphia, who was a co-campaign manager for Williams' own 1971 bid.
Leadership was second nature for the former Nittany Lion basketball co-captain. Through Williams' social activism, he advocated for others. He founded the Organized Anti-Crime Community Network (OACCN) and played a large role in establishing Crisis Intervention Network, a youth violence intervention program, the Urban Economic Strategies Task Force, Blacks Networking for Progress and the 8th District AIDS Task Force. He was also the executive director of Black Family Services and was instrumental in fighting welfare cuts that threatened citizens who needed it most.
Williams passed away on January 7, 2010, in Philadelphia. His legacy, however, lives on through others and through organizations support his values. The Renaissance Advantage Charter School in West Philadelphia renamed itself Hardy Williams Academy Charter School in February of 2009. Following his death, the Hardy Williams Education Fund was established to support various educational endeavors and provide scholarships for those interested in government, law or social action, and support of social action and educational activities. In 2014, a facility to assist homeless veterans and seniors, the Hardy Williams Veterans Center opened in Philadelphia.
Information on the late Sen. Hardy Williams' life was compiled from multiple sources, including previous articles by Katie Wiedie (GoPSUsports.com), Darryl Daisey (WPSU/Penn State Outreach), Denise Clay (Philadelphia Sun) and obituary information written by Jeff Shields, Walter F. Naedele and Mario F. Cattabiani (Philadelphia Inquirer).
