Originally published January 18, 2012 at 8:03 PM | Page modified January 19, 2012 at 1:42 PM
Bob Houbregs honored as Seattle legend
Former Washington basketball star Bob Houbregs, 79, to receive Royal Brougham Legend Award at Seattle Sports Star of the Year Banquet on Jan. 25.
Seattle Times staff reporter
Sports Star of the Year
The 77th annual Sports Star of the Year banquet is Wednesday, Jan. 25, honoring the best athletes, teams and stories from the past year.Where: Benaroya Hall, 200 University St. in downtown Seattle.
Tickets: Tickets to the awards show are $35; tickets for the awards show and the preshow reception are $75.
More information: Visit www.sportsstaroftheyear.org
Other Sports Star of the Year stories
Bob Houbregs is grateful at the news of his latest award. But he also says he feels a little undeserving.
"I've been honored more than I think I should have been, to be honest with you," Houbregs says.
That's not a sentiment anyone who saw him play would share.
Now 79, Houbregs remains one of the greatest basketball players in Washington Huskies history, having led the school to its only Final Four appearance in 1953.
He also later held a key role in helping establish the Sonics in the NBA franchise's early days, serving as general manager from 1970 to 1973.
Next Wednesday, at the 77th annual Seattle Sports Star of the Year banquet, Houbregs will be given the Royal Brougham Legend Award. The award was introduced two years ago, and the first two honorees were Marv Harshman and Don James.
Like them, Houbregs is a UW legend, one of just two basketball players to have numbers retired. The other is Brandon Roy.
Among other accolades, Houbregs still holds the UW record for season scoring average, 25.6 points in 1953. That season, the 6-foot-7 forward was a consensus All-American, the only player in Huskies history so honored.
As a senior, he led UW to a 15-1 record in the Pacific Coast Conference. The Huskies then beat Seattle University and Santa Clara to advance to the Final Four.
There, the Huskies lost in the semifinals to Kansas, 79-53, in a game that still rankles Houbregs.
"I had four fouls in the first half and fouled out about 2 ½ minutes into the second half," he said. "So I kind of let my team down."
He was a first-round pick of the Minnesota Hawks and played five years in the NBA before retiring and eventually returning to Seattle.
About 10 years ago, he moved to Olympia to be near his oldest son and his family. And until this year, he has been a regular at UW games. He said health issues that make it hard to drive caused him to give up his season tickets this season.
But he plans to attend Wednesday's banquet, even if he wonders what all the fuss is about.
Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com.
On Twitter @bcondotta
