Worthy Patterson, first UConn alum to play in NBA, Huskies of Honor inductee, dies at 91

Worthy Patterson, who hit a long-remembered basket for UConn during his college career and later became the first Husky to play in the NBA, died Tuesday morning in Santa Monica, Calif., his family confirmed.

Patterson, who faced down racial barriers during his brief time as the first African-American player to join the then-St. Louis Hawks, was 91.

“I couldn’t eat with the team or stay in the same hotel where we were staying,” Patterson told The Courant in 2012, when he was inducted into the Huskies of Honor at Gampel Pavilion. “I had to stay on the ‘colored side of town,’ as it was called. … It was serious Jim Crow. The way I was brought up, you had to maneuver. You didn’t let it get you upset. You just kept maneuvering.”

Filmmaker Ronnie Forcheimer has been working on a documentary of Patterson’s life, called “Pushing Boundaries.”

Born in on June 17, 1931, in Greenwich, Worthington R. Patterson played for Greenwich High, then Tilton Academy in New Hampshire before arriving at UConn in 1950. A 6-foot-3 shooting guard, Patterson averaged 11.5 points in 74 varsity games, UConn winning 60 of them, and was twice a first-team All-Yankee Conference selection.

The Huskies’ captain as a senior, Patterson is best remembered for a game-winning shot against Holy Cross on Feb. 27, 1954, a driving layup with two seconds left ending Holy Cross’ 47-game winning streak at home.

“That has to be the game I remember most,” Patterson recalled, “that last game. It was a big deal at the time.”

Students gathered to greet the team when it returned at 2 a.m. Patterson, who arrived first, did not want to speak until his teammates and coaches had reached campus.

UConn won the New England District I title as a result and had the chance to play in either the NIT or the NCAA. Though players preferred the NIT, with its games at Madison Square Garden, the school compelled them to play in the NCAA Tournament.

When he first arrived at UConn, Patterson estimated he was one of maybe 10 or 15 Black students.

“But nobody noticed color,” Patterson remembered. “If you were a student, you were a student. If you were a basketball player, you were a basketball player. You behaved like a gentleman and that was that.”

That he was elected captain was evidence of the respect Patterson earned. “He is our most valuable man in every game,” coach Hugh Greer said in 1954. “He never lets a game go by without making a vital contribution. Patterson is a true leader. The other players respect and like him so much, they look to him for leadership and Patterson doesn’t disappoint them.”

Patterson signed with the Celtics later in 1954 but was cut just before the season began. He returned to UConn to earn his degree then spent two years in the Army. In 1957 he signed with St. Louis and when he arrived for his first game, against the Celtics on Oct. 22, he felt the full brunt of the segregation of the time.

“I had to cross a picket line to get into the auditorium,” Patterson told the Courant in 2017. “The NAACP, the Urban League, they had a ring around the auditorium [protesting because the Hawks weren’t integrated]. Cops all over the place. When I showed up, I couldn’t get across the picket line, and when I told them I was going in there to play, this guy said, ‘What, are you crazy?’”

Eventually, Patterson was escorted to the players’ entrance and became the first UConn alum to play in an NBA game, the first of four in which he appeared. He scored five points in a game against the Lakers a few nights later. The Hawks released Patterson and went on to win the championship that season, and are considered the last team to do so without a Black player on their roster. Patterson later worked for the team in community relations.

After his basketball career ended, Patterson had a long, successful career as an executive in the music industry with Technical Tape and RCA. He retired to Southern California and remained active well into his 80s, becoming a fan of the UConn women’s basketball team.

“You see basketball is like a jazz quintet,” Patterson once said. “You go to a club. A guy walks in with his horn, they say ‘Come on up.’ The guy steps in and they don’t miss a beat. Because the fundamentals are all the same. That’s the way basketball used to be. When you got out of high school, you knew how to play, you knew the language. You could go anywhere.”

Patterson is survived by his wife of 66 years, Queen, whom he met at UConn, his son, Worthington, and his grandchildren, Worthington IV and Cameron. Funeral arrangements are to be announced.

Dom Amore can be reached at damore@courant.com