Redd, Michael R.
(born: 1944 - died: 2007)In 1963, Mike Redd from Newburg (Jefferson County), KY was the first African American named Kentucky's Mr. Basketball. Redd was chosen over Clem Haskins, an outstanding basketball player in Taylor County.
Redd, a 6'2" guard, is remembered as one of the best basketball players ever in the state of Kentucky. As an 8th grader, he scored 25 points in a varsity game and helped take his Seneca High School team to the regionals in 1961 and 1962 when he was a teammate of Wes Unseld's.
Seneca was the state high school basketball champion in 1963, with Redd averaging 26.5 points during the tournament. The team was coached by Bob Mulcahy. Redd was named All-State three times during his high school years. In 1963 he was named to the All-Tournament Team and was a member of the Parade All-American Team. He was named to the 1999 Kentucky High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame (.pdf).
Redd played college ball at Kentucky Wesleyan for one year, averaging 20.7 points and 6.8 rebounds. He played a season at Sullivan Business College [now Sullivan University] in Louisville before joining the U.S. Marines, serving during the Vietnam War. Redd also played basketball while in the service and helped his team win two AAU Men's Basketball Championships with the 1969 and 1970 Armed Forces All-Stars [source: 2010 Amateur Athletic Union Men's Handbook, p. 13 (online .pdf)].
After completing his enlistment, Redd remained in Europe, playing basketball in France for about a decade, then starting a basketball school in Austria. Mike Redd spoke several languages.
When he returned to the United States, Redd, also a chef, bought restaurants in San Jose, CA and Nashville, TN. He died in Atlanta, GA.
Mike Redd was the son of Susie Cairo Logan, who died December 15, 2007 in California a few hours prior to her son's death.
For more see "Former Kentucky Mr. Basketball dies," Daily News (Bowling Green, KY), 12/19/2007, Sports section, p. 6C; B. White, "Headline: What's up with...? Bob Mulcahy; Coach of great Seneca teams recalls glory days," Courier-Journal (Louisville), 3/15/2004, Sports section, p. E1; and C. Ray Hall, "Mike Redd: 1944-2007; Seneca's 1963 Mr. Basketball one of state's best ever," Courier-Journal (Louisville), 12/18/2007, Sports section, p. C1.