Editing Ricky Byrdsong

{{Short description|American basketball coach (1956–1999)}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Ricky Byrdsong
| image = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1956|6|24}}
| birth_place = [[Atlanta, Georgia]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1999|7|3|1956|6|24}}
| death_place = [[Evanston, Illinois]], U.S.
| alma_mater = 
| player_years1 = 1974–1976
| player_team1 = [[Pratt Community College]]
| player_years2 = 1976–1978
| player_team2 = [[Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball|Iowa State]]
| player_positions = 
| coach_years1 = 1978–1979
| coach_team1 = [[Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball|Iowa State]] (grad assistant)
| coach_years2 = 1979–1980
| coach_team2 = [[Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball|Western Michigan]] (assistant)
| coach_years3 = 1980–1982
| coach_team3 = [[Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball|Eastern Illinois]] (assistant)
| coach_years4 = 1982–1988
| coach_team4 = [[Arizona Wildcats men's basketball|Arizona]] (assistant)
| coach_years5 = 1988–1993
| coach_team5 = [[Detroit Titans men's basketball|Detroit]]
| coach_years6 = 1993–1997
| coach_team6 = [[Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball|Northwestern]]
| overall_record = 89–163
| bowl_record = 
| tournament_record = 1–1 ([[National Invitation Tournament|NIT]])
| championships = 
| awards = 
| coaching_records = 
}}
'''Ricky Byrdsong''' (June 24, 1956 – July 3, 1999) was an American [[college basketball]] coach and insurance executive. He served as the head men's basketball coach at the [[University of Detroit Mercy]] (1988–1993) and [[Northwestern University]] (1993–1997), compiling a career coaching record of 89–163. Byrdsong was the first [[African American]] head coach of the [[Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball]] program. On July 2, 1999, he was shot during [[1999 Independence Day weekend shootings|a racially motivated killing spree]] and died the next day.

==Early life==
Byrdsong grew up in [[Atlanta, Georgia]], raised by his mother with his younger sister Marcia. He attended [[Douglass High School (Atlanta)|Frederick Douglass High School]]. Besides basketball, Byrdsong played the saxophone in the band, sang with the chorus and appeared in school plays. After graduation in 1974, Byrdsong accepted a basketball scholarship to [[Pratt Community College]] in [[Pratt, Kansas]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-07-04-9907040235-story.html|title=BYRDSONG TURNED LIFE LESSONS INTO A KINDER WAY OF LIVING|first=Neil Milbert, Tribune Staff|last=Writer|website=chicagotribune.com|date=4 July 1999 }}</ref>

Byrdsong then played his final two seasons of college basketball for [[Iowa State University]] in [[Ames, Iowa]] under Coach [[Lynn Nance]] from 1976–1978. He was named team captain, but played sparingly for the Cyclones averaging 0.9 points and 0.9 rebounds in his career. After graduating from Pratt, Byrdsong had been offered scholarships from many schools, before choosing Iowa State. He said, "Then I went there and I never played. I probably was the only non-playing captain in Iowa State history. Total all my minutes in two years and it might equal two games."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/ricky-byrdsong-2.html|title=Ricky Byrdsong College Stats|website=College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com}}</ref><ref name="auto"/>

However, after he graduated from Iowa State, Coach Nance asked Brydsong to consider coaching and then asked him to stay with the Cyclones as a graduate assistant. He accepted the advice and began his coaching career in 1978.<ref name="auto"/>

== Coaching career ==
In a ten year run as a college assistant, Byrdsong was an assistant at [[Arizona Wildcats men's basketball|Arizona]] six seasons under Coach [[Lute Olson]]. Byrdsong was an assistant as the Wildcats advanced to the NCAA Final Four in 1988, after the program had been 4–24 in 1983. After the season he was offered the head coaching position at [[Detroit Mercy Titans men's basketball|Detroit Mercy]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-07-04-9907040235-story.html| title = BYRDSONG TURNED LIFE LESSONS INTO A KINDER WAY OF LIVING – Chicago Tribune| website = [[Chicago Tribune]]| date = 4 July 1999}}</ref>

As coach for the [[Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball|Northwestern University]] Wildcats from 1993 to 1997, Byrdsong led them to a [[National Invitation Tournament]] berth in 1994, the second postseason appearance in school history, defeating [[DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball|DePaul University]] in the first round.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.coachesdatabase.com/ricky-byrdsong/|title=Ricky Byrdsong (Former Head Coach)}}</ref>

He had previously been head coach at the [[University of Detroit Mercy|University of Detroit-Mercy]] (1988–1993) and assistant coach at the [[University of Arizona]] (1982–1988), [[Eastern Illinois University]] (1980–1982), [[Western Michigan University]] (1979–1980) and [[Iowa State University]] (1978–1979). After he left Northwestern, he worked as an vice president of community affairs for [[Aon Corporation]] until his death.<ref name="auto1"/><ref name="auto"/>

===The walk on the wild side===
On February 5, 1994, while coaching a game against Minnesota, Byrdsong abruptly left the game and joined the fans in the stands shaking hands, high-fiving the Minnesota Gopher mascot and taking an unticketed seat until removed by an usher. The team had started the season 9–0 but was at this point on a 9-game losing streak.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704694004576019650146284700?mod=WSJ_article_CollegeBasketballHeadlines | work=The Wall Street Journal | first=Darren | last=Everson | title=Chicago's Other Sports Curse | date=December 15, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4256679.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105071431/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4256679.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 5, 2012|title=RETURN FROM THE WILD SIDE // Byrdsong Puts NU's Attitude, Image in Focus – Chicago Sun-Times &#124; HighBeam Research|date=November 5, 2012}}</ref>

After returning to Evanston, Byrdsong's wife requested a leave of absence for the coach, to which  Byrdsong remarked, "My wife, after watching me, obviously got concerned, now, any time I'm going to take a walk on the wild side, I should let her know."<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jul-07-mn-53670-story.html | work=Los Angeles Times | first=Mike | last=Downey | date=July 7, 1999 | title=The Last Walk in the Short Life of Ricky Byrdsong}}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
On July 2, 1999, while jogging near his [[Skokie, Illinois]] home with his son and daughter, ages 8 and 10, Byrdsong was shot by Benjamin Nathaniel Smith, a member of the [[white supremacist]] [[Creativity Movement]] who went on [[1999 Independence Day weekend shootings|a shooting spree]] that killed one person and injured ten others. Byrdsong died four hours later on July 3 at [[Evanston Hospital]]. Smith was a disciple of [[Matthew F. Hale|Mathew Hale]], the leader of Creativity Movement, and his shooting spree took place two days after Hale was denied a license to practice law in Illinois. According to eyewitnesses, Smith pulled alongside Byrdsong and shot him multiple times. Smith committed suicide on July 4 after he crashed his car into a metal post during a high-speed chase in Southern Illinois.

Byrdsong and his wife, Sherialyn, had three children: Sabrina, Kelley and Ricky Jr.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_8_96/ai_55398754
|title=Ex-College Basketball Coach Ricky Byrdsong Killed In White Racist's Shooting Spree, Mourned
|date=July 26, 1999
|publisher=[[Jet magazine]]
|accessdate=April 25, 2008}}</ref>

===Media coverage and public reaction===
A fair amount{{Clarify|reason=vague|date=May 2019}} of media coverage was centered on the events of Byrdsong's death and his achievements as a former Northwestern basketball coach. In 2000, an award was created in his honor by the Illinois Fatherhood Initiative. Anya Cordell, Byrdsong's neighbor, wrote the anti-hate crime book ''Race: An Open and Shut Case''.  Cordell said that she was inspired by the urge to combat the hate that fueled Benjamin Smith's deadly shooting rampage. Byrdsong's children also received college scholarships from the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, an organization which helps victims of families from hate crimes.

In 2009, a documentary about Byrdsong, entitled ''Fly Like the Byrd'', was created by Northwestern students from the [[Medill School of Journalism]]. The 25-minute documentary examines race relations and how his legacy has lived on, ten years later.<ref>[https://vimeo.com/5204860 Fly Like The Byrd], Vimeo, Retrieved on January 23, 2018</ref>

==The Ricky Byrdsong Foundation==
His widow established The Ricky Byrdsong Foundation. Its mission is to "arrest the growing epidemic of hate and violence in our society by and against our youth."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://events.ywcae-ns.org/site/TR?sid=1022&pg=informational&fr_id=1090|title=Race Against Hate 2019|website=events.ywcae-ns.org}}</ref>

The foundation holds a number of events in and around Evanston; the most well-known is the '''Race Against Hate''', a [[5000 metres|5K]] running race held annually in late June in Evanston. The Race Against Hate race draws several thousand runners. In 2009, a 10,000-meter running race was added in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Race Against Hate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://events.ywcae-ns.org/site/TR/Events/General?pg=entry&fr_id=1090|title=Race Against Hate 2019|website=events.ywcae-ns.org}}</ref>

==Head coaching record==
{{CBB Yearly Record Start | type = | conference = | postseason = | poll = }}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Detroit Titans men's basketball|Detroit Titans]]
 | conference = [[Horizon League|Midwestern Collegiate Conference]]
 | startyear  = 1988
 | endyear    = 1993
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1988–89]]
 | name         = Detroit
 | overall      = 7–21
 | conference   = 4–8
 | confstanding = 5th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1989–90 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1989–90]]
 | name         = Detroit
 | overall      = 10–18
 | conference   = 3–11
 | confstanding = T-6th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1990–91 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1990–91]]
 | name         = Detroit
 | overall      = 9–19
 | conference   = 2–12
 | confstanding = 8th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1991–92 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1991–92]]
 | name         = Detroit
 | overall      = 12–17
 | conference   = 1–9
 | confstanding = 6th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1992–93 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1992–93]]
 | name         = Detroit
 | overall      = 15–12
 | conference   = 7–7
 | confstanding = 4th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Detroit
 | overall    = 53–87
 | confrecord = 17–47
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball|Northwestern Wildcats]]
 | conference = [[Big Ten Conference]]
 | startyear  = 1993
 | endyear    = 1997
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1993–94 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1993–94]]
 | name         = Northwestern
 | overall      = 15–14
 | conference   = 5–13
 | confstanding = T–10th
 | postseason   = [[1994 National Invitation Tournament|NIT Second Round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1994–95 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1994–95]]
 | name         = Northwestern
 | overall      = 5–22
 | conference   = 1–17
 | confstanding = 11th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1995–96]]
 | name         = Northwestern
 | overall      = 9–18
 | conference   = 4–14
 | confstanding = 10th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1996–97]]
 | name         = Northwestern
 | overall      = 7–22
 | conference   = 2–16
 | confstanding = 11th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Northwestern
 | overall    = 36–76
 | confrecord = 12–60
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record End
 | overall = 89–163
 | legend  = no
}}

==See also==
* [[List of homicides in Illinois]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Detroit Titans men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball coach navbox}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrdsong, Ricky}}
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:1999 deaths]]
[[Category:1999 murders in the United States]]
[[Category:African-American basketball coaches]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Arizona Wildcats men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Basketball coaches from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Atlanta]]
[[Category:Detroit Mercy Titans men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in Illinois]]
[[Category:Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Murdered African-American people]]
[[Category:Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:People murdered in Illinois]]
[[Category:Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:Pratt Beavers men's basketball players]]