When Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier in 1947, it began a movement of integration in sports that would change the lives of many young Black athletes. The same is true for Seton Hall University, which has a vibrant history of Black athletes upon which the foundations of many of its athletic programs were built. Without these athletes, and the countless others who are not as recognized in the university’s history books, Seton Hall athletics would not stand to be what it is today. The story begins only two years after Jackie took the diamond for the Brooklyn Dodgers, in 1949.
Bobby Hurt making a left-handed layup vs. Boston College | Photo via Seton Hall Athletics | The Setonian
Bobby Hurt
Seton Hall’s 1949 men’s basketball team saw the arrival of Robert “Bobby” Hurt, a New Jersey native who was ranked as the best high school basketball player in the state. Hurt was the first African American athlete for Seton Hall’s men’s basketball, paving the way for others to come. A left-handed shooter and tenacious rebounder, Hurt was a key part of Seton Hall’s success, helping to lay the foundation for the team’s future dominance. Hurt capped off his career with the Pirates with a 24-win season, playing alongside future Pirate Hall of Famers Richie Regan and Walter Dukes.
Unfortunately, Hurt’s time at Seton Hall was cut short by war. Hurt was drafted to serve his country in the Korean War and later received a Purple Heart medal for his admirable courage and valor. After the war, Hurt returned to Seton Hall and received his diploma in 1956. He passed away in 1995 but left behind an unforgettable legacy of family, courage, and determination that would change Seton Hall's history forever.
Walter Dukes
A household name among Seton Hall basketball fans, Walter Dukes was one of the greatest to ever don the blue and white. The heart of the legendary 1952-53 team, Dukes led the Pirates to a 31-2 record and an NIT Championship, while setting the record for rebounds (734) and receiving All-American honors.
After graduating from Seton Hall, Dukes went on to have a successful NBA career, where he played for the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Detroit Pistons. Highlights of his professional career include a career double-double average in points (10.4 ppg) and rebounds (11.3 ppg), two All-Star appearances in 1960 and 1961, and a short tenure with the Harlem Globetrotters. Dukes passed away in 2001 of natural causes, and his jersey number five was retired by Seton Hall.
Geraldine Saintilus-Smith
Taking the hardwood for the Pirates in the late 1980s was Geraldine Saintilus-Smith, who turned Seton Hall women’s basketball into a BIG EAST powerhouse. Saintilus-Smith was an unstoppable scorer, and the longtime holder of the Seton Hall all-time scoring record with 1,804 points in her four years with the Pirates, before being surpassed by Lauren Park Lane with 1,905 points in 2023 and Tabatha Richarson-Smith with 1,925 in 2016.
With the Pirates, she had an impressive senior season where she averaged 21.8 points per game and received several honors including the 1986 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and an honorable mention for Kodak All-American. Following her time at Seton Hall, Saintilus-Smith played internationally and later returned to the States to serve as an NCAA official.
Jerry Alexander
Before Pirate football became a varsity program, split-end Jerry Alexander paved the way for the team to reach the next level. One of the most dominant receivers in Seton Hall history, Alexander tallied 912 receiving yards in just three seasons of play. In the 1972 season, he led the Pirates to an Empire Bowl Football National Championship with 38 receptions, 668 yards, and six touchdowns. He also received Club Football All-American honors that same season.
At the time, club football was entirely crowd-funded, and financial support from alumni and the Student Government Association were the only things keeping the team on Owen T. Carroll Field. Rallying behind Alexander in 1973, the team was elevated to a Division III football program, which would last 10 years before the program was dissolved in 1982. In the short lifespan of Seton Hall varsity football, Alexander was the wide receiver coach from 1975-76. Without Alexander, perhaps the history of Seton Hall varsity football would not exist at all.
Marteese Robinson
Being the last player to wear the number nine for the Seton Hall baseball team before his number was retired, Marteese Robinson was one of the best to ever take the diamond for the Pirates. In 1987, Robinson batted an incredible .529, the third-highest NCAA batting average of all time. Robinson also had 90 RBIs and stole 56 bases in the 1987 season, culminating in a program-first BIG EAST Championship.
Following the 1987 season, Robinson was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the sixth round, playing four years in minor league baseball for their minor league affiliate, and eventually reaching the AA level with the Huntsville Stars. He had a career .266 batting average of .266 in the minors with 24 home runs and 39 stolen bases. Robinson later worked as a scout in the MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays, St. Louis Cardinals, and Washington Nationals before coaching young talent with hopes of making it to the big leagues at Morristown Beard School in Morristown, New Jersey.
Maurice “Mo” Vaughn
Maurice “Mo” Vaughn was a star with Seton Hall and in the MLB. As a freshman, Vaughn hit an impressive .429, including 28 home runs, and received All-American, All-BIG EAST, and BIG EAST Rookie of the Year recognitions. Vaughn also led the Pirates to a conference championship, hitting .500 throughout the entire tournament and being named MVP for the BIG EAST Championship. Vaughn left Seton Hall with a .416 batting average, 57 home runs, and 218 RBIs.
Vaughn was the 23rd pick of the 1989 MLB draft, signing with the Boston Red Sox. The “Hit Dog,” as he was affectionately called, received three All-Star selections, a Silver Slugger Award, American League MVP honors, and induction into the Red Sox Hall of Fame. When the MLB retired Jackie’s number 42 in 1997, Vaughn, along with Yankee legend Mariano Rivera, was allowed to continue wearing the number until the end of his career. Vaughn’s career spanned 12 seasons, playing for the Red Sox, Anaheim Angels, and New York Mets.
Shana Williams
One of the greatest Seton Hall athletes of all time, long jumper Shana Williams was a track and field superstar, history-maker, and Olympian. Williams was a 13-time BIG EAST champion, and the first woman in conference history to win the high jump four times. Williams received prolific NCAA honors, including seven NCAA All-American honors, two BIG EAST Academic All-Star recognitions, and BIG EAST Outstanding Field Performer honors.
Williams represented the U.S. in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. She took home gold at the 1998 Goodwill Games, received a silver medal at the 1999 World Indoor Championships in Maebashi, Japan, and won the USA Indoor Championships two times (1996 and 1999). Her professional career ended in 2001, with a final appearance and fourth-place finish in the US Outdoor Championship. She received her diploma in exercise science the same year from Syracuse University, but she remains a Seton Hall legend.
Flirtisha Harris
The fastest sprinter in Seton Hall women’s track and field history, Flirtisha Harris had one of the most prolific four-year careers in the NCAA. Harris held records in the outdoor 200m and 400m, as well in the indoor 55m, 200m, and 400m runs. Harris was dominant in both relay and individual sprinting, with a stellar 1994 performance in the NCAA Championships where she won the 400m sprint and led the 1600m relay to two wins. Harris boasts countless accolades, including 13 NCAA All-Americans, BIG EAST Most Outstanding Performer, NCAA District 2 Female Track Athlete of the Year, N.J. Sportswriter’s Association Woman of the Year, and Eastern Track College Women’s Athlete of the Year.
Representing the United States, she won gold in the 200m and 4x100m relay at the Summer Universiade in 1993. At the 1995 World Indoor Championships, Harris took home bronze in the 4x400m relay. Harris earned even greater recognition at the 1995 Pan American Games, where she won bronze in the 400m, gold in the 4x100m relay, and silver in the 4x400m relay. Both Harris’ collegiate and professional career puts her as not only Seton Hall’s greatest female athlete but also as one of the greatest athletes in Seton Hall's history.
Gerson Echeverry
Seton Hall soccer legend Gerson Echeverry was one of the greatest Pirates to ever take the pitch. In three years with the program, Echeverry led the Pirates to back-to-back regular season titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances. In his historic 1991 season, Echeverry finished with 52 points (total combined goals and assists), which was third in the entire country. He was BIG EAST Player of the Year honors, BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, and was named to the third team in All-American selections that season.
Echeverry’s first taste of professional soccer was with the Richmond Kickers of the United Systems of Independence Soccer Leagues (USISL) in 1995, followed by a short stint with Cortoluá in Colombia in 1996. Echeverry was then drafted by D.C. United in 1997. He then went on to play with the New York Red Bulls, who were known then as the MetroStars. After a brief time in the MLS, he returned to the USISL, and later to the National Professional Soccer League to play two seasons of indoor soccer.
Echeverry later served on Seton Hall soccer’s coaching staff as an assistant and head coach from 2004-2017. He also served as assistant and head coach for Rio Grande Valley from 2018-2023. After coaching Rio Grande Valley, he now serves as the assistant coach for the Las Vegas Lights of the United Soccer League (USL). Since his first game at Seton Hall, Echeverry has gained nearly 35 years of experience playing and coaching soccer.
A Program Defined by the Past
From the golden age of Seton Hall basketball to the elite athletes of the women’s track and field program, Seton Hall athletics has had a rich history of Black athletes whose impact on their programs will last forever. What exists today is a culmination of the efforts of these athletes and others who pushed the boundaries of what was thought to be impossible.
“The history is there for us to interpret,” said Dr. Charles Grantham, director of the Department of Sports Management, former executive director of the NBPA, and architect of the first collective bargaining and revenue sharing policies in the NBA.
“This is business as well. Take basketball, for example …we were marketing a predominantly Black sport to America,” said Grantham. “The foundation is there for all of us to learn and understand, and I’m hoping that these young athletes today recognize the ‘Jackie Robinson’ in each sport.”
The impact of Black athletes at Seton Hall stretches further beyond the history books and continues to change and enrich lives for the better to this day.
Anselm Lebourne, Seton Hall cross country assistant coach and business professor, is an alumnus of the university who has an extensive list of accolades. He earned nine gold medals in the 800m and 1500m at the World Masters Track and Field Championships. He is also an 18-time Masters record holder, a seven-time Masters Athlete of the Year, and a four-time New York Masters Road Mile Champion.
He spoke on the importance of Black athletes in the history of Seton Hall athletics: “Just to get an opportunity as a Black athlete to have attended Seton Hall and get a four-year scholarship, and to be the first one in my family to have graduated from college, it was an excellent opportunity that was offered by [the university]. Being that this is Black History Month and looking back, it was great for Seton Hall to offer a person like me a full athletic scholarship [which was] fully paid for.”
Black History Month is a time to reflect on those who shaped the conditions of the present, and Seton Hall athletics is no exception. If it were not for the Black athletes of the past that helped redefine what it means to be a Pirate, then Seton Hall athletics would not be what it is today. These athletes embodied the motto “Hazard Zet Forward,” and hopefully serve to inspire the Seton Hall athletes and students of today.
Christian Hui is a writer for The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at christian.hui@student.shu.edu.
