Contact: Colleen Roche/Samantha Lugo (212) 788-2958
"With the death of Junius Kellogg last September, New York City lost a dedicated public servant, an athlete of remarkable ability, and a man of courage and dignity. Junius Kellogg's courageous deeds still resonate today, and his life should serve as a model for people everywhere, and especially for those who serve this City. This auditorium will be another reminder of his tremendous contributions to this agency and to all New Yorkers," Mayor Giuliani said.
It was Junius Kellogg's heroic refusal to take a $1,000 bribe from a gambler in January 1951, when he was a star center on the Manhattan College basketball team that uncovered and destroyed a point-shaving gambling operation. After his professional career with the Harlem Globetrotters ended tragically in 1954 when he was paralyzed in a car crash, Junius worked tirelessly with physically challenged men, women and children.
From 1957 to 1966, Kellogg worked for Pan American Airlines and coached the Pan Am Jets to four international championships in wheelchair basketball. Since 1964, he served in several City agencies, working with youth programs in communities all over the City.
In 1998, Manhattan College awarded Kellogg with an honorary Doctorate Law Degree.