Abilene Author: Garner Roberts

A trip to the dentist about 10 years ago turned out to be a pleasant and rewarding experience for both Garner Roberts and Bubba Ephriam.

The dentist introduced Roberts to Ephriam, who also was one of his patients. That meeting led to a book, Bubba Ephriam: Black Texas Basketball Trailblazer. The book, which was published in 2024 by Abilene Christian University Press, tells the story of the first black student to play in the University Interscholastic League state basketball tournament in Austin.

The fact that Ephriam played for Pecos High School and that the tournament was held in 1957 makes the story that much more compelling. Hours spent researching the book was a learning experience for Roberts, an ACU graduate who is retired as sports information director at ACU and a part-time writer/editor for Zachry Publications.

“My research for this book and conversations with Bubba and others certainly educated me about these pivotal years of segregation, integration and civil rights in the 1950s – not only across the U.S. but also here in Abilene and West Texas,” he said.

After two years at Pecos High School, Ephriam joined the U.S. Navy in 1958 and served for 10 years, including tours of duty in the Vietnam War, other conflicts in southeast Asia and in the Pacific. He is now 86 and lives in Abilene, where he moved in 1986 to help care for his mother.

Bubba Ephriam: Black Texas Basketball Trailblazer is available at Texas Star Trading Company, 174 Cypress St.

By Loretta Fulton

RELATED: Abilene Author: Al Pickett