Robert Lee Watson (August 8, 1942 – December 13, 1977) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach. He was in his first season as a head coach for the Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team when he and his team were killed in the 1977 Air Indiana Flight 216 crash. Watson was a

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

player for the

VMI Keydets The VMI Keydets are the athletic teams that represent the Virginia Military Institute. All sports participate in the NCAA Division I, and all but three compete in the Southern Conference (the exceptions being men's and women's swimming and diving ...

and began his coaching career at a Virginia high school. His early coaching career was interrupted by two stints in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

but he returned as an assistant coach for the

Xavier Musketeers The Xavier Musketeers are the 16 teams representing Xavier University in intercollegiate athletics, including men's and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field. The Musk ...

. Watson first came to prominence as the head coach for the Ferrum Panthers from 1971 to 1973. He worked as an assistant coach for the

Wake Forest Demon Deacons The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Wake Forest University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a mem ...

and the

Oral Roberts Golden Eagles The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles are the sixteen college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oral Roberts University, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Golden Eagles compete at the National Collegiate Athle ...

. Watson was hired as the head coach of the Purple Aces in 1977 for their first season as a member of

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

competition and had amassed a 1–3 record at the time of his death.

College and military career

Watson was a star basketball and

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player while he attended

Bethel Park High School Bethel Park High School, also called BPHS, is a four-year, comprehensive high school located in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, with an enrollment of 1,391 students in grades 9–12 for the 2018–2019 school year. Its curri ...

in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, and was offered a basketball scholarship to attend the

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

. He played

for the

from 1961 to 1964, where he led the team in rebounds during his sophomore and senior seasons. Watson served as a team captain during his senior season when the Keydets won the 1964 Southern Conference championship. Instead of playing professionally, Watson embarked on a coaching career immediately after the end of his college stint and was hired by

William Fleming High School William Fleming High School is a public school, one of the only two public high schools in the Roanoke City area school division, the other being the Patrick Henry High School. The edifice itself is located at 3649 Ferncliff Ave. Roanoke, Virgin ...

in Roanoke, Virginia. Watson entered the

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in 1965 and served two tours in the

as a member of the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

. He was shot out of a helicopter three times and once narrowly escaped death when his disabled helicopter fell 75 feet into a rice

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, which cushioned the crash. Watson was awarded two

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

s, the

Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

and five

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

Coaching career

Assistant roles and Ferrum College

After his first eighteen-month Vietnam tour, he served as an assistant coach for the

for one season. He returned to the Musketeers after his second Vietnam stint in 1969. Watson was highly regarded for his prospect recruiting abilities while serving under head coach George Krajack, who had personally recruited Watson to the program. When Krajack resigned in 1971, Watson also left the Musketeers out of loyalty to Krajack. Watson desired a head coaching role and discovered a vacancy at

Ferrum College , mottoeng = Not Self, But Others , established = , type = Private college , president = David L. Johns , city = Ferrum, Virginia , country = U.S. , c ...

while reading a newspaper. He served as the head coach for the Ferrum Panthers men's basketball team from 1971 to 1973 and amassed a 61–8 record. Watson's success at Ferrum brought him national attention, including a head coaching offer from the Musketeers. He instead accepted an offer to become an assistant coach for the

and served there from 1973 to 1974. In 1974, he was hired as an assistant coach for the

Evansville

Watson was offered the head coaching job for the Evansville Purple Aces in 1977 after the previous candidate, Jerry Sloan, had turned down the offer following a week with the program. It was the Aces' first season in 31 years without head coach

Arad McCutchan Arad A. McCutchan (July 4, 1912 – June 16, 1993) was a collegiate basketball coach. The Evansville, Indiana, native coached his hometown University of Evansville from 1946 to 1977, guiding the Purple Aces to a 514–314 record. McCutchan spent ...

, who had led the team to five

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

championships. It was also the team's first season as a member of

and Watson entered the program with high expectations. Watson promised to stay with the Aces "as long as

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will have me." Watson had an excellent recruitment period and signed nine freshmen to join the team for the 1977–78 season, whom he believed to be "as fine a nucleus as we could have brought in for the coming years." He also launched public relation campaigns with local community leaders to improve ticket sales and ultimately sold 1,000 new season tickets in the few weeks after he was hired. Evansville business manager Bob Hudson stated, "I've never seen a man work so hard or more so fast." Watson came to be seen by Aces supporters as the savior of their program. The Aces lost their first two games of the season to the

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and the

DePaul Blue Demons The DePaul Blue Demons are the athletic teams that represent DePaul University, located in Chicago, Illinois. The Blue Demons participate in NCAA Division I and are a member of the Big East Conference. DePaul’s Athletic Director is DeWayne ...

. Their first and only win of the season came on December 6, 1977, against the Pittsburgh Panthers. After the game, Watson remarked, "I've been involved in a lot of wins, but few sweeter than that one." The Aces' final game was a loss on December 10, 1977, against the

Indiana State Sycamores The Indiana State Sycamores are the NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic teams of Indiana State University. Since the 1977–78 academic year, Indiana State has been a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). The Indiana State foot ...

. After the game, Watson stated that his team needed more courage and mental toughness when playing away games. On December 13, 1977, the Purple Aces were to fly to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, to play the

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders are the men's and women's athletic teams at Middle Tennessee State University, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. MT athletic teams participate in NCAA Division I (Bowl Subdivision in football) in Conference USA. MT com ...

the following night. The Aces teams under McCutchan would often travel to away games on the same day, but Watson preferred to fly a day early to allow his players to practice on the host's court. The team's plane had been delayed by three hours due to bad weather. Shortly after take-off at around 7:20pm from the Evansville Regional Airport, the plane suffered an engine failure and crashed, which killed all 29 people on board. Watson was the only coach on board the flight as his assistant coaches were on

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assignments at the time. The University of Evansville cancelled the rest of the Purple Aces' season after briefly considering carrying on with a substitute team, which Evansville athletic director Jim Byers stated would be what Watson would have wanted.

Legacy

Watson was inducted into the Evansville Purple Aces Hall of Fame in 1978 and the Ferrum College Alumni Sports Hall of Fame in 1997. Ferrum College offers the Bobby Watson Endowed Scholarship, which is awarded to students with an interest in athletics.

References

External links

Coaching record
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Bobby 1942 births 1977 deaths United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball players from Pennsylvania Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball coaches Ferrum Panthers men's basketball coaches High school basketball coaches in Virginia People from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States VMI Keydets basketball players Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball coaches Xavier Musketeers men's basketball coaches