District of Columbia radio sports talk pioneer Harold Bell and sports historian Earl Telfair pass along news of the death early this month of Avatus Stone, 69, one of the best and most versatile athletes to come out of the District’s Interhigh League back in the mid-1940s.
Stone lettered in football, basketball and baseball from 1944 to ‘46 at the old Armstrong High School and later was a triple-threat quarterback at Syracuse. He also played defensive back for the Orangemen and was considered one of the East’s best punters before missing his entire senior season because of a leg injury.
Telfair is working on a book called “How Soon We Forget,” which chronicles the exploits of many outstanding athletes from the District. It is scheduled for release in January and should bring back delicious memories for older fans.
Lenny Moore, the Baltimore Colts’ Hall of Fame running back, recalls how Stone had a brief tryout with the club as a punter in the mid ‘50s.
“He didn’t kick well that day, and he didn’t make the team.” Moore said, “but I had heard stories of his exploits at Syracuse for years. Until I met Avatus, I thought he was a white player, because you didn’t find too many African Americans playing at white schools or in the NFL back then.”
In fact, Stone not Jim Brown was the first black star at Syracuse in the early ‘50s, beating Brown by several years. Afterward, he played in the Canadian Football League and was named outstanding player in the Eastern Division for 1955.
Stone later taught and coached at Phelps Vocational High School here before becoming national director of recruiting for minority colleges with the Peace Corps. The ranks of those who saw him play sports in the District is thinning, but he remains a shining light of athletic accomplishment in these parts.
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