Henry Logan, the Western Carolina University Hall of Fame basketball player who was the first black athlete at the school, died at age 78 on July 26, according to WCU. 

Logan was destined for a long career of professional stardom. But early in his second season he blew out his knee and never played another game. He was known as “The Little Guy Who Could Fly.” Barely 6 feet tall, Logan reportedly possessed unearthly jumping ability.

“Logan won two state titles at Stephens-Lee, the all-black, segregated high school that closed a year after his graduation as the   Asheville school system integrated in the mid-1960s, years after desegregation was mandated by federal law,” the Asheville Citizen Times reported on July 27. “Logan was believed to be the first black athlete to play basketball at any predominantly white institution in the Southeast.

“By the end of his four-year Catamount career, he had rewritten the school record book (3,290 career points), and his leaping, dribbling and passing ability had turned WCU games into must-see events. He drew spectators from all over the region, with some hitchhiking their way to Cullowhee to get a glimpse of the fabled guard who ‘could fly.’”

In April, Logan told the ACT, “When they talk about (my accomplishments), I think, ‘Did I do all that?’ I still can’t believe it. But it must have happened, because they’re talking about it.”

He was selected in the fourth round of the 1968 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics. He was also selected by the Oakland Oaks of the American Basketball Association. Logan is credited with helping the Oaks win the 1969 ABA championship. He was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.

We bid a fond farewell to Logan — and congratulate him for setting a good example through his hard work, accomplishments and good character.