26 Walter Hodge

Walter Hodge was born Walter Velmer Hodge on September 18, 1915, in London, Kentucky, to Walter V. Hodge Sr. and Carrie Moore. He later lived in Paris, Kentucky, where he graduated from Paris High School before attending the Hun School in Princeton, New Jersey. At Paris, Hodge was an all-state fullback and one of Kentucky’s most highly regarded ball carriers and punters.

Hodge entered the University of Kentucky on a football scholarship and became a two-sport athlete. He earned a numeral as a member of Kentucky’s freshman basketball team before joining Adolph Rupp’s varsity squad.

As a sophomore in 1936–37, the 6-foot-3 Hodge appeared in 20 games and scored 78 points while establishing himself as one of Kentucky’s best defensive guards. Contemporary accounts praised his alert floor play and his ability to disrupt opposing offenses. He helped the Wildcats finish 17–5 and capture the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship.

Although Hodge did not record varsity basketball statistics during the 1937–38 season, he remained a prominent Kentucky athlete as a fullback on the football team. Knee trouble, however, increasingly limited his athletic career.

Hodge returned to basketball as a senior in 1938–39 but appeared in only three games, scoring three points, before leaving the team because of his recurring knee injury. Kentucky went on to finish 16–4 and win both the SEC regular-season and tournament championships.

Hodge delivered some of his finest basketball performances against prominent opponents. He scored a career-high eight points against Berea on December 12, 1936, and was described as Kentucky’s best second-team performer. Against Notre Dame, he turned in what the Kentucky Kernel called the best floor game by a Wildcat, repeatedly breaking up the Ramblers’ scoring attempts. He followed that effort with another defensive standout performance against Creighton and held Tennessee star Harry Putman to only three points in each of their three meetings. Hodge completed his Kentucky career with 81 points in 23 games.

During World War II, Hodge served four years in the United States Marine Corps and was discharged with the rank of major. He then worked for the federal government in an assignment attached to the Navy from 1946 until his retirement in 1977. Hodge died in Coronado, California, on February 10, 1980, at age 64. He was survived by his wife, Lucy; his son, David; and his sister, Margie Mooneyhan.