Bobby Jack Sumler - Hooptown USA - HALL of Fame 2021
By the first Hoopfest in 1990, Bobby Jack Sumler had played on and ruled nearly every basketball court in Spokane.
By the first Hoopfest in 1990, Bobby Jack Sumler had played on and ruled nearly every basketball court in Spokane.
It was only natural that he would take part in the 3-on-3 tournament between the curbs on Spokane Falls Boulevard in his hometown.
Of course, there wasn't an official elite division in that very first Hoopfest, but Bobby Jack played anyway. And after the tournament godfathers approved an elite division, he rose to the top, and won the first two championships in 1991 and 1992 with Swackhammer's team that included Randy Smith, David Peed, Arnold Brown, Dexter Griffin, and Kemo Patrick. Names Hoopfest aficionados appreciate.
Bobby didn’t know he would become a foundational part of something that would put the city on the map—the largest 3-on-3 basketball event and the Best Basketball Weekend on Earth, as they say.
Bobby Jack Sumler is the first playing inductee in the Hoopfest wing of the Hooptown Hall of Fame.
The tournament was a success from the beginning, and Sumler's participation gave it instant credibility. He was, and three decades later, remains Spokane's one enduring playground legend, although he maintains that he never looked at it that way. "I never played the game for accolades or trophies or what people were saying," Sumler said, "I never set out to be an MVP. I just played because I love basketball and I love to compete."
When he was a teenager, Sumler moved to Spokane with his family from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He had never heard of Spokane and thought they were headed to Washington, D.C.