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The Legacy of a Life Well Lived
Mr. Lee A. Bishop, ’70, was the first Black American from his high school to win a full four-year collegiate scholarship, one of the first Black athletes on Cumberlands’ campus, the first Black American to graduate from Cumberlands, and the first Black head basketball coach in the Fifth Region for the Fort Knox Eagles.
Lee wasn’t aware of many of his life’s firsts until later on, and he never set out to be a trailblazer.
“I was simply trying to improve my plight in life by going to college and being the best that I could be,” he said, “I look at my ‘firsts’ as the results of trusting in God, preparation, and being in the right place at the right time.”
Breaking the Cycle
Neither of Lee’s parents – in fact, none of his close family members – had graduated high school, let alone college. Growing up, Lee watched his parents struggle to make ends meet and knew he had to do something different in his life if he wanted different results.
“We were dirt poor, and I often dreamed of the better things in life,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, I would not change my childhood for anything in the world. My parents loved and cared for us the best they could. They gave us a good Christian home and a set of morals to live by. Still, we lived within a few hundred yards of the Cumberland River, and periodically the area would flood, and everything would be destroyed. I often dreamed of having a better place to live.”
But dreams only get you so far, he realized; eventually, you have to get up and do something to make them a reality.
His ticket to a better life came in an unexpected form – playing basketball for Cumberland College. Those who knew Lee as one of the star basketball players in college might not know this, but Lee was mostly a bench warmer until his junior year of high school. As a kid, he played in a church league coached by high schoolers. The league had one major rule: every player played one half of every game. Fair enough. But if you played for one second of one quarter, that counted as a whole quarter. Do that twice and you’ve played your allotted half.
“That two-second player was me. My freshman year, I tried again, but I didn’t make my school’s team. Sophomore year, I made it, but I wasn’t that great. Junior year, I made varsity. Why? Because all the better players had graduated. My basketball career had an auspicious start,” Lee joked. “But I grew five inches from freshman to junior year – from 5’11” to 6’4” – and I was a good jumper with decent timing and ability to block shots. Junior year, I learned to play.”
Later, as a senior, Lee averaged 18 points and 18 rebounds a game with “a boat load” of blocked shots. The team went 21 – 6. Lee said, “I’m thinking that’s why Cumberland was so interested in me.”
Sports are not academics, and Lee knew he needed to apply himself in both arenas in order to succeed at Cumberlands and beyond. In high school, Lee had struggled, but his parents had encouraged him and pushed him to keep trying.
“They were understanding and believed I was going to be and do greater things, things they never had an opportunity to do,” Lee said.
His perseverance was rewarded – he was offered three scholarship possibilities from two different schools. When Lee found out he’d received the scholarships, he was “elated – apprehensive, but elated.” He played four years of basketball at Cumberlands while majoring in history with a minor in sociology.
As the oldest child, Lee was responsible for setting a good example for his six younger siblings. Each one of them attended college after watching their older brother do it first. Though it wasn’t his intent, Lee had opened a door for his brothers and sisters.
College Days
Cumberland College amended its articles of incorporation on February 3, 1966, allowing integration on campus. That spring, Lee graduated from high school, and in fall he was one of the first – and one of the only – Black students to set foot on campus as an enrolled student. He had no idea at the time he was one of the firsts, and he was used to being one of the only; his hometown of Pineville, Kentucky, had a small Black population as well, so it was normal to him. To Lee’s recollection, he was never “mistreated” or “hampered” in any way at Cumberlands.
“Cumberland, the faculty, and the students will always hold a special place in my heart. They are my college family,” he said. “I loved the campus, I loved the people, and that love was mutual. When I enrolled at Cumberland and spent my first night on campus, it was the first time in my life that I fell asleep away from home and family. What could have been a difficult transition was eased by Dr. Boswell, Dr. Broome, and Coach Renfro. They made me feel at home.”
“I was struck by the friendliness of the campus,” he continued. “I was never in a situation where I was uncomfortable. The comradery of the basketball team, the fans, and the faculty are all fond memories I have of Cumberland.”
In his free time, he and roommate Raymond Cox, ’70, would shoot pool or grab a meal at the restaurant across Route 92. On campus, he and his friends gathered at the library, the Wigwam, or the dorms. Those hours of relaxing and goofing off with friends were hard-earned between Lee’s studies and rigorous basketball schedule.
To Lee, there was nothing like the atmosphere in Gatliff Gym during basketball games. Packed with a couple hundred raved fans, a spirited pep band, and the action of the game itself, the gym pulsed with palpable energy. The team played a tough schedule, and they played hard. Three players especially stood out: Lee for his rebounds and ability to protect the middle, Raymond Cox for his versatility on both defense and offense, and Bob Long, ’71, whom Lee described as “an offensive assassin.” All three were inducted into Cumberlands’ Athletic Hall of Fame.
Back to the Classroom
When Lee was in high school, he couldn’t wait to graduate. He never wanted to be in an educational setting again. Lo and behold, he became a teacher.
“Teaching was in the cards for me. I wanted to make a difference,” he said. “I wanted to make learning fun and ensure that my students knew that I showed up to teach for their benefit and not just to collect a check. I guess I did a precursor to differential learning; I never counted tests more than 25 percent of their grade, things like that.”
Following his graduation from Cumberlands, Lee was drafted into the U.S. Army and stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. After his two-year commitment was up, he attended Western Kentucky University and earned a master’s degree. He then spent a year teaching in his hometown, becoming the first Black American to teach in the Pineville County school system, before he took a teaching position at Fort Knox High School, where he worked for the next 37 years.
Lee viewed teaching like any other vocation in that it was a means to affording his dreams.
“However,” he said, “in teaching seeing a student succeed it is far better than any financial compensation. It brought me to tears seeing students who struggled in high school doing better than anyone expected in adulthood.”
Case in point: 20 years ago, Lee ran into a student who didn’t think Lee remembered him. Lee said his name, "John," and John lowered his head and began to weep. John told Lee about a time when he had told his friends he wanted to become a teacher someday, and those friends doubted his ability. They made fun of him and called him a dummy. But John always held to something Lee had told him – that he could be anything he wanted to be if he was willing to work for it. That sounded like Lee; years prior, Lee had seen a quote on TV that he’d made his life motto and subsequently put on his classroom’s blackboard for all his students to see: Happy are those who dream dreams and are willing to pay the price to make them come true. Lee said similar things all the time. John then asked him, “You know where I went to college?” Lee said no. “Cumberland.” Lee told all his classes about his alma mater as a way to introduce himself to new students. Without realizing it, he’d had made such an impression on John that John decided to follow in those footsteps. After John finished his bachelor’s degree, he received a scholarship to Belmont College (now University) in Nashville, Tennessee, and completed his master’s. Standing there with John and hearing how what Lee had said to him had changed the trajectory of his life, Lee felt like a king.
Teaching goes hand in hand with coaching, and Lee coached basketball for many years, with much success. Over the years, he also assisted in coaching football, track, slow pitch softball, and swimming (despite the fact that he couldn’t swim), and he eventually became the athletic director and the transportation coordinator for athletic activities. But coaching was his first love.
“Sports mirrors life, and life mirrors sports. Every game is life or death. Whether you win or lose, the next opponent is the game of your life. Once that game is over, the next game is life or death,” Lee said. “Life is the same way. Everything you do is life-altering only to move on to the next challenge. That, to me, is why athletics is so important; it mimics life. Constant struggles and outcome, then the next struggle.” Mental toughness and personal responsibility are also key, in his opinion.
“You cannot allow public opinion to dictate how you live your life,” he said. “We only have one life, and we are responsible for what happens during our time on Earth. If you allow others to improperly influence you, in the end, you are the one held accountable, both on this side and the other.”
Retirement
Lee retired in 2010. Soon after, his wife started having a series of medical situations which kept them close to home. In his free time, Lee began tinkering in the garage, and, thanks to YouTube videos and some trial and error, he became good at woodworking. Sadly, on September 17, 2020, his high school sweetheart and wife of more than 50 years passed away. His soul was ripped apart.
He said, “I was somewhat joyless and selfish for a while after her passing. I miss her so, but I’ve come to realize that she is in a better place, and she is in no more pain. I’m so pleased God allowed her to see our son mature and watch our daughter succeed in her career.”
Nowadays, Lee loves spending time with his children and his grandson, Jordan. He picks Jordan up from school every day. Jordan loves to hear the exploits of his uncles and his father in athletics and he wants to be an athlete himself.
“He is such a joy. Grandchildren are much more fun than children,” he said. “Sorry, Stacy and Robert. I still love you!”
Lee is now 73 years old and living in Kentucky. It’s been 50 years since he was a Cumberlands student, and he believes his college experience was one of the best things that happened to him. It shaped his career and his future. He’s lived a great life, and he’s happy. Incredibly, he has also encouraged thousands of young people to pursue their dreams – and be prepared to work hard to make them happen. If there’s a life that is a testament to the power of hope and the reward of perseverance, it’s Lee’s, and he is deeply grateful.
