Hall of Fame
One of the Fighting Camels’ all-time basketball greats, Bob Vernon was inducted into the Campbell Athletics Hall of Fame on Apr. 25, 1986.
A 6-foot shooting guard, Vernon was highly acclaimed from the minute he set foot on the Campbell campus, but he more that lived up to his press clippings. During his two seasons at Campbell, the Fighting Camels won two-straight North Carolina junior college championships while compiling an overall record of 44-5 under the direction of head coach Fred McCall.
The 1954-55 Camels finished 23-3, including an 18-0 conference record and climaxed the season by capturing the state title. Vernon was selected MVP in the state tournament as he led the Camels to a second-straight NC junior college championship.
Vernon’s outstanding leadership was rewarded in his sophomore campaign at Campbell as he was chosen as co-captain of the basketball team. The Vernon-led Camels went 21-2 in ’55-56 and won a third-consecutive state championship. He was again named MVP of the state tourney and capped his career with a 33-point effort in the title game vs. Chowan.
Vernon was named honorable mention All-American in 1956 and was voted “Most Athletic” by his Campbell classmates.
He went on to Duke University, where he helped the 1957-58 Blue Devils win their first Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title. A starter on that squad that finished 18-7 and was ranked fifth in the nation, Vernon averaged 14 points and was named second-team All-ACC both in the regular season and tournament.
Vernon returned to his native New Jersey, where he began teaching in the Willingboro school system in 1961. He was named head basketball coach at John F. Kennedy High School in 1964 and produced many outstanding teams along with a 418-196 won-lost record over two decades at the post. He was inducted into the South Jersey Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982.
His ties with Campbell ran deep through the years. Bob was associated with the Campbell Basketball School over three decades. His father, the beloved “Pop” Vernon, also was associated with the Campbell basketball camp for many years until his death in the mid-1980s.
Bob Vernon passed away Sept. 9, 1996.
