The poker community has long recognized Doyle Brunson as one of the greatest players of all time. The ten-time WSOP champion has revolutionized the game and received more accolades than any player in history.
He’s been credited with creating the phenomenon that is Texas Hold’em’ and paving the way for poker to become what it is today.
However, before he became an icon at the tables, Brunson earned himself a name in the world of athletics. He attended Hardin Simmons University on both basketball and track scholarships and helped take his team to the NCAA Division I playoffs.
Brunson’s athletic talent even lead him to be drafted to play for the NBA (for the then Minneapolis Lakers).
Unfortunately a factory accident shattered his leg and ended his athletic career before it began. It was this accident that lead Brunsen into the world of poker, a game he took up to survive.
However, while taking up poker made Brunson who he is today, it’s something his alma matter has never approved of.
While Brunsen was the school’s only athlete ever to be named MVP of the division I Border conference, they refused to induct him into the athletic hall of fame. The school’s deeply religious roots and a strong stance against gambling were too much for administrators to overlook.
But now that poker has begun to achieve mainstream status (largely due to Doyle’s efforts), the school has changed their opinion on Brunsen.
On October 16th, 2009, at the age of 75, Doyle Brunson, ‘the Babe Ruth of poker’, was inducted into the Hardin Simmons University Athletics Hall of Fame.
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