You won’t find their scores in a record book and to my knowledge, none of them furthered their hoop dreams beyond that of their circle. You see, as grandchildren we tend to not see past the person our grandparents are in the present timeframe. As you will learn from the Heiberger Hula Hotshots, there is always more to the story but we have to ask, dig. I had always put my grandfather in a box in my mind that was consisted of things like-he wears old work uniforms every day, he likes chitlins, and loves a good dirty joke. I’m ashamed to admit that beyond that, I didn’t really know much about my grandfather or as we affectionately call him “Paw Paw Red”. Now, he did tell us stories of his truck driving days that I enjoyed, but I didn’t think much about him being a kid. Heck, he’s been an old man my whole life. Shame on me for being 36 years old and finally realizing there was so much more beyond the old man with the hat that sat above his head (not actually on it).

Now back to the Hotshots. In my determination and slight manipulation to learn more about Paw Paw Red, I asked him what his favorite dessert was, peach cobbler. I made and brought the peach cobbler over in hopes to get him thinking and talking about the old days. What happened next, I could not have imagined. I caught a glimpse of a teenager.

Herbert Eugene “Red” Hall dropped out of school in 6th grade and two short years later, boarded a Greyhound bus for Houston, Texas where his brother lived. On the way, at a stop, the 14-year-old found a wristwatch in the restroom, one of the nicest wristwatches he had ever seen. For fear of what might happen if he took it, the boy left it for someone who would probably not be as honest to find. In Houston, he worked in a paint shop where his brother worked. Three years passed, and he began to miss his friend, Tom. Now, at 17, he made his way back to Heiberger in Perry County, Alabama. He was reunited with his friend Tom, and they began to play basketball with other friends. Thus, the Heiberger Hula Hotshots were born. These group of friends would load up and ride in the back of pickup trucks to play basketball against friends in neighboring Hale County. I imagine most of these boys were cut from the same cloth as my granddad- hardworking but with minimal income, having to work on the land, building things from their hands (Red built a barn at age of 12 and helped his dad build the house they lived in), true blue-collar. I’m fairly certain the hotshots didn’t have a uniform as they were not sanctioned. I like to imagine them in jeans or overalls and some even playing in brogans. Being the jokester he is, I imagine Red led the boisterous smack talk.

Now, I never imagined my grandfather playing any sport, much less basketball but here I was sitting in his kitchen to find out that not only had he played as a kid, but they had made up a nickname for their rag tag team as well. I asked him to repeat their name Heiberger Hula Hotshots over and over again to make sure I had heard correctly. Since learning of the Hotshots, it got me thinking. Were there any other Hotshots still living? I want to reconnect Paw Paw Red with an old friend. I know it’s a long shot since many of his friends probably have passed but if you are reading this and have any connections to old Heiberger, let me know.

The Hotshots were not a winning NBA team or even a school sanctioned team for that matter. They were so much more. They were an escape for a 17-year-old boy and also, a window for a granddaughter into her grandfather’s soul.

I’ll have to keep digging to see if I can find a picture of my granddad as a kid. I love his pose in this picture on the car and the cigarette.