NORFOLK, Va. — The name Richard "Pee Wee" Kirkland meant different things to different people. Stories about him, particularly around the city of New York were legendary both good and bad, but the 78-year-old's life has come full circle.
On Monday night, Kirkland was honored by the City of Norfolk with a proclamation for his work becoming a motivational speaker and inspiring young, inner-city athletes to avoid the path he took.
Once a playground legend at the famed Rucker Park in his birthplace of Harlem, he would go on to Norfolk State University to play with fellow Spartan and Basketball Hall Of Famer, Bob Dandridge as the two helped lead the men's basketball team to capture its first CIAA title in 1968. Kirkland won MVP in his first year.
Kirkland would then be the first Spartan player to get drafted into the NBA by the Chicago Bulls, but turned down the opportunity because he found he could make more money in the era of drugs in the 1960s and 70s. He would do two stints behind bars in 1971 and 1981-1988.
To come back to Hampton Roads meant a great deal to Kirkland. He said he always had a big place in his heart for the green and gold.
"Norfolk State created a reality in basketball that no place that can override," he said. "It was the people. There was just a love affair that came together that just never ended."
Kirkland spoke with nothing but love for his time as a Spartan with Dandridge and his other teammates. "We were like brothers."