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Date: 10/3/2023
SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield City Council approved an honorary street sign on Oak Street immortalizing late youth sports advocate George “Big Will” Williams.
Williams, best known for his years serving as the longtime athletic director and basketball coach at the Dunbar Community Center, died in 2009 at the age of 75.
Ward 5 City Councilor Lavar Click-Bruce, who played basketball for Williams in his youth, later served as executive director of the Dunbar Community Center and is currently head basketball coach at the High School of Commerce, called Williams “an icon in the city” when presenting the petition to the council at its Sept. 26 hearings meeting.
“Quite frankly, if my father and my mother didn’t bring me to the Dunbar Community Center, I probably wouldn’t be here today,” Click-Bruce said, later adding Williams “saved my life.”
Click-Bruce spoke fondly of Williams’ “tough love” approach to guiding youth along the right path. “We came from the era that if you were walking on the streets, you could be either swayed to do bad things or you were swayed to do good things and Big Will instilled in us at a very young age that, ‘You’re going to do great things,’” he said. “He used basketball and athletics as a tool to keep us on the straight and narrow. Not only did we have to excel on the basketball court, but he made sure that we excelled in the classroom.”
Click-Bruce added Williams was “before his time” in recognizing the importance of athletics programs for women and girls.
Councilors added to the chorus of praise with Councilor at-Large Kateri Walsh noting her family’s strong connection to Williams and Councilor at-Large Tracye Whitfield recalling her time participating in the girls basketball program. Ward 4 Councilor Malo Brown noted he also played basketball at the Dunbar Community Center and echoed Click-Bruce’s sentiments, stating, “We all believe a lot of us young guys were raised up by Big Will. He’s been a very big icon and role model as far as developing us not just sports-wise ... physically, mentally and also spiritually.” Councilor at-Large Justin Hurst said in addressing the city’s issues such as gun violence, “we need more Big Wills in the world.”
City Council President Jesse Lederman, the youngest member of the council, admitted he never met Williams but knew him through those who kept his legacy alive.
Williams’ daughter, Joyce Calhoun, speaking on behalf of her mother, Tabitha Williams, who was unable to attend the meeting, said, “It’s time for good things to happen in Springfield and this comes at a wonderful time.”
Troy Walker, Williams’ nephew and Click-Bruce’s former teammate, thanked Click-Bruce for bringing the proposal forward and the councilors who supported it. “This is well-deserved for a great man,” Walker said.
Earlier in the week. Mayor Domenic Sarno’s administration announced its support for the sign.
“George ‘Big Will’ Williams was a legend in the community, especially at our Dunbar Community Center. He played a vital role for thousands of kids and helping them not only in youth sports but growing up too. He never looked for accolades but was always there to provide our youths with an opportunity through sports. He is dearly missed. My administration fully supports City Councilor Lavar Click-Bruce’s petition to honor ‘Big Wills’ legacy with this honorary street naming on Oak Street. Lavar, a youth coach himself, knows firsthand what a positive impact George had upon our community and the importance of mentoring our youth,” Sarno said.
The Old Hill Citizens Council also supported the petition.
In addition to a 21-year tenure as the Dunbar Community Center’s athletic director that began in the 1980s, Williams was a 20-year veteran of the Air Force and was the recipient of several local and national honors and notoriety both during his life and posthumously. In addition to Click-Bruce, Williams coached NBA players Travis Best and Vinny Del Negro, who went on to coach in the NBA, as well as college stars turned coaches Kevin Freeman, currently an assistant coach for the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team, and Derek Kellogg in 2015, the former University of Massachusetts men’s basketball standout who later served as head coach for the Minutemen and returned to Amherst as an assistant for the 2022-23 season.
Click-Bruce also successfully lobbied to have the gymnasium at the Dunbar Community Center renamed in Williams’ honor in 2015.
Facing foreclosure, the Dunbar Community Center was preserved by Mount Zion Baptist Church, which purchased the Mason Square community hub in 2016 and unveiled a renovated facility in 2017. The center remains an active community hub today.
Click-Bruce noted during the meeting he promised Williams’ wife Tabitha he would get a statue erected at the center.