He was drafted by the Yankees, loved Charlotte 49ers. Bobby Height is gone at 80
Back in February, Bobby Height attended the Charlotte 49ers annual men’s basketball reunion. Height didn’t play or coach at Charlotte, but for a long time, he was very involved with the program.
Height, once drafted by the New York Yankees, died this week. He was 80 years old.
“He coached AAU basketball in Charlotte,” said former 49er player Joe Badgett, currently the head boys’ basketball coach at Queens Grant High School in Mint Hill. “He coached (former North Mecklenburg High greats) DeMarco Johnson (who played at Charlotte) and Titus Ivory (who played at Penn State). He impacted a lot of different guys in the city. He was a father figure to all of us that played at Charlotte. He and his wife, they were like Mom and Dad away from home.”
Badgett said Height rarely missed a 49ers’ game and he was surprised to find out that he had not played at Charlotte.
“We all thought he was a former player,” Badgett said. “He just loved the school, loved the team. And the crazy thing is, you come to find out he was the same with the (women’s team).”
Height grew up in Raleigh and graduated in 1962 from the old Ligon High School where he played baseball, basketball and ran track. He later became a standout on Shaw University’s basketball and baseball teams in college and was drafted by the Yankees in the 1966 amateur draft.
Height played two years of minor league ball before a knee injury ended his career. He later earned a master’s degree in physical education in 1973 from N.C. Central University.
Height started coaching in high school and continued after he moved to Charlotte to work for an insurance company in 1975.
Once here, he immediately got back into youth sports.
“I really enjoyed working with youth, even in high school,” Height said in a YouTube interview in 2018. “I want them to understand how important education is. When I coached AAU basketball, most of players went onto become outstanding people in the community and have outstanding jobs.”
▪ Height is survived by his wife, Brenda; daughter Bridget Height-Williams and son Bobby Height II, who is a sports agent in Atlanta.
▪ A memorial service for Height is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Saturday and will be streamed. It will held at Poplar Springs Christian Church, 6115 Old Stage Road, Raleigh, NC 27603
This story was originally published May 9, 2025 at 9:14 PM.
