Basketball, arguably Greenport High School’s best sport, with dozens of well-known names within Greenport being on the team. Last year, we had Nelson Shedrick, arguably the best player on the team, who averaged a crazy amount of points for our school. Akhee Anderson, who was on one of our best teams for basketball in the late 2010s who’s on the 1000 point banner. 

We have our health and gym teacher, Madison Tabor, who’s the first girl on the 1000-point banner. No less than one of the best, undoubtedly the best Greenport Basketball player of the last 20 years, arguably of all time, Ryan Creighton, who is one of two people to be on the 2000-point banner, right after the most known basketball player from Greenport of all time… Al Edwards was the first from our school to be on the 2000-point banner back in the 1970s. However, there is another basketball player who was involved in Greenport that has been forgotten over time—Reginald Hudson. 

Reginald Bartman Hudson was born on July 14th, 1909. Mr. Hudson, a native Greenporter, graduated from Greenport High School in 1928. He was one of the first athletes from Greenport High School to achieve success in basketball, as, according to the Suffolk Times, he played for the University of Virginia in the early 1930s. After his time at the University of Virginia, he would return to Greenport, own a business, raise a family, and once again participate in school affairs.

Mr. Hudson ran a real estate business on Front Street.  Located in what is now Noah’s restaurant, according to Michael Sage Sr., he was known for his larger-than-life personality and hosting an afternoon coffee club in his office, where he could be found discussing village dealings. He was a civic-minded individual who was involved in the Chamber of Commerce, Village Life, and perhaps most notably, the Greenport School Board of Education. 

Mr. Hudson joined the Greenport School Board in 1948.  He would go on to serve on the School Board for 24 years.  Thirteen of those years were spent as the board President. 

In 1957, he would travel to Albany to discuss school mergers, a topic that is still discussed today.  An article from October 14, 1957, would outline his views on this in The New York Times. Reginald Hudson “Said that he and the rest of the board members favored the proposal. The children now attending elementary schools in Orient and East Marion would benefit from attending the larger Greenport school, which has students from kindergarten through high school, he said.” 

This commitment to students and his advocacy in Albany was echoed by former Board Member and President Gary Charters.  When speaking about Mr. Hudson, he said that,  “During his tenure on the school board, he spent priceless hours advocating for students, reviewing complex budgetary proposals line by line, and personally, on his own time and money, made continued trips to Albany as a true advocate.”

During the 1971-1972 school year Mr. Hudson was on the school board when the Moore’s Woods Nature study was completed by the enology class. The study was a significant student-led environmental project by Greenport High School's Ecology/Earth Science class, creating trails, boardwalks, benches, and planting trees as a year-long work-study culmination, turning the woods into an accessible outdoor classroom and part of a long-term reforestation effort, building on the area's history as a natural spot explored by famed naturalist Roy Latham. During this time students would also plant over 800 white pine saplings, efforts that have paid off in abundance.

Mr. Hudson would retire from the board in 1973, but would not stay gone forever.  He came back in mid-1980’s to assist the school as a member of the School Board once again.  This commitment is showcased in Mr. Charters' sentiment, “He didn't just attend meetings; he immersed himself in the work, driven by a simple, unwavering belief: that every child in the district deserved access to the best possible resources and opportunities, regardless of their background.” 

It is rare to see such a long and successful commitment to the school, and it is clear that much of what we enjoy today at Greenport is thanks to dedicated, civic-minded individuals like Mr. Hudson. His name remains a prominent one within the school as the Board Room is named in his honor.