Hueston M. Harper

Hueston M. Harper passed away on March 8, 2005. Born in Tucumcari, NM, May 8, 1910, when it was still a territory, young Hueston soon realized the limited future in the life of a tenant farmer. He escaped to join his biological father in Los Angeles at the age of 18, hoping to pursue an education. Size and athletic ability helped earn him a scholarship to USC in the midst of the Depression. Mr. Harper played on the national championship football team in 1933 and was captain of the track team for USC, placing second nationally in the shot put. The newspapers dubbed him “Hippo Harper,” although...