Cal Tatum came from a family of basketball players, but he proved to be the best and most successful of all. Tatum made his mark at Muskegon High School in the late 1960s at the height of the Vietnam War, amazing fans with his combination of speed, ball-handling, jumping and remarkable long-range shooting. “For his size, I’ve never seen an athlete who is so proficient in so many phases of the game,” said then-Muskegon coach Mike Murphy after Tatum earned Class A all-state honors in 1969.

Tatum, a 6-1 guard, averaged 22.4 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals per game in his senior year to earn first team all-state honors. He was fourth team all-state as a sophomore and second team all-state as a junior. He graduated as the Big Reds’ all-time leading scorer with 1,250 points and a career average of 22.7 points per game.

Following high school, Tatum opted to attend the University of Southern Colorado (now known as Colorado State University – Pueblo). He was a four-year starter for the Indians and, despite playing in an era before the 3-point shot, remains the school’s all-time leading scorer, with 2,143 career points, and is the sixth-leading rebounder.  His 25.1 points-per-game average during the 1972-73 season is still tops in school history.  While at Southern Colorado, he made all-conference all four years and was a two-time small college All-American before being drafted in the first round by the Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association in the league’s May 1973 Supplementary Draft. Acquired by the ABA Denver Rockets in late August, Tatum was waived by the team in September.

Tatum was among the first inductees into the Southern Colorado Basketball Hall of Fame and is considered by many as the finest basketball player in school history.