Story courtesy: thesouthern.com
Obituary: legacy.com
Fred Huff, who served over 35 years at Southern Illinois as assistant AD/sports information director, died on March 18 at the age of 94. A multi-Hall of Famer, Huff received three honors from CSC (formerly CoSIDA). A 25-Year Award recipient (1992), he was selected as a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient in 2001 upon his retirement and was inducted into the CSC Hall of Fame in 2012.
Visitation and Funeral Service Arrangements:
Searby Funeral Home, Du Quoin, Illinois
Visitation
Thursday, March 23
5:00 p.m. -- 8:00 p.m.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Du Quoin
Funeral Mass
Friday, March 24
10:00 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, Huff’s family is asking for support to NubAbility Athletics Foundation in Du Quoin or SIH Foundation in Carbondale.
Fred A. Huff
Feb. 6, 1929 - Mar. 18, 2023
Indomitable. A giant in his business. Legendary.
All words or phrases that described Fred Huff, the former sports information director and assistant athletic director at SIU who passed on Saturday from respiratory failure at the age of 94 in Memorial Hospital of Carbondale.
Huff spent 35 years at the university, serving as its chief sports publicity man from 1960-71 and again from 1983-2001. He also worked as an assistant AD from 1977-86 and was inducted to no less than six Hall of Fames for his work.
“He set a standard that is still being met in Saluki athletics today,” said SIU play-by-play announcer Mike Reis on Twitter on Monday.
Born in Danville, IL in 1929, Huff and his parents moved to Du Quoin when he was 2 years old. Huff lived there the rest of his life, marrying Ann Gaerig in 1950. The couple were together for 72 years until she died in December.
Huff’s first stint at SIU coincided with arguably its golden era in sports. The school won 10 national titles in the 1960s, as well as the 1967 National Invitational Tournament in Madison Square Garden with future Basketball Hall of Famer Walt Frazier leading the way. SIU also hosted four national championships in the 60s.
Huff left SIU in 1971 to serve as publicity director of the Du Quoin State Fair. A year later, he assumed overall management of Hayes Fair Acres, as well as the fair’s annual exposition and celebrity showcase.
He worked those jobs until 1977, when he returned to SIU to become the assistant athletic director under Gale Sayers. In 1983, Huff started his second stint as the sports information director.
Reis, who’s in his 44th year of calling the school’s football, men’s basketball and baseball games on radio or livestream, said Huff was an invaluable resource to him as he grew up behind the Saluki microphone.
“He made sure I knew that if I said a stat was 6 but it was really 5, I was wrong, not close,” Reis said. “He’s one of the mentors who influenced me to stress facts over hype, to be ethical, to be there for the listeners and to be fair whether the topic or the game was good or bad for the Salukis.”
Huff left SIU for a second time in 2001 but it would hard to call his post-SIU life a retirement. He published three books after 2001, including a history of SIU sports, one of the Du Quoin State Fair and another on Du Quoin High School’s storied football program. Huff also published a history of the Hambletonian, harness racing’s premier event.
Current SIU sports information director Tom Weber credited Huff with archiving his work, as well as stats, from past years. Weber said the school’s archives are some of the most complete in Division I, thanks to Huff.
“We still benefit from his work on almost a daily basis,” Weber said Tuesday morning. “He was quite a resource for me over the years.”
Huff earned induction into the Saluki Hall of Fame in 2000, as well as the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame in 2010. Du Quoin High School also inducted him into its athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.
Huff is survived by three children, a grandson and two great-grandsons. In addition to his wife, Huff was preceded in death by his parents and his sister.
Visitation takes place on Thursday from 5-8 p.m. at Searby Funeral Home in Du Quoin. Funeral services will take place at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Du Quoin on Friday at 10 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, Huff’s family is asking for support to NubAbility Athletics Foundation in Du Quoin or SIH Foundation in Carbondale.