Bobby Phills, #13, and the Fight to Bring His Jersey Home

From the Bring Back the Buzz archive, combining our 2012 logo story, our 2013 petition and our 2013 interview with the Phills family.

Look closely at the Bring Back the Buzz logo. The big B is split in two, and in doing so it forms the number 13. That's for Bobby Phills.

Who Bobby Phills was to Charlotte

Bobby played for the Hornets from 1997 to 2000, alongside David Wesley, Glen Rice, Anthony Mason, Vlade Divac and more. He was a tough perimeter defender (one of the few players who could actually check Michael Jordan) and a leader in the community. On January 12, 2000, while a member of the Hornets, he was killed in a car accident.

What followed was one of the saddest and proudest moments for Hornets fans. On February 9, 2000, we watched his son touch his dad's jersey one last time before it rose into the Charlotte Coliseum rafters, the first number the franchise ever retired. The community wrapped around the Phills family, and his wife Kendall was at every Hornets game until the team left.

When the Hornets moved to New Orleans, #13 went with them. Talking with New Orleans fans during our campaign, we found that most had no idea who Bobby Phills was or why his number hung in their rafters. So one of our goals, once the name came back, was to bring his jersey home too.

The 2013 petition and the Phills family

In September 2013 we started a petition asking the soon-to-be Hornets to work with New Orleans to return #13 to Charlotte. That November, we talked with the Phills family about it.

Bobby's daughter, Kerstie, told us she wanted Hornets fans to know who her dad was: a great man who worked hard to make it to the NBA and proved dreams can come true. His son, Trey, called the photo of himself watching the jersey go up one of his favorite pictures, and said he was already making plans for the 2014 home opener. Asked if he'd raise the jersey himself, he said it would be an absolute blessing.

Kendall Phills told us the Bobby Phills scholarship fund had awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships in its first 13 years, and that seeing his jersey in Charlotte again would be an honor that reminded everyone what a positive role model he was, on and off the court.

November 1, 2014: #13 comes home

When the Hornets name returned, the team reclaimed the original franchise's history, including Bobby's jersey. On November 1, 2014, at halftime against Memphis, the Hornets raised #13 to the rafters again, with the Phills family and former teammates in the building. Charlotte fans helped make that happen together, and it's still one of our proudest moments.

Next time you're at Spectrum Center, look up and find #13. And if you want to celebrate Hornets history with people who remember it, join us at a TEALgate.