Former Florida A&M Coach Booker Dies At Age 65

Booker, who led Rattlers to their first MEAC conference title, was found dead in his Orlando home

Aug. 8, 2007

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Former Florida A&M basketball coach Willie Booker, who had just started a new job as athletic director at Palm Beach Community College, has died. He was 65.

Booker was found dead in his Orlando home late Monday or early Tuesday, said Florida A&M sports publicist Alvin Hollins.

Booker led the Rattlers to their first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament title in 1991 and had a 137-25 record from 1984-1993. His teams made the finals of the MEAC tournament four times between 1988 and 1992.

"On the surface, coach Booker was a low-key guy, a calm demeanor on the sideline," Hollins said Wednesday. "When things seemed to be going crazy he always seemed to be at peace and in control.

Booker was a multisport star at Rochelle High School in Lakeland, where he graduated in 1959. A basketball star at the former Gibbs Junior College in St. Petersburg, Booker completed his college career at New Mexico State, where he played from 1961 to 1963.