JIM “BEANIE” HOWELL
Quiet DC Giant, Pioneer, Educator, Referee, LEGEND
By Brian S. Yeldell
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I didn’t know, nor never had the chance or honor to meet the man. However, we shared Carroll and a love of basketball and young people. Baller, check. Pioneer, check. Educator, check. Referee, check. Hall of Famer, check. Example of how to live a meaningful and fulfilling life, QUADRUPLE check!
I have checked with many of my friends, associates, and network of folks in several different circles of basketball, education, etc. Most were not aware of Jim “Beanie” Howell. The funny thing is that many of the great ones don’t walk around trying to bring attention to themselves. They go about “the work.” Enter Jim Howell. He went to a new integrated school in the early 50’s. His high school was one of the first integrated high schools in DC, Archbishop Carroll. He then went on to integrate a college’s basketball program, American University (AU) and a conference, The Mason Dixon Conference, along with 2 other DC legends, Wil Jones and Dickie Wells. Dave Carrasco recruited all three to AU in NW DC after his legendry career as a high school coach at Blair High School in suburban DC.
Upon matriculation from AU, he went into education in the DC public school system, eventually rising to become principal at legendary Taft Junior High in NE DC. His love of basketball kept him close to the game. He became a referee and a damn good one. He mentored and tutored many students at Taft. He was a good principal, one who cared about and poured into his students and prepared them to go to McKinley Tech and other DC area High Schools after which many went on to college and great careers.
As alluded to, I have had a love affair with the game of basketball from a very early age, probably 5 or 6, when my dad, uncles and brothers would look at late 1960s, early 1970s UCLA games as well as Knicks, Celtics and Lakers battles. I then started understanding the local game with Dantley, Bing, Baylor. I got to know about ACHS in the mid-70s and John Thompson, George Leftwich and Tom Hoover. But, before them was Beanie Howell. He went on to become a legendary referee who was the first African American to referee an NCAA Final Four game in 1973. Again, full disclosure, it got a little personal when I found out that he was a DC Guy and a Carroll man. I followed him even more. He kept refereeing and kept being a mentor in the classroom and on the basketball court.
I talked to a friend who was one of his students when Howell was a principal at Taft Junior HS. He had NO IDEA of “Beanie’s” accomplishments. In my life, most of the people who do great things, save a few, do so as a part of their life’s work, wanting neither much acknowledgement nor fanfare. In their opinion, they are merely using what God gifted them to do. None were more dedicated to that mantra as Jim “Beanie” Howell. In fact, without speaking to him, I would bet a dollar to a donut, his pioneering work as a referee was just a way to stay close to a game that he played well and loved. However, as an educator, coach and mentor, he would tell you that that was his biggest contribution to life and his community. He passed away on April 1, 2026. Hats off to this giant who went about his work using his God Given talents and gifts. May he rest in eternal peace.
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