Hall of Fame
June Walton, the youngest of five girls, was born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, where she played basketball at Morgan G. Bulkeley High School. Prior to arriving at Morgan State University in 1978, Ms. Walton played her 1977-78 “freshman” season at Manchester Community College (CT). She arrived on campus a “veteran”, and wasted no time adding her name to record books, leaving as the program’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder in just three seasons.
As the most prolific Lady Bear in the program’s history to date, Ms. Walton scored 1,516 points and grabbed 1,047 rebounds in her three years at Morgan. Her scoring record stood for twenty-eight years until it was broken in 2009, and she still remains the only Lady Bear to have grabbed at least 1,000 rebounds. Ms. Walton was instrumental in the program’s two trips to the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national tournaments in 1980 and 1981, earning All-AIAW honors during both seasons. She was also a 1981 Small College All-American First-Team selection.
Ms. Walton finished her career in 1981 as one of the top professional prospects in the country after leading the Lady Bears in scoring (19.3 points) and rebounding (12.4 rebounds) for the third straight season and compiling a team record of 55 wins – 19 losses over that three year span. After leaving Morgan State University in 1981, she played professional basketball for several seasons overseas in Maracay, Venezuela (1981, 1982), where she won the 1981 Venezuelan National Championship, and in Stockport, England (1982,1983). In recognition of her basketball accomplishments, she was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
Ms. Walton returned home to Hartford in 1984, where she served as a Hartford Firefighter from 1984-1989, and as a State of Connecticut Agency Police Officer from 1990-1995. Ms. Walton currently resides in Ellington, CT, where she works at a substance treatment facility for women with children, hoping to make a positive impact for individuals, families and their communities. She has also continued to make contributions on the court, serving as an assistant coach at the University of St. Joseph from 2011-2013, and winning three National Senior Games Association Championships in the Women’s 50+ Basketball championships. Ms. Walton still plays in local leagues throughout the year with her daughter Kendra.
