Perhaps the greatest compliment an athlete can receive is one that comes from his or her opponent. And when that opponent happens to be basketball powerhouse Kentucky under the legendary Coach Adolph Rupp, the compliment carries even more weight. Brandt “Pinky” Lipscomb starred for the Vanderbilt Commodore cagers from 1939 to 1941. Coach Rupp remembered Lipscomb’s abilities: “When I was asked to name my all time, all-opponent team, it took me many weeks to select the ten players I considered the best we played against. But, I’ll tell you this, that guy from Vanderbilt was among the first I considered. As a basketball player, he was intelligent, quick and had tremendously strong hands.” Born and bred in Nashville, Lipscomb was the Commodore captain in 1941 and was selected to the SEC All-Tournament team, 1939-1941. But “Pinky” was not only a great basketball player. He also earned acclaim as first baseman on the Commodore baseball team, and in fact, upon graduating in 1941, he signed with the Chicago Cubs, and played on their Zanesville farm club. Lipscomb eventually gave up baseball to devote full time to his medical education. A Commodore through and through, he returned to Nashville in 1947 to act as the team’s chief medical consultant, a role he kept through five decades before he passed away. Unquestionably, Dr. Brandt “Pinky” Lipscomb will always be fondly remembered in the halls of Vanderbilt for his mighty deeds on and off the court.
