The earliest efforts to organize the Kingman Boys Club began in 1968 following outbreaks of violence throughout the city after Martin Luther King’s assassination. Mr. Richard L Peters, a local business owner, and five other Rotary Club members responded by creating a space where local boys could come to play basketball and get involved in other athletic activities. Within a year, he and his family donated both the land and the building, which would become the clubhouse. Additional contributions from the Peters/Lamb family, the original founders, and various local philanthropic institutions have made it possible for Kingman to establish sufficient financial stability to ensure its long-term presence in the community. Since 1969, the Kingman Boys & Girls Club’s doors have remained open to the youth of the city.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Kingman children can take pride in their many accomplishments:

  • Quantitative performance indicators demonstrate the positive impact of Kingman’s after-school academic reinforcement programs on children’s academic performance
  • Former Kingman members have returned to the Club as volunteers, staff, and members of the Board of Directors
  • School attendance rates far exceed the DCPS average
  • Athletic teams have won numerous City-wide championships
  • Hundreds of Kingman youth have received athletic scholarships to college.

How Did Kingman Place Get Its Name?

Kingman Place was named after Eliab Kingman, a clerk for the U.S. House of Representatives, who owned the land and subdivided it into lots in 1857. Kingman died in 1883 and is buried in Congressional Cemetery.

There are rumors that President Lincoln’s son Tad once stabled horses in the building that houses Kingman Boys and Girls Club today.

Kingman Hall of Fame:
Kenyan McDuffie, At-Large Council Member
Coach John Thompson, American Basketball Coach
Donald Wilson, Buffalo Bills
Michael “Roc Mikey” Bailey, DC Go-Go band UCB
Wil Alston, non-profit advocate, entrepreneur, and Founder & lead vocalist of the Wil Alston Band
Julius Holt, former Arizona University football player
Steve Francis, Houston Rockets
Greg Jones, West Virginia University,
Christian Webster, Harvard University; Virginia Tech Men’s Basketball Coach
Daryl Webster, George Washington University
Avon Mecham, USA Softball Team; GW Volunteer Softball Assistant Coach
Robert “Bobby” Winston, Georgetown University
Ed Hill, Howard University (former sports information director, 30+ yrs.)
Vaugh Jones, George Washington University
Daune Simpkins, Maryland University