Lawrence C. Gray Jr., as co-commissioner of the San Francisco Association of Midnight Basketball, launched the first Association of Midnight Basketball on the West Coast in San Francisco, California in November 1990.The first game was played on March 18, 1991, at The Ella Hill Hutch Community Center. Believing in the power of the Association of Midnight Basketball to change lives. In 2004, he created a non-profit, “ Association of Association of Midnight Basketball, Inc.,” (AMB) to serve as the umbrella governing body across the nation. Lawrence also acquired the rights to use of the Name, Logo, and Trademarks from the Association of Midnight Basketball League, Inc. of Glen Arden, Maryland, the Founding Chapter in 1986. Further in collaboration with local law enforcement, medical personnel, and The Bryant Mortuary, he created the SCARED STIFF Program, which aims to teach teens and young adults about the despair and destruction caused by GUN VIOLENCE. For his efforts in the community, Lawrence has received several honors: a Bay Area Jefferson Award in 2009, Beta Pi Sigma Community Service Award in 2006, and SF Public Library Unsung Hero Award in 1997.