Born in Georgetown, Mississippi in 1937, Bass moved as a youth with his family in the Great Migration to California, where they settled in Vallejo. He had a brother, professional athlete Norm Bass and a sister, Dorothy. Many migrants from the South were attracted to the jobs in defense-related industries and other opportunities.\n', '

Bass played football and other varsity sports for Vallejo High School in the old North Bay League. Bass blossomed as a three-sport star at Vallejo High, where he ran for 3,690 yards and scored 68 touchdowns in 18 games. Bass scored a state-record 37 touchdowns in 1954, when he led the Apaches to an undefeated season at 9-0. The team averaged 54 points per game in 1954.\n', '

Bass went on to star at College of the Pacific, now University of the Pacific. Time Magazine described him as a "One-Man Show" in 1958, after he ran for 700 yards in six games to become the season\'s leading NCAA ground gainer, while passing for the Tigers as well. He was a 1958 All-American. As a senior in 1958, Bass led the nation in rushing with 1,361 yards, including a dazzling display in the season opener in Berkeley, where he gained 215 yards and scored one touchdown in the Tigers\' win over a Cal team that would reach the 1959 Rose Bowl. Bass was named to The Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C. National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll.\n', '

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