TheLoop21.com

Reparations Chronicles


Race has major role in NBA, sports history

By: Susan Anderson (follow this member)
Wed, 06/10/2009 - 00:00

comment   |   share it   |   print it

It’s the middle of the NBA Finals, the championship battle between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic, and an opportunity to remember the fight against segregated professional basketball in America.

A lot of people are familiar with the old Negro Baseball Leagues, but how many have heard about the African American basketball teams known as “the Black Fives” — after the starting five players — or know about black basketball associations pre-dating the NBA?

Since the 1891 start of U.S. basketball, white-owned, professional sports leagues excluded black athletes. As in other areas of life, African Americans formed their own institutions, including professional basketball teams, to showcase their competitive talents, despite racism. 

Harry Lew was the first African American to play professional basketball, for the white New England Basketball League in 1902. But most teams were segregated. From 1907 through the 1920s, black teams competed for “the Colored Basketball World Championship.” In the 1940s, a handful of black players were signed by white minor teams, and in 1948, Don Barksdale won a gold medal at the London Olympic Games as the first African-American player on a U.S. Olympic basketball team.

In the first half of the 20th century, separate leagues for African Americans, Jewish and Irish players competed against each other. One writer said in Philadelphia, home of outstanding Jewish teams, “the encounters between the 'Yids' and the 'Niggers' were legendary.” According to sports entrepreneur Claude Johnson, the New York Renaissance team in Harlem “won the inaugural World’s Professional Basketball Tournament championship in 1939 by beating America’s ten best white teams.”

Racial stereotypes weren’t limited to black players; Jewish players were especially singled out. “’The reason, I suspect, that basketball appeals to the Hebrew, with his Oriental background,’ wrote Paul Gallico, sports editor of the New York Daily News and one of the premier sportswriters of the 1930s, "is that the game places a premium on an alert, scheming mind, flashy trickiness, artful dodging and general smart-aleckness."

In 1950, the NBA officially broke the color line. Chuck Cooper of Duquesne University was the first black player drafted, by the Boston Celtics. Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, of the Harlem Globetrotters, and a graduate of Xavier University in New Orleans, was the first to sign an NBA contract, with the New York Knicks. And Earl Lloyd, a graduate of West Virginia State, became the first of this trio to play in an NBA contest, for the Washington Capitals.

The decision to destroy segregation in pro basketball didn’t come out of nowhere. The sheer, winning talent of the black players was evident. The World War II victory over Hitler made Americans more aware of the evil of homegrown racism. The momentum for change came from the decades-long crusade by African American sports writers for equal opportunity on the playing fields. Sports writers at black newspapers didn’t just cover sports; they publicly pressured professional league owners to live up to America’s principles of equality.

As fans follow the progress of this year’s NBA Finals, in a sport in which African Americans dominate, it’s good to remember basketball history, and what it took for the NBA to end racial exclusion.

Susan D. Anderson teaches, speaks and writes about African American history, politics and culture. She is the author of Nostalgia for a Trumpet: Poems of Memory and History, published by Northwestern University Press. She has been a Visiting Professor at Pitzer College, a contributor to the Los Angeles Times Sunday Opinion since 1999, and currently manages an archival program at the USC Libraries.

Tags:  
  • Sports
  • Reparations Chronicles
  • black history
  • Lakers
  • NBA

 

RELATED STORIES


  • Tiger Woods' saga: From the sublime to the ridiculous
    Thu, 02/25/2010 - 09:17
    Tiger Woods should only apologize to his wife. ...
    Read More
  • NBA Projected To Lose About $400 Million This Year
    Mon, 02/15/2010 - 13:49
    According to Reuters, commissioner David Stern said the NBA could lose around $400 million this year because of the economy and a crippling labor agreement. Stern told a news conference Saturday that players' union representatives negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement had been shown figures outlining the NBA's current economic circumstances. "And basically what those numbers sho ...
    Read More
  • When it comes to Black History, don’t let history repeat itself
    Thu, 02/11/2010 - 10:03
    When it comes to ignoring Black History, are we doomed to repeat mistakes we made in the past? ...
    Read More
  • Four reasons Black history is left out
    Thu, 02/11/2010 - 02:01
    Black history might be included but it could always be better. ...
    Read More


 

COMMENTS



Post new comment

Anyone can comment at anytime. Login or Register to keep all your comments in your profile!
The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Formatting Tips:
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

More information about formatting options

CAPTCHA
Please type what you see in the box below.
 

Blogosphere

  • Culture Voice John Mayer, Wale, 'Vanity Fair'- what else is new?
  • Schooled! No more Senior Year?
  • Post-Race? Racist Rush is at it again: Paterson will get to play "massa"
  • Money Counts Older Blacks pay high price in recession
  • register
  • login

Search

  • rss
  • twitter
  • faceboook
  • myspace
  • black
  • Home
  • News
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Culture&Society
  • Entertainment

right-menu

  • Videos
  • Blogs
  • Community

Blogs

  • Schooled!
  • Post-Race?
  • Culture Voice
  • Money Counts
Hot Topics
  • This Week's News
  • Unemployment
  • Race And Media
  • Healthcare
  • Black Politicians
  • Jobs Bill
  • Census 2010
  • HOME
  • MONEY
  • POLITICS
  • CULTURE & SOCIETY
  • ENTERTAINMENT

imageIn the Loop

  • Videos
  • Blogs
  • Photo Galleries
  • Loop Scoops

imageCommunity

  • Sign Up
  • Login
  • Discuss
  • Polls

imageThe Loop21

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Work for Us
  • Advertise with Us

imageMore

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

imageConnect with us:

  • image
  • image
  • image
  • image
  • image
Go Up?

Copyright© TheLoop21 All Rights Reserved