COLLEGE PARK, Maryland - Their names were Orsten Artis, Harry Flournoy Bobby Joe Hill, David Lattin, and Willie Worsley. If not for the color of their skin, they would be but a footnote in the annals of college basketball history, remembered only on the campus of Texas Western University (now Texas-El Paso). But, because they were black, they are remembered forever. For those are the five starters Texas Western put on the floor in the 1966 NCAA Championship Game, the five starters that sped up integration in NCAA basketball.
Coach Don Haskins wasn't trying to make history by starting five black players in the national championship game. All he thought he was doing was putting his five best players on the court to start the game. But in picking those five players, Haskins became the first coach to have an all-black starting lineup in an NCAA championship game. That he was doing so against Kentucky, coached by the pro-segregation Adolph Rupp, made the game even more monumental.
The game is also sometimes viewed as a sort of David vs. Goliath affair, as tiny, unknown Texas Western was going up against national powerhouse Kentucky. In reality, though, the Miners entered the game with a 27-1 record, the same as Kentucky's, and the Miners had a decided height advantage over the Wildcats in the game. Plus, a flu bug had gone through the Kentucky starting lineup before the game, leaving the Wildcats wounded and sick in the final.
Still, though, it was quite a surprise that Texas Western won, and fairly easily at that. The Miners took the lead halfway through the first half and never relinquished it. Though Kentucky got within two in the second half, the Miners pulled away for a 72-65 victory, winning the national championship.
Though proud of the victory, Haskins later admitted that for a long time, he thought winning the national championship was the worst thing to happen to him. He didn't like all the attention his team and players were given after the victory. As he wrote, he "didn't expect to become a racial pioneer or to change the world." But by beating the all-white Wildcats, that's exactly what he did. By using an all-black starting lineup, he showed the basketball powers from the traditionally racist SEC and other southern schools that they should ignore black players at their peril.
Don Haskins and his Texas Western Miners didn't set out to change the world. They just wanted to win the national championship. By winning that game, though, they became immortal.
Showing posts with label integration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label integration. Show all posts
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
July 21, 1959: 'Bout time
CHICAGO - Back in 1945, the Boston Red Sox brought several Negro Leagues stars, including Jackie Robinson, for a workout. The stated reason for the tryout was that Boston was looking for somebody to sign to help integrate Major League Baseball. The real reason for the workout, though, was to placate Boston City Councilman Isadore Muchnick, who was strongly against segregation. During the workout, Robinson was subject to racial epithets, despite the fact that the only people in the stands were Red Sox team management. He left Boston humiliated.
Other black stars likely would have ended up with the Red Sox if it weren't for institutional-wide racism. The Red Sox had a scout watching a young Willie Mays in Birmingham, but after a few days of bad weather postponed the games, the scout left, saying he "wasn't going to wait around for a bunch of n-----s." Boston also had a beat on future hall-of-famer Billy Williams when he was in college before dropping their interest without explanation.
It should come as no surprise, then, that when the 1959 season began, 12 years after Robinson's successful debut with Brooklyn and after he had already retired, the Red Sox remained the only Major League team that hadn't integrated its roster. They had resisted integration despite heavy public pressure arguing that keeping with the all-white roster was A) giving the Red Sox a competitive disadvantage against other teams who were happy to sign talented black players; and, was B) blatantly racist. Even the Boston Bruins had integrated before the Red Sox did.
It didn't take fan outrage, though, to change the Red Sox' ways. Even investigations bythe Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination didn't work. After the first investigation, in 1958, the Commission sent the Red Sox a letter asking them how it was possible that the team had no black people on the team's payroll in any capacity, even as janitor. Other organizations pressured Boston, as well, including the Boston Ministerial Alliance, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the American Veterans Committee of Massachusetts.
It still took another year for Boston to get the message. They eventually called up Elijah "Pumpsie" Green from the minor league Minneapolis Millers. On July 21, 1959, the Red Sox officially became the last team to integrate when Green pinch ran for Vic Wertz in the 8th inning of a 2-1 loss to the White Sox. Though Green stayed in the first game at shortstop, he didn't get a chance to bat or handle a chance in the field until the next game, when he started and batted second.
Green was a utility player throughout his short career, not making much of a mark in the majors. His career should not have been noteworthy in any way, just another name in the baseball register. But he's now associated with baseball integration, listed on the same charts as Jackie Robinson, and all because he was associated with the most racist team of his time.
Other black stars likely would have ended up with the Red Sox if it weren't for institutional-wide racism. The Red Sox had a scout watching a young Willie Mays in Birmingham, but after a few days of bad weather postponed the games, the scout left, saying he "wasn't going to wait around for a bunch of n-----s." Boston also had a beat on future hall-of-famer Billy Williams when he was in college before dropping their interest without explanation.
It should come as no surprise, then, that when the 1959 season began, 12 years after Robinson's successful debut with Brooklyn and after he had already retired, the Red Sox remained the only Major League team that hadn't integrated its roster. They had resisted integration despite heavy public pressure arguing that keeping with the all-white roster was A) giving the Red Sox a competitive disadvantage against other teams who were happy to sign talented black players; and, was B) blatantly racist. Even the Boston Bruins had integrated before the Red Sox did.
It didn't take fan outrage, though, to change the Red Sox' ways. Even investigations bythe Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination didn't work. After the first investigation, in 1958, the Commission sent the Red Sox a letter asking them how it was possible that the team had no black people on the team's payroll in any capacity, even as janitor. Other organizations pressured Boston, as well, including the Boston Ministerial Alliance, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the American Veterans Committee of Massachusetts.
It still took another year for Boston to get the message. They eventually called up Elijah "Pumpsie" Green from the minor league Minneapolis Millers. On July 21, 1959, the Red Sox officially became the last team to integrate when Green pinch ran for Vic Wertz in the 8th inning of a 2-1 loss to the White Sox. Though Green stayed in the first game at shortstop, he didn't get a chance to bat or handle a chance in the field until the next game, when he started and batted second.
Green was a utility player throughout his short career, not making much of a mark in the majors. His career should not have been noteworthy in any way, just another name in the baseball register. But he's now associated with baseball integration, listed on the same charts as Jackie Robinson, and all because he was associated with the most racist team of his time.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
April 25, 1950: Who was first?
CHICAGO - Most sports fans know that Jackie Robinson was the first black player to play in Major League Baseball. It's a pretty cut-and-dried answer - Robinson was the only black player until he proved he could succeed, then others soon followed him. For the NBA, the question of who was the first black player isn't so easily answered. In fact, it usually has to be followed by a follow-up question: What do you mean by "first"?
There are three ways to define who was the first black player in the NBA, and the three ways will give you three different answers.
1. Who was the first black player drafted by an NBA team?
That would be Chuck Cooper, who the Boston Celtics made the first pick of the second round on April 25, 1950. Cooper was an All-American from Duquesne in Pittsburgh and went on to a six-year career in the NBA. He was a fairly average player in his career - his career-high averages were 9 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game, all of which he got in his rookie season.
2. Who was the first black player to sign an NBA contract?
Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton gets this honor, when the New York Knicks signed him from the Harlem Globetrotters on, oddly enough, April 25, 1950. Clifton had played collegiately at West Virginia State. After fighting in Europe in World War II, Clifton joined all-black traveling basketball teams, including the Globetrotters, and he played baseball during the basketball offseason with Negro Leagues teams. His NBA numbers were similar to, if slightly better than, Cooper's, though Clifton lasted eight years.
3. Who was the first black player to play in an NBA game?
Earl Lloyd gets this honor, but only as a result of the schedule. Drafted by the Washington Capitols in the ninth round of the same draft as Cooper, Lloyd got the honor of being the first black player, on October 31, 1950, simply becuase the Capitols opened their season before the Celtics or Knicks did. The Capitols only played nine games that season before folding, and Lloyd spent two years in the Army before being picked up by the Syracuse Nats, which whom he and teammate Jim Tucker became the first black players to win an NBA title in 1956. Lloyd played nine years in the NBA, posting numbers similar to those of Clifton's and Cooper's.
There are three ways to define who was the first black player in the NBA, and the three ways will give you three different answers.
1. Who was the first black player drafted by an NBA team?
That would be Chuck Cooper, who the Boston Celtics made the first pick of the second round on April 25, 1950. Cooper was an All-American from Duquesne in Pittsburgh and went on to a six-year career in the NBA. He was a fairly average player in his career - his career-high averages were 9 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game, all of which he got in his rookie season.
2. Who was the first black player to sign an NBA contract?
Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton gets this honor, when the New York Knicks signed him from the Harlem Globetrotters on, oddly enough, April 25, 1950. Clifton had played collegiately at West Virginia State. After fighting in Europe in World War II, Clifton joined all-black traveling basketball teams, including the Globetrotters, and he played baseball during the basketball offseason with Negro Leagues teams. His NBA numbers were similar to, if slightly better than, Cooper's, though Clifton lasted eight years.
3. Who was the first black player to play in an NBA game?
Earl Lloyd gets this honor, but only as a result of the schedule. Drafted by the Washington Capitols in the ninth round of the same draft as Cooper, Lloyd got the honor of being the first black player, on October 31, 1950, simply becuase the Capitols opened their season before the Celtics or Knicks did. The Capitols only played nine games that season before folding, and Lloyd spent two years in the Army before being picked up by the Syracuse Nats, which whom he and teammate Jim Tucker became the first black players to win an NBA title in 1956. Lloyd played nine years in the NBA, posting numbers similar to those of Clifton's and Cooper's.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
April 15, 1947: The Content of his Character
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - He ran out from his dugout in his home white uniform, crossed the white chalk line, and entered a world that had formerly been for white men only. The box score shows he went 0-for-3, with a sacrifice bunt and a run scored. On the surface, it's nothing world-changing, but it changed the world for millions of men and women across the country.
On April 15, 1947, in Brooklyn's home opener against the Boston Braves, Jackie Robinson changed the baseball world by simply taking his position at first base. He was the first black man to play in a Major League Baseball game in nearly 60 years, since the ban on black players had been put in place.
Robinson was chosen for this honor not for his talent but because of his demeanor. Brooklyn general manager Branch Rickey wanted to integrate baseball, and he knew he needed a player who could take the verbal and sometimes physical abuse that would surely come his way and turn the other cheek. He wanted somebody, as he famously told Robinson, who had "guts enough not to fight back." Rickey knew that a player who resisted, who fought back, would do more harm than good to the cause of integration.
So Robinson bit his lip and took what was coming. In spring training, some Dodgers players threatened to strike if Robinson made the team. Their manager laughed and said he'd be happy to trade anybody who wasn't ready for the financial windfall of having Robinson on the team. Later in the season, several members of the St. Louis Cardinals threatened to strike if Robinson were allowed on the field against them. Commissioner Happy Chandler said any players following through on the strike would be suspended, and the Cardinals withdrew their protest.
The incidents continued on the field, as well. Fans, players, and even opposing managers shouted whatever racist insults they could think of. Players purposely spiked Robinson at first base, one time even opening up a 7-inch gash on his leg. Catchers' throws back to the pitcher came periously close to Robinson's head, not to mention the brush-back pitches he ducked.
And through it all, he kept quiet and played. He played exemplary defense at first base and led the league in stolen bases (with twice as many as the runner up), was second in runs scored, and finished in the top 10 in hits, doubles, at bats, and total bases. He won the inaugural Rookie of the Year award and led the Dodgers to the World Series.
Robinson kept getting better. Over the years, he would revolutionize the game with his daring baserunning and lethal combination of speed and power, in essence, bringing the style of the Negro Leagues to Major League Baseball. After a few years of biting his lip, he started seeking revenge for racial incidents, making him one of the most feared baserunners in baseball history. His career was short - only 10 years in the majors - but it ended with him in the Hall of Fame. In 1997, Major League Baseball made him the first player to have his number retired league-wide.
His talent, though, is only secondary to his story. He'd be in the Hall of Fame even if he hadn't been successful as a player. People who bust down barriers and open the door for countless others tend to get recognized that way.
On April 15, 1947, in Brooklyn's home opener against the Boston Braves, Jackie Robinson changed the baseball world by simply taking his position at first base. He was the first black man to play in a Major League Baseball game in nearly 60 years, since the ban on black players had been put in place.
Robinson was chosen for this honor not for his talent but because of his demeanor. Brooklyn general manager Branch Rickey wanted to integrate baseball, and he knew he needed a player who could take the verbal and sometimes physical abuse that would surely come his way and turn the other cheek. He wanted somebody, as he famously told Robinson, who had "guts enough not to fight back." Rickey knew that a player who resisted, who fought back, would do more harm than good to the cause of integration.
So Robinson bit his lip and took what was coming. In spring training, some Dodgers players threatened to strike if Robinson made the team. Their manager laughed and said he'd be happy to trade anybody who wasn't ready for the financial windfall of having Robinson on the team. Later in the season, several members of the St. Louis Cardinals threatened to strike if Robinson were allowed on the field against them. Commissioner Happy Chandler said any players following through on the strike would be suspended, and the Cardinals withdrew their protest.
The incidents continued on the field, as well. Fans, players, and even opposing managers shouted whatever racist insults they could think of. Players purposely spiked Robinson at first base, one time even opening up a 7-inch gash on his leg. Catchers' throws back to the pitcher came periously close to Robinson's head, not to mention the brush-back pitches he ducked.
And through it all, he kept quiet and played. He played exemplary defense at first base and led the league in stolen bases (with twice as many as the runner up), was second in runs scored, and finished in the top 10 in hits, doubles, at bats, and total bases. He won the inaugural Rookie of the Year award and led the Dodgers to the World Series.
Robinson kept getting better. Over the years, he would revolutionize the game with his daring baserunning and lethal combination of speed and power, in essence, bringing the style of the Negro Leagues to Major League Baseball. After a few years of biting his lip, he started seeking revenge for racial incidents, making him one of the most feared baserunners in baseball history. His career was short - only 10 years in the majors - but it ended with him in the Hall of Fame. In 1997, Major League Baseball made him the first player to have his number retired league-wide.
His talent, though, is only secondary to his story. He'd be in the Hall of Fame even if he hadn't been successful as a player. People who bust down barriers and open the door for countless others tend to get recognized that way.
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