In 1950, Cooper, a Pittsburgh resident and Duquesne University graduate became the first African-American selected in the NBA Draft.

In 1904, Edwin B. Henderson showed up at Harvard University’s Summer School of Arts and Sciences to learn how to be a gym teacher.

The courses Read the rest of this entry »

Basketball was in Boston long before the Celtics.

The roots of the sport (especially among black folks) trace back to the Hemenway Gymnasium on the campus of Harvard University, and a guy named Dudley Allen Sargent. I’d known about it but never seen the Hemenway Gym until I stumbled upon it this week while driving by on the way to Boston Garden. I couldn’t resist going inside to look around.  It’s a modernized 4-story structure inside a vintage shell. “Is this the old Hemenway Gymnasium?,” I asked. “Yes, but they’ve renovated it and there’s nothing left,” said the staffer. “But, isn’t there anything historical remaining?,” I asked. “Well, the only thing left is the original basketball court,” she said, apologetically. “Oh, really?,” I asked. “Can I see it?” Isn’t persistence great? Sargent was one of the earliest advocates of of the link between “bodily vigor” (that is, athletic competition) and Christian virtues. In the mid-1800s this was known as ‘Muscular Christianity.’ It was a forerunner of the physical fitness movement. Sargent’s way of thinking:

Some of the specific mental and physical qualities which are developed by athletics are increased powers of attention, will, concentration, accuracy, alertness, quickness of perception, perseverance, reason, judgment, forbearance, patience, obedience, self-control, loyalty to leaders, self-denial, submergence of self, grace, poise, suppleness, courage, strength and endurance. These qualities are as valuable to women as to men.

Seems like he was Read the rest of this entry »

I was at the game last night. The Celtics won. Makes sense. Green has never been more “in” than this year. As I predicted, the Battle of Bunker Hill anniversary (233 years ago, yesterday) really did play a role. The Celtics did after all “see the whites o’ their eyes.” But unlike Colonel Prescott’s men, they never ran out of ammo and never did stop shooting. Seriously, some things stand out:

• Team desire,
• Rajan Rondo’s 7 steals,
• an N.B.A. Finals record low of 2 offensive rebounds by the Lakers,
• Ray Allen and James Posey combined 10 of 12 shots from beyond the 3-point arc,
• “Doc” Rivers’ technical foul with 10 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter.

The “T” Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve always wanted a seersucker suit ever since Dad gave me my grandfather’s seersucker when I graduated from college.

When Kevin Garnett was traded to the Celtics, this became my favorite jersey:

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