But now it’s as if the Hall mistakenly thinks that its progress regarding the election of African Americans in general somehow goes toward satisfying the need to consider specific deserving black pioneers from the earlier time.
This weekend marks the 70th anniversary of the historic date (March 28, 1939) the all-black New York Renaissance defeated the Oshkosh All Stars to win the championship title in the inaugural World Professional Basketball Tournament at the Chicago Coliseum.
Isaacs’ biggest contributions came well after his playing days ended. For decades, he mentored youth in the South Bronx at the Madison Square Boys and Girls Club, the kids not aware at all (usually, until they saw him on TV) that the still-fit elderly man was a trailblazer and a vocal critic of the conditions he and his teammates had to endure, on and off the court. Future NBA legends like Tiny Archibald came through the Madison Square Club as kids, shaped by Isaacs’ big voice and reservoir of stories.
Today is the anniversary of the first black players to play in the N.B.A. From the Chester (Pa.) Times, on October 20, 1950: Several Negro basketball stars will be members of the teams in the National Basketball Association for the first time this winter. Nat (Sweetwater) Clifton of the Harlem Globetrotters, and Chuck Cooper, Duquesne [...]
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