Race & Basketball- Historical Perspective

 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Later this week, I am gong to have a blog post on the 1954 DuSable basketball team. To understand the significance of the 1954 DuSable basketball team, a first step is to try to put it into historical perspective. Here are some events in Galesburg, in Illinois, and the U.S. that help us understand:

1916- Ziggy Hamblin was first African-American to play basketball at Galesburg HS, Another African-American did not play at GHS until the 1940's when Joe Henderson played for the Streaks. 

1930- Chicago Phillips was the first All-Black team to win the City Championship, by beating an All-White Morgan Park. At this time the City Champ automatically advanced to the Sweet Sixteen at Champaign. Phillips was not permitted to participate so Morgan Park went instead. 

1947- Jackie Robinson breaks into Major League Baseball. 

1947- Don Barksdale played one year at UCLA, and was first African-American All-American. 

1947-8- Bill Garrett at Indiana was first African-American to play in the Big
10. No other African-Americans played in the Big Ten during his career. 

1948- Don Barksdale was first African-American to play for the U.S. in the Olympics and won a Gold Medal. 

1948- Donald Thierry was the first African-American cheerleader at Galesburg HS. 

1950-1- Earl Lloyd for the Rochester Royals was first African-American in the NBA. 

1951-2- Pete Thierry started for Galesburg HS, and Harold Ewing Jr. (Bumpy Nixon's cousin) were the 3rd and 4th African-Americans to play for GHS.

1952-3- DuSable won the Chicago City Championship and was allowed to participate in the Sweet 16 at Champaign. They lost their first round game. They were the first "All-Black team" to be allowed to play at State.

1953-4- DuSable again went to State. They advanced to the State Championship game before losing to Mt. Vernon in a controversial game. 

1954- Brown vs. Boards of Education- "separate is not equal"

1954-5- Oscar Robertson and Crispus Attucks HS in Indiana became the first All-Black HS to win a State Championship anywhere in the United States. 

1956-7- Galesburg started four African-Americans which resulted in hate mail to Coach John Thiel. In an Elite 8 game, the predominately Black Galesburg team was whistled for 23 fouls vs. 7 fouls for Collinsville. 

1957- Little Rock 9- Nine African-American students enrolled at Little Rock Central HS. 

1957-8- Chicago Marshall became first All-Black team to win the Illinois basketball title. 

1959-1964- Farmville, Virginia closed their public schools rather integrating. 

Dec. 29, 1962- George Ireland had four African-American starters in his lineup that season. On Dec. 29, Loyola became the first Division I team to play five African-Americans at the same time. This team went onto win the National Championship. Today, they are the only Illinois school to win an NCAA title in basketball. 

1963- Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream Speech." 

1965-6- Texas Western became the first team to win the NCAA basketball title with 5 African-Americans starting. 

1966- Bill Russell becomes the first African-American to coach a professional team, coaching the Boston Celtic. 

1967- Art White was the first African-American official to work in the Big 10. 

1969- Henty Bowman, a Tuskegee Airman in WWII, became the first African-American official to work the IHSA State Tourney. 

1970- Will Robinson, first African-American basketball coach at D1 university- Illinois State University. 

1970-1- Terri Wilburn became the first African-American female selected to be a varsity cheerleader at Galesburg HS. (Donnie Thierry had been a male African-American cheerleader in the 1940's.)

1970-1- Thomas Payne (7'2") was first African-American to play for the University of Kentucky. Adolph Rupp started coaching at Kentucky in 1930. It was 40 years later that an African-American played for him at Kentucky.

1972- Wayne Embry becomes the first African-American general manager as the GM of the Milwaukee Bucks. 

1973-4- Lewis Jackson becomes the first African-American basketball coach at Galesburg HS. He was assistant to Mike Owens. 

1975- Bill Russell becomes the first African-American player selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. 

1979- Jimmy Jones officiated the IHSA Class A championship game. 

1993 & 1994- Sweet Charlie Brown from the 1954 DuSable team officiated the IHSA State Champhionship boys basketball games. “I don’t ever want what happened to me to happen to any player.”

1999- Pam Young is the first African-American female to officiate at the girls IHSA state tourney. 

2002- Robert Johnson becomes the first African-American owner as owner of the Charlotte Bobcats.