They Cleared the Lane
University of Nebraska Press (Verlag)
978-0-8032-4437-5 (ISBN)
- Titel ist leider vergriffen;
keine Neuauflage - Artikel merken
Today, black players comprise more than eighty percent of the National Basketball Association's rosters, providing a strong and valued contribution to professional basketball. In the first half of the twentieth century, however, pro basketball was tainted by racism, as gifted African Americans were denied the opportunity to display their talents. A few managed to eke out a living playing for the New York Renaissance and Harlem Globetrotters, black professional teams that barnstormed widely, playing local teams or in short-lived leagues. Also, a sprinkling of black players were on integrated teams. Modern professional basketball began to take shape in the late 1940s, during which time the NBA was formed. Fearful of economic repercussions, team owners originally imposed an unwritten ban on black players. But pressured by several progressive owners and the increasing emergence of talented black players, the nba gradually accepted integration. A few pioneers, such as Sweetwater Clifton, Chuck Cooper, Earl Lloyd, and Don Barksdale, managed to break through and confronted discrimination and numerous frustrations. Yet they persevered, often with support from white teammates and coaches.
Through in-depth interviews with players, their families, coaches, teammates, and league officials, Ron Thomas tells the largely untold story of what basketball was really like for the first black NBA players, including early superstars such as Maurice Stokes and Bill Russell, and the league's first black coaches. They Cleared the Lane is both informative and entertaining, full of anecdotes and little-known history. Not all of the stories have happy endings, but this unfortunate truth only emphasizes how much we have gained from the accomplishments of these pioneer athletes. Ron Thomas is a sportswriter for the San Francisco Examiner and covered the NBA for nine years.
Ron Thomas is director of the Morehouse College Journalism and Sports Program.
List of Illustrations; Preface; Trailblazing Black Players: A Chronology 1. One Step at a Time 2. Jackie's Legacy 3. Just a Dab of Color 4. A Taste of Sweetwater 5. "No" to the Trotters, "Yes" to the nba 6. Frustrated Pioneer 7. Moon Fixer Rises 8. West Virginia State Spawned the Pioneers 9. The Gentlest Giant 10. Barksdale, a Man of Many Firsts 11. Barksdale's Long Haul to the All-Star Game 12. Teammates' Jealousy Kills Cleo Hill's Career 13. Eastern League Provides Haven for nba Rejects 14. John McLendon, Naismith's Protege 15. The Coming of the Superstars 16. Black Coaches Extend Integration beyond the Sidelines 17. Today's nba Appendix: The nba's Black Pioneers, 1950-1965 Notes Index
| Verlagsort | Lincoln |
|---|---|
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 150 x 250 mm |
| Gewicht | 666 g |
| Themenwelt | Sport ► Ballsport ► Basketball |
| Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Kulturgeschichte | |
| Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie | |
| ISBN-10 | 0-8032-4437-1 / 0803244371 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-8032-4437-5 / 9780803244375 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
aus dem Bereich
