Hi! For our third Sports Spotlight we're taking on another sport infamous for a lot of Black firsts. I try to keep these as varied as possible, but I do find myself going back to a selected few over the years. It's amazing, as many times as I think I've gotten to the main firsts I find out later I've only scratched the surface. It's one of the reasons I find Black history, and history in general, so much fun to learn about. Every year, new names come up for me and I can only hope they're new to you as well so I can share. Let's get to today's entrant!
Name: Don Barksdale, 1923-1993
Profession: Basketball player, entrepreneur, philanthropist
Why is the Spotlight on him today? For his contributions to the sport of basketball and his opening the door to the sport for other Black players
Notables:
--Was the first Black NBA player to make it to an All-Star team
--Was the first Black player to play for the Boston Celtics and the third player allowed in the league
--Was the first Black player to make it to an Olympic basketball team, where he served as co-captain
--Won a gold medal at the 1948 London Olympics
--Was the posthumous subject of a documentary about his life for Berkeley's Athletes United for Peace
--Was the first Black DJ in the Bay area
--Was named AAU All-American for three consecutive years
--Was honored with a spot in Berkeley's Historical Plaque Project
--Was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
--Was the first Black beer distributor in the Bay area
--Was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha
--Faced racism and segregated conditions throughout his career despite his talent, being cut from Berkeley's high school basketball team three times due to the coach's racism
--Was the first Black tv host in the Bay area
--Created the Save High School Sports Foundation, which helped keep Oakland-based schools from losing their athletic programs
--Was posthumously inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012
--Was inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame
Further reading links:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Quote of the Day:
"I want to thank big Don Barksdale. Dad. We love you and we'll be forever proud of you. Not only for being a Hall of Famer, but for being a significant and great person who made a change on society."
--Derek Barksdale, giving his acceptance speech upon his father's induction into the Hall of Fame
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