African American Integration Into College Basketball Bachelor‟S Diploma Thesis
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Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Jan Matějka African American Integration into College Basketball Bachelor‟s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A. 2015 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author‟s signature Acknowledgement I would like to thank my supervisor Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A. for his kind advice, comments and support. Table of Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 6 2. The Rise of College Basketball .......................................................................... 8 The History of Basketball and its Development ............................................ 8 College Basketball Origins and Tournaments ............................................... 9 African American Segregation in Relation to College Basketball .............. 10 3. Pioneers of Professional and College Basketball Integration .......................... 13 Coaches Who Greatly Influenced the Integration ........................................ 13 John B. McLendon ................................................................................ 13 Clarence Edward Gaines ....................................................................... 15 The Influence of NBA on College Basketball ............................................. 16 The New Era of African American College Superstars ............................... 18 Wilt Chamberlain .................................................................................. 19 Bill Russell ............................................................................................ 20 Oscar Robertson .................................................................................... 21 4. Deep South‟s Defiance and Nationwide Integration of College Basketball .... 24 Situation in the Deep South ......................................................................... 24 Integration of College Basketball in the Deep South ................................... 27 The Game of Change ............................................................................ 28 Integration of College Football ............................................................. 30 Perry Wallace ........................................................................................ 32 Comparison of Integration of College Basketball and College Football ..... 34 5. Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 37 6. Works Cited ..................................................................................................... 39 7. Appendices ....................................................................................................... 43 8. Resumé ............................................................................................................. 46 9. Summary .......................................................................................................... 47 1. Introduction Race in sports has been a very complex topic in the last century. It has since become a sensitive issue and the general public avoids its discussion at all costs. However, every once in a while a scandal related to race in sports reaches the surface and it becomes a hot button issue for weeks to come. One of the latest scandals was a recording of Donald Sterling, an 80-year-old billionaire and an owner of the NBA team Los Angeles Clippers. On the recording, he is talking to his 31-year-old part African American girlfriend Vanessa Stiviano: “It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you are associating with black people. Do you have to? … You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in. You can do whatever you want. The little I ask is not to promote it on that [website], and not to bring them to my games” (qtd. in Hart). This statement has caused a wave of uproar and a number of well-known people condemned his actions, among them his team, former NBA stars, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and even president Barrack Obama (Hart). Scandals such as this one show that race in sports is still an ongoing issue, which is why this thesis explores the integration of college basketball. The reason why it is focused at college basketball and not at the professional basketball is that professional basketball was integrated much faster than college basketball. It took nearly 80 years to integrate college basketball since its formation and consequently it is worth analyzing why it took this long and which actions led to the integration. The thesis begins with an introductory part consisting of three chapters – history and development of basketball, college basketball origins and its tournaments and African American segregation in relation to college basketball. These chapters are vital to fill all the gaps a reader might have about basketball and segregation that might otherwise obstruct him/her in better understanding of the topic. The main body 6 of the thesis is split into two parts. The first part dedicated to the individual pioneers of professional and college basketball integration. It begins with the two most important coaches of that era, John B. McLendon and Clarence Edward Gaines. It explores their influence on the integration and basketball itself. The next subchapter seeks what kind of an influence had the integration of professional league on college basketball and the following subchapter explores the new era of African American college superstars. It deals with the most prominent stars and their impact on African American community and integration. The second part of the main body of the thesis examines the core of the problem, which was the Deep South and it explains why it was so hard to integrate college basketball in this area. The succeeding subchapter researches the events that made integration in the Deep South possible, such as the Game of Change and integration of college football. The final subchapter compares college basketball integration to college football integration and investigates the possible reasons for a later college basketball integration. 7 2. The Rise of College Basketball The History of Basketball and its Development The birthplace of basketball is Springfield College in Massachusetts. It was in 1891, when James Naismith, then a 31-year-old graduate student in his second year, invented the game of basketball. The reasoning behind the invention of a new sport was a need for an indoor activity that would provide exercise during winter time for a large number of students/athletes. One of the requirements was that there had to be no excessive contact and violence that could cause injuries, resulting in sidelining the athletes during football season. The sport had to be easy to learn and simultaneously it had to appeal to the students, to raise their interest in playing it (White). Naismith put together components of several games he knew, such as football, soccer, lacrosse and a game from his childhood – duck on a rock. Then he requested two square boxes from a school janitor, but instead received two peach baskets, which he nailed to the balcony, surrounding the gym 10 feet above the ground. Lastly, he put in writing the original thirteen rules of basketball describing the methods, objectives and fouls of the game (White). These thirteen rules have grown into very complex rule books over the decades. Only two of Naismith‟s thirteen rules are still in place and relevant in this day and age. The first – “The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands” and the last – “The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winner…” (Stevens). In the beginnings, basketball teams consisted of nine players; the initial basket was a peach basket with a solid ground and backboards were non-existent. They used a soccer ball, there was no dribbling, playing time was two fifteen minute halves and there was no time limit on a team‟s possession of a basketball. These rules changed over 8 time. Nine player teams were reduced down to five player teams, peach basket became a rim with a net and backboards were introduced to stop the spectators from interfering with the game. Soccer ball evolved into a bigger, lighter and bouncier basketball, dribbling was introduced so the players could move with the basketball, playing time was expanded and each team can now be in the possession of the basketball only for twenty four seconds (A Chronological Look At The Major Refinements). There have been many other major and minor rule changes and additions since the invention of basketball. These are just a few of the major rule changes that have had a great impact and which illustrate how much has the game of basketball evolved. College Basketball Origins and Tournaments The first game of basketball ever took place on December 21, 1891 and the final score was 1-0. The word of the new game spread quickly, people came to see the students play and the students themselves spread the game around the country. They brought the rules home during the holiday break and gave them to their local YMCAs (White). The birthplace of college basketball is the Vanderbilt University. It has been mistakenly retained by Geneva College, when they thought they were the first to play against an outside opponent, the New Brighton YMCA on April 8, 1893.