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Michael Jordan: Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls selected Michael Jordan in the 1984 NBA draft as the third overall pick. Only the Houston Rockets’ Hakeem Olajuwon and the Portland Trail Blazers’ Sam Bowie were…
Michael Jordan: Amateur Career
As a high school junior Michael Jordan did make the Laney varsity and was a valuable member of the squad. He then attended the nationally renowned Five-Star Basketball Camp during…
Michael Jordan: Early Years
Michael Jordan, Michael (1963- ), American professional basketball player, considered by many to be the greatest player in basketball history. The 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) shooting guard first…
Race & Athletic Ability
Black success in athletics has created racial problems as it has helped to overcome others. Superior performances by black athletes over whites have been met with pseudoscientific speculation that people…
The Rise of Sports among African Americans
Africans in America, from slavery to freedom, found sport a necessity for physical and psychological survival. Enslaved Africans supplemented their diets through hunting and fishing. Treeing opossums and raccoons, snaring…
Basketball & African Americans
Basketball, team sport that has been transformed by the presence of African Americans and, as such, has been an important signifier of the cultural, political, and social changes in the…
Basketball: Harlem Renaissance Big Five
Harlem Renaissance Big Five, one of the most successful all-black professional basketball teams in the 1920s and 1930s, the "Harlem Rens" added grace and style to the game of American…
African American Sports & The first Golden Era
The 1920s were in many respects the first golden era of sports in the United States. Virtually all sports grew and prospered during this period. Already well established, boxing, baseball,…
Baseball: The Negro Leagues
At the turn of the century, Rube Foster, a star pitcher for several African American teams, envisioned a baseball league for blacks that would rival the white major league, eventually…
Sports, a Racial Barometer
Sports, like the arts, literature, and politics, have been a mirror of American society. And in sports the contradictions between democratic principles and racial discrimination have been particularly glaring because…
African American Athletes and the Struggle for Equality
Two black athletes dominated American sports in the years immediately prior to World War II: Jesse Owens in track and field and Joe Louis in boxing. Owens’s four gold medals…
James Naismith: The Inventor of Basketball
Naismith, James (1861-1939), Canadian-American teacher of physical education, recognized as the inventor of the sport of basketball. He was born in Almonte, Ontario, Canada, and educated at McGill University and…
Hey Cape Town! South Africa’s World Cup
Hey, Cape Town! They are partying already. If you cross the crowded intersections, you may find kites, flags of every nation, T-shirts being sold, beads other distinct jewelry and kids…
