Deeronn Booker, 33, won the United States Bowling Congress Masters championship at Suncoast Bowling Center in Las Vegas on Sunday, defeating Patrick Dombrowski of Parma, Ohio, 217-177, to win the coveted Masters title and the tournament’s $100,000 first-place prize.
This was Albuquerque, New Mexico native Booker’s first major title on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour, and only the third time an African-American bowler has won a major event.
To quote from Donovan Grubaugh’s article on bowl.com:
Booker’s path to the winner’s circle certainly wasn’t an easy one as he was forced to take down the likes of two-time defending Masters champion Anthony Simonsen of Las Vegas, 2023 U.S. Open champion EJ Tackett of Ossian, Indiana, and two-time PBA titlist Sam Cooley of Australia during double-elimination bracket match play on Thursday and Friday…
Booker had enormous support from the crowd during the title match as several family members and friends were on hand to take in Booker’s TV finals debut…
“I can’t believe it,” Booker said after his win, during which he was surrounded by enthusiastic supporters. “This is perfect; I could not have painted a better picture of what’s going on right now.”
To learn more details about Booker and his championship match, click here.
For more information on the USBC Masters, visit BOWL.com/Masters.
Althea Gibson, the first Black tennis player to win a Grand Slam title, was honored in her hometown of Harlem, NY with a street renaming in her honor on what would have been her 95th birthday.
The intersection of West 143rd Street and Malcolm X Boulevard, where Gibson grew up, is now called Althea Gibson Way.
The ceremony took place last week in front of Gibson’s old apartment building on 143rd Street and was attended by Gibson’s family members, who were given a replica of the new street sign.
Born in 1927, Gibson was the daughter of sharecroppers in South Carolina who moved to Harlem in 1929. There, she was introduced to the Harlem River Tennis Courts in 1941, where she developed her skills.
Gibson won the French Open in 1956, and subsequently took home back-to-back Grand Slam singles titles at Wimbledon and the US Open in 1957 and 1958.
In the wake of the recent Kentucky Derby upset, today we take a brief look at Oliver Lewis, the jockey who won the very first Derby, and the history of Black jockeys at the event.
To read about it, read on. To hear about it, press PLAY:
[You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.comor create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website. Full transcript below]:
Hey, this is Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Monday, May 9th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.
Jockey Oliver Lewis won the inaugural Kentucky Derby atop the colt Aristides on May 17, 1875. One of thirteen Black jockeys in the fifteen-strong field, Lewis set an American record with his time of two minutes, 37.75 seconds over the mile and a half distance. (For the record, the Kentucky Derby became a 1.25 mile race in 1896).
Although Blacks dominated horseracing in the late 1800s, winning fifteen of the first twenty-eight Kentucky Derbies, by the early 1900s, they’d been pushed out of the sport, which also had become less accessible to the working classes.
James Winkfield won the Kentucky Derby in 1901 and 1902, but after 1921 there were no Black riders in the race until Marlon St. Julien in 2000.
To learn more about Oliver Lewis and the long heritage of African American people in horse racing, including the recent group of Black women owners who made history at the annual Kentucky Oaks Day horse racing event in Louisville when their horse “Seven Scents” scored first place during competition, you can watch the Kentucky Derby video on the history of Black Jockeys on YouTube, and check out the links provided in today’s show notes and in the episode’s full transcript posted on goodblacknews.org.
This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, written, produced and hosted by me, Lori Lakin Hutcherson.
Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.
If you like these Daily Drops, follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon,Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.
For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.
[Wilma Rudolph and her parents Ed and Blanche Rudolph as they rode in a parade after Olympic victory in Rome. Rudolph agreed to participate only if the event was desegregated. This was the first desegregated public event in Clarksville, Tennessee. Photo credit: Bob Ray via https://digital.library.nashville.org/digital/collection/nr/id/2227/]
On Mother’s Day 2022, we offer a quote from three-time Olympic gold medalist and international track star Wilma Rudolph, who rightfully and fatefully choose to believe her mother.
To read it and about her, read on. To hear it and more about Rudolph, press PLAY:
[You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.comor create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website. Full transcript below]:
Hey, this is Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Sunday, May 8th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.
US athlete Wilma Rudolph shows the gold medal she won at the Women’s 100 meters Summer Olympic Games sprint event on September 2, 1960 in Rome, Italy. (AP Photo)
Today, for Mother’s Day, we offer a quote from three-time Olympic Gold Medalist and National Track and Field Hall of Famer Wilma Rudolph, who had polio as a young child:
“My doctors told me I’d never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.”
Wilma Glodean Rudolph was born prematurely in June 1940 and after contracting Scarlet Fever, pneumonia, polio and infantile paralysis, Rudolph wore braces on her legs until she was nine years old.
Because there was so little medical care available to Black people in 1940s Clarksville, Tennessee, Wilma’s mother Blanche took her on weekly bus trips 50 miles away to Nashville to get Wilma treatment at Meharry Medical College.
Blanche and other family members also massaged Wilma’s weakened leg four times a week until Wilma had enough strength to no longer need braces, or the orthopedic shoe she wore until she was 11.
By the time she was 16, Wilma was running in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, bringing home a bronze medal in the 400-meter relay.
Rudolph earned a college scholarship to Tennessee State and in 1960, she headed to Rome with the goal of becoming the best woman runner in the world. She surpassed that goal, winning three gold medals and breaking world records in the 100 and 200 meters.
She was nicknamed “The Tornado” and became an international track star. Rudolph graduated college with a degree in elementary education, and taught for the majority of her life after she retired from athletics. Let’s hear a clip from Rudolph describing the last race she ever ran before she retired:
“It was Palo Alto, California, Stanford University, Russia versus the United States. I was running well, but the heart wasn’t there anymore. I mean, what do you dowhen you win all of it? To keep yourself motivated, you have to be a little bit hungry, to be there and stay there and to stay on top.
And this particular day, we were running a relay we were behind when we started off. And you always think on a staggered start and you know, on a staggered start that, okay, she’s gonna catch her in the turn. And by the time that baton is passed, we were going to be even. That didn’t happen. And then when they pass it the next time I said, well, by the time they get to the next person, we will be even, or be one step ahead.
And by the time it got to me, I saw that we were behind, and I made myself a promise that day I said, if you catch the Russian it’s history – retire. If you do not catch the Russian, you will have to run another four years for the Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. I caught the Russian. I retired, it became history.
It was the fastest single race that I’ve ever ran in the history of my career. And to get a standing ovation in my home country, outdoors, which I’ve never had before, I think it was the grandest moment in my career. I retired that day, and I have never regretted it.”
Rudolph passed in 1994 of brain cancer, the same year her mother Blanche passed. Rudolph has been honored with a U.S. postage stamp, induction into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and National Women’s Hall of Fame, and in 2012 her hometown built the Wilma Rudolph Event Center. A life-sized bronze statue of Rudolph stands near the entrance of the building.
To learn more about Wilma Rudolph, watch videos of her Olympic races on YouTube, read her 1977 autobiographyWilma: The Story of Wilma Rudolph, Wilma Rudolph: A Biographyfrom 2006 by Maureen Margaret Smith and the children’s book Wilma Rudolph: Athlete and Educatorby Alice K. Flanagan and check out the 1977 movie Wilma starring Cicely Tyson, Shirley Jo Finney and Denzel Washington, available on Vudu.
Links to these sources and more are provided in today’s show notes and in the episode’s full transcript posted on goodblacknews.org.
This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, written, produced and hosted by me, Lori Lakin Hutcherson.
Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.
If you like these Daily Drops, follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon,Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.
For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.
Today, GBN celebrates the accomplishments and legacy of NBA champion, Olympic Gold medalist, Academy Award winner and philanthropist Kobe Bryant. To read about Bryant, read on. To hear about him and some of his wise words, press PLAY:
[You can subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.comor create your own RSS Feed. Or listen every day here on the main page. Full transcript below]:
Hey, this is Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Monday, April 18th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.
Dear Basketball, thank you for five-time NBA champion, two-time Olympic Gold medalist, NBA MVP, Academy Award winner, career Los Angeles Laker, shooting guard, multilingual philanthropist, author, husband and father –the one and only “Black Mamba” — Kobe Bean Bryant.
He lives on through his countless fans, three daughters, and his wife Vanessa, whom he married on this day in 2001. Though it is still hard to believe that such a legend was taken from us so soon, his impact will never be forgotten.To learn more about Kobe Bryant, read 2018’s The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant, 2022’s The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality by Mike Sielski. Watch the 2015 documentary Kobe Bryant’s Muse, now streaming on Showtime, the 2019 All the Smoke video podcast episode featuring one of his final interviews, also currently on Showtime.
https://youtu.be/98wR6-r2bbI
Check out Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel‘s retrospective on Kobe Bryant from 2020, which you can watch on Facebook. And, of course watch the Oscar-winning short, Dear Basketball. You can also listen to Kobe Bryant’s family-oriented podcast The Punies about a group of friends who play sports, have adventures and learn valuable life lessons along the way.
There’s also a few podcasts dedicated to collecting and sharing Kobe Bryant’s various interviews, which you can find through listennotes.com. Links to these sources and more are provided in today’s show notes and in the episode’s full transcript posted on goodblacknews.org.
In fact, we’ll leave you with a clip from one of the Kobe Bryant Getting Interviewed podcasts where Bryant speaks about his life as a student of the sport he loved and his work ethic:
Kobe: Everything was done to try to learn how to become a better basketball player, everything, everything. And so when you have that point of view, then literally, the world becomes your library to help you to become better at your craft.
Interviewer: So, because you know what you want, the world’s giving you exactly the information?
Kobe: One hundred percent. Because you know what you’re looking for.
Interviewer: So many guys tell stories about your work ethic? What was really your work ethic like and for how long did you stay disciplined?
Kobe: Well, I mean, I mean, every day, I mean, since 20 years, it was an everyday process and trying to figure out strengths and weaknesses. For example, jumping ability, my vertical was a 40 wasn’t a 46 or a 45. My hands are big, but they’re not massive. So, you’ve got to figure out ways to strengthen them so your hands are strong enough to be able to palm a ball and do the things that you need to do. Quickness… I was quick, but not insanely quick. I was fast, but not ridiculously fast. Right? So, I had to rely on skill a lot more. I had to rely on angles a lot more. I had to study the game a lot more. But I enjoyed it though. So, like from the time I was… I can remember when I started watching the game. I studied the game and it just never changed.
This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, written, produced and hosted by yours truly, Lori Lakin Hutcherson. Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.
If you like these Daily Drops, follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.
For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.
Matthew Mackenzie “Mack” Robinson was an outstanding track and field athlete who won the silver medal in the 200-meter event at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, finishing just four tenths of a second behind Jesse Owens.
To read about Robinson, read on. To hear about him, press PLAY:
[You can subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.comor create your own RSS Feed. Or listen every day here on the main page. Full transcript below]:
Pasadena Robinson Memorial
Hey, this is Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a bonus daily drop of Good Black News for Saturday, April 16th, 2022, based on the format of the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.
In yesterday’s daily drop we celebrated some of Jackie Robinson’s greatest achievements in the realm of sports. But did you know his older brother Mack Robinson has his own sports claims to fame as well?
Born in 1914, Matthew Mackenzie “Mack” Robinson was an outstanding track and field athlete who went from competing at Pasadena City College in California to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin after local Pasadena business owners paid his way to the Olympic trials in New York.
With no coaching and worn-down shoes – the same ones he’d used all season to compete with at junior college, Robinson won a silver medal in the 200-meter event, finishing just four tenths of a second behind the gold medal winner from Ohio State University who became world-renowned for his track and field feats in those same Olympics — Jesse Owens.
Mack Robinson with his Silver Medal from the 1936 Olympics
And for Robinson, with all he was up against, was rightfully proud of his achievement, as he explained in a 1985 interview conducted for the educational series, Black Champions:
[Clip of Mack Robinson]
“You know, we had sixty-four individuals that was in the two hundred meters in the very beginning, and they had to be eliminated down to eight.
So when you look at, you’re inside of the eight out of sixty-four, that’s not bad; and you go on down, and you’re number two out of the eight and, which covers the whole world, to me, it’s great.
I have no qualms about finishing second. I’ve enjoyed placing second. My silver medal has a lot of meaning to me, and I believe it has as much meaning in it as the gold.”
After the Olympics, Robinson went on to attend the University of Oregon, where in 1938 he won the National Collegiate Athletic Association and Amateur Athletic Union titles in the 220-yard dash.
Robinson left college soon after to return to Pasadena to work and care of his family. Robinson worked menial jobs for the city, and it’s been reported that he lost his job as a street sweeper when Pasadena fired all of its Black municipal employees in retaliation for a court order demanding it desegregate its public pools.
Though Robinson later went on to work as a Park Director in East Hollywood, he stayed locally active in Pasadena at all times, determined to advocate for the betterment of his community. He regularly went down to City Hall and pushed for playgrounds, YMCAs, swimming pools — anything that would help keep the local youth active and out of trouble.
Robinson also lobbied for better books in the libraries, fought to keep the local parks clean, safe and free of drugs and alcohol, and he organized clothing drives to help the less fortunate in different parts of the country.
Robinson is even reported to have gone after a local liquor store where neighbors were being accosted. He took down a local den of gambling and prostitution, and he also crusaded to get streets, sidewalks and gutters fixed. Robinson was often seen at the Pasadena Board of City Directors meetings, and himself is quoted as saying, “I’m a thorn in their side. I’m a squeaky wheel that gets the grease, but what I’m trying to get is lubricant for a lifetime.”
Robinson eventually got a job working as a truant officer at John Muir High School, the same high school he attended in Pasadena, and also worked in that capacity to help keep youth out of trouble.
In 1981, Mack Robinson was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and in 1995 he was inducted into the University of Oregon Hall of Fame.
In 1984 Robinson was part of a select group chosen to carry a large Olympic flag in the Opening Ceremonies of the Los Angeles Olympics.
And in 1997, Mack Robinson received one of the best recognitions of all the dedication he put in locally and civically. The memorial created in Pasadena, called the Pasadena Robinson Memorial, not only honored his famous younger brother Jackie for his nationally-renowned achievements, but also honored Mack for his lifetime of activism in the community.
While the 9-foot-tall bust of Jackie faces northeast towards Brooklyn, where he famously integrated Major League Baseball, Mack’s equally tall bust looks directly at Pasadena City Hall.
Mack Robinson passed in the year 2000, and in that same year Pasadena City College, which he attended and which he represented on the track and field, dedicated its stadium to him. And the United States Post Office named its new Pasadena branch the Matthew “Mack” Robinson Post Office Building.
To learn more about Mack Robinson, watch the 2021 CBS Los Angeles feature story about him on YouTube, the 2016 documentary Olympic Pride, American Prejudice which follows the 18 Black athletes who competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics and that’s currently streaming on Amazon Video.
Links to these sources and more are provided in today’s show notes and the episode’s full transcript posted on goodblacknews.org.
This has been a bonus daily drop of Good Black News, written, produced and hosted by me, Lori Lakin Hutcherson. Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.
If you like these Daily Drops, follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.
For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.
Seventy five years ago today, Jackie Robinson made sports and U.S. history when he took to the infield as a Brooklyn Dodger against the Boston Braves and integrated Major League Baseball.
To read about Robinson, read on. To hear about him, press PLAY:
[You can subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.comor create your own RSS Feed. Or listen every day here on the main page. Full transcript below]:
Hey, this is Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Friday, April 15th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.
#Onthisday seventy-five years ago, Jackie Robinson sprinted right over the Major League Baseball color line when he took to the infield to play first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Robinson earned the first ever MLB “Rookie of the Year” Award that same year, and in 1949 he became the first Black player to win the National League MVP Award.
In 1956, after six straight years as an All Star, Robinson led the Dodgers to a World Series Championship, proving all haters, detractors, and racists wrong with his undeniably stellar statistics and play. To quote Robinson:
“I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me. All I ask is that you respect me as a human being.”
To learn more about Georgia native and U.S. Army veteran Robinson, check out the official website jackierobinson.com for information, stats, interviews, photos and more, read I Never Had it Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson, originally published in 1972.Read True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson by Kostya Kennedy, a new biography on Robinson just released this week, watch The Jackie Robinson Story, the 1950 biopic which Robinson starred in as himself — it’s currently streaming on Hulu and Amazon Prime Video.
Also check out the 2013 film 42, starring Chadwick Boseman that’s currently streaming on HBO Max, and the 2016 documentary Jackie Robinson by Ken Burns, which is on DVD or somewhere on PBS.
Additionally, consider donating to the Jackie Robinson Foundation at jackierobinson.org, which offers financial aid to Black college students under its JRF Scholars program, and also supports job placement and the development of leadership and life skills.
The site also provides updates on the upcoming opening this year of the Jackie Robinson Museum in New York.
This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, written, produced and hosted by yours truly, Lori Lakin Hutcherson. Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.
If you like these Daily Drops, follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.
For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.
You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Amazon, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.comor create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):
FULL TRANSCRIPT:
Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Tuesday, March 22nd, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by ]Wi. It’s in the category for Black Trivia we call “We Got Game”:
Okay, so I’m going to read a multiple-choice question that you will get time to think about and answer. What I’m going to do is read the question, read the choices — and they’ll be four of them — and then I’ll prompt you to pause the episode if you want to take longer than the 10 seconds that will pass before I share the answer. Sound good? Ready to see if you got game? All right, here we go:
Who was the first NBA player to ever be voted league MVP unanimously? Was it…
A. Stephen Curry
B. LeBron James
C. Kobe Bryant
D. Michael Jordan
Now go ahead and pause the episode if you want to take more than 10 seconds before you hear the answer. Otherwise, I’ll be back in 10… Okay, time’s up. The answer is… A: Stephen Curry.
Although it wasn’t the first time Curry was voted league MVP, in 2016 the Golden State Warriors point guard scored all 131 first-place votes for the top spot.
This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing. Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.
If you like these Daily Drops, please consider following us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com,Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.
For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.
Today’s GBN Daily Drop podcast is based on the Monday, March 7 entry in the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022 about Mabel Fairbanks, a figure skater who was denied the opportunity to compete for the U.S. because of her skin color but found other ways to dedicate herself to the sport and became a coach to future national and world champions of color:
You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.comor create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):
SHOW TRANSCRIPT:
Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Monday, March 7th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.
Growing up in the 1920s, Mabel Fairbanks dreamed of becoming a champion figure skater, but she was denied entry to rinks because of her skin color. So, she learned in part by eavesdropping on white skating instructors. And when the U.S. Skating Team wouldn’t accept Black skaters, she showed off her skills by skating in entertaining ice shows instead.
Fairbanks later became a coach who worked with World Champion pairs team Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, Olympic gold medalists Scott Hamilton and Kristi Yamaguchi, and Atoy Wilson, the first African American athlete to win a U.S. skating title.
Though she was never able to compete for her own prizes, Fairbanks was recognized as a pioneer of the sport when she became the first African American inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1997.
Fairbanks passed away at 85 years old in 2001, and her resting place at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles is marked by a plaque etched with a pair of figure skates and the words “Skatingly Yours,” the phrase she’d add whenever she signed autographs.
If you like these Daily Drops, please consider following us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com,Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can give a positive rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.
For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.
Some readers may be too young to remember the 1970s and 1980s heydays of the still entertaining and awe-inspiring traveling basketball team, the Harlem Globetrotters, but for those who do, today, on 2-22-22, we are taking a moment to honor Harlem Globetrotter #22, Frederick “Curly” Neal.
Neal, called “Curly” ironically because of his famously bald head, was a crowd favorite and featured ball handler on the team who did tricks, slips and amazing shots, all with flair and a smile. Neal played with the Globetrotters for 22 years before retiring from the game.
Neal sadly passed away on March 26, 2020 but his legacy lives on, particularly through those he entertained and inspired. Check out some of his highlights from the “Happy Birthday” video the Globetrotters put together for Neal in 2016:
Current Globetrotter Jahmani “Hot Shot” Swanson, known as the “4’9″ Michael Jordan” was inspired to become a player by Neal. Below is his open letter honoring Neal:
Dear Curly,
At nine years old, I attended one of my first professional sporting events in New York City’s famous Madison Square Garden arena with my mother. This moment was special because basketball became my first love as a child. I spent hours honing and perfecting my skills, often emulating moves of the greats like Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson.
At the time, I wasn’t yet immersed in the lure of the Harlem Globetrotters; however, as a sports fanatic, I followed the players across sports teams. I vividly remember the fanfare, the lights, the crowd and an eerily familiar song, which I would eventually come to know as “Sweet Georgia Brown.” I didn’t know on that night; another icon would enter my world and forever inspire me.
Curly, the moment you stepped onto the court, I was in awe. Unfathomable trick shots, clutch behind the back passes, supreme control of the rock, high engagement from the crowd, personality, charm, humility and yes, your signature bald head. Curly, you were the man. From that moment, I became a fan for life. I didn’t believe it was possible, but my love for the game elevated.
You were magnifying.
As I matured, I came to know you for the inspiration you left off the court. In the prime of your career, you and the Harlem Globetrotters team were breaking racial barriers, bringing people and their love for basketball together. You did more than entertain; you were a part of history. You were a catalyst to bringing joy to fans across the globe, suiting up with other Globetrotter greats like MeadowLark Lemon and Wilt Chamberlain. The makeup of one of the first all-black basketball teams in our nation’s history.
You appeared in more than 6,000 games in nearly 100 countries for 22 years throughout your career. Your commitment to excellence earned you an induction into the CIAA Hall of Fame in 1986 and the 2008 North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. With everything you accomplished, you were able to do it with the odds stacked against you.
You spoke of times when you were denied access to hotels on the road and where you and the team encountered moments of racism and hate. Through it all, you persevered and did it with a smile. Sometimes, I sit and watch videos of your games, interviews and appearances and wonder, “what did he go through that day?” “How did he push forward in those times?”
I believe through it all, you continued to show up and stand tall.
You were the ultimate athlete.
I will never forget when I attended a New York Knicks versus the Boston Celtics game in Madison Square Garden, this time as an adult, and the arena was packed. It was probably one of the most intense games I’ve experienced as a fan until you walked through the crowd. I remember seeing people turn their attention from the game to dap you up and ask for autographs and pictures. The crowd’s love for you at that moment was something I rarely saw, and the energy was unmatched. You were the epitome of star power.
You were the culture.
Now, as a Globetrotter, I stand on your shoulders aiming to leave a legacy – that if only embodies half of what you accomplished – would be the ultimate achievement for me. A few years ago, I was awarded the Star Power award from the franchise. Many staff and even coaches tell me that I remind them a bit of you, and I feel honored and blessed to be mentioned in that way. I’ve learned what it means to #SpreadGame, entertain and inspire the world. Through your legacy, you’ve shown the world that anything is possible when your heart, mind, and intentions are in the right place.
Thank you for your showmanship, professionalism, legacy, and, most importantly, your humanity.
With Love,
Jahmani “Hot Shot” Swanson
You can learn more about Neal and the Harlem Globetrotters in the 2005 documentary Harlem Globetrotters: The Team That Changed The World, by watching it here or available on Amazon Video.
To learn more about Wilma Rudolph, watch videos of her Olympic races on YouTube, read her 1977 autobiography 
To learn more about Kobe Bryant, read 2018’s 
Read 
