William ‘Dolly’ King
“As a scoring threat Dolly can hold his own with the top courtsters in the National circuit. His real value to the team, however, is his floor work. There he is beyond reproach.”
— Rochester Royals yearbook, 1946“Cocky, egotistical, self-assured and gifted — Dolly had no time for the black man’s impedimenta.”
— The Pittsburgh Courier, 1969
William 'Dolly' King.
Born: 1916
Died: 1969
King was a star in football, basketball, and baseball at Alexander Hamilton High School in New York City, before starring in all three sports at Long Island University (L.I.U.). He was the captain of that school’s basketball team under legendary coach Clair Bee.
As a senior, King left L.I.U.’s varsity basketball team in the middle of its 1941 undefeated season to play professionally.
He first created his own pro team, the Long Island Blackbirds, also known as the Dolly King All Stars, but soon joined the Harlem Yankees, a feeder team for the New York Rens, after its manager convinced King that organizing a team mid-season was much tougher than it seems.
His teammates on the Harlem Yankees included Charlie Isles, Lew Badger, and Benny Garrett.
A few weeks later those players and King all moved up to the Rens and traveled with the team to Cleveland to compete in the Rosenblum Pro Invitational Tournament and then to Chicago for the 1941 World Pro Basketball Championship.
L.I.U. went on to win the 1941 National Invitation Tournament (N.I.T.), which was the collegiate championship prior to the existence of the N.C.A.A. Tournament.
King surely would have finished at L.I.U. and been drafted by the National Basketball League (N.B.L.) were it not for the whites-only policy employed there and in the Basketball Association of America (B.A.A.). The N.B.L. and the B.A.A., the only two existing viable pro leagues, would merge in 1949 to form the National Basketball Association.
By that time, King was past his prime.
Today he is enshrined today in the L.I.U. Sports Hall of Fame.
King also played professional basketball with the Harlem Yankees, Grumman Wildcats, and Washington Bears.
While with the Bears, he led the team to win the championship title in the 1943 World Pro Basketball Tournament.
He signed with the Rochester Royals of the N.B.L. in 1946, becoming the first African American to join the league during its post-World War II period.
King also played professional football with the Long Island Indians and pro baseball with the Homestead Grays.
Later, he was a member of the all-black Dayton Rens team that joined the N.B.L. in 1948.
After his playing career, King became a prominent basketball referee, baseball umpire, recreational director, and community leader in Harlem.
He died of a heart attack in 1969.
Please see these articles for more on William “Dolly” King.
