Six Degrees of Frank ‘Strangler’ Forbes, A Sports Trivia Game


Frank 'Strangler' Forbes

Frank 'Strangler' Forbes.

I’ll betchu a new pair of Uptowns that I can connect any modern day athlete or event to black basketball and African American sports pioneer Frank “Strangler” Forbes.

Remember that silly movie trivia game, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? This is the same thing.

Let’s do an example.

What’s that you say? The Harvard-Yale football game on Saturday? That annual traditional rivalry dating back to 1875?

I gotchu in 2 degrees!

  1. Harvard and Yale are in the Ivy League;
  2. In 1938, the Ivy League (affiliated with the old Eastern Intercollegiate Association) named its first black football referee, Frank “Strangler” Forbes.

Done! That was easy!

By the way, both Harvard and Yale go into Saturday’s game undefeated in league play, and Yale has an African American running back named Mike McLeod who is stomping on previously untouchable Yale and Ivy League rushing records and has National Football League talent. You need to check him out, plus my man is from Connecticut so we give him props just for that.

Frank Forbes headline

Forbes' appointment in 1938 made headlines in black newspapers.

Let’s do another one.

Who? Barry Bonds? You mean the guy they are going after now, when instead they ought to be subpoenaing Major League Baseball internal emails discussing how the league encouraged and ignored performance enhancing drug usage in order to restore itself? That guy?

This one’s easy and I gotchu in 3 degrees!

  1. Barry Bonds’ godfather is Willie Mays;
  2. Willie Mays played for the New York Giants;
  3. The New York Giants employed Frank “Strangler” Forbes as a scout and as a semi-official guardian for Willie Mays in the early 1950s.

Done!

Let’s do one from basketball.

How about Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat?

I gotchu in 4 degrees!

  1. Wade is under contract with Converse, the sneaker company;
  2. Converse signed former New York Rens basketball star John Isaacs to a contract as a basketball history technical adviser;
  3. Isaacs played for Rens team founder and owner Robert “Bob” Douglas;
  4. Douglas signed Frank “Strangler” Forbes to play for the very first Rens team in 1923.

Done! That was easy!

I’ll write more on Forbes, including how he got his nickname, some other time!

Now it’s your turn! Think you can get me? Try it and see! (You won’t have to bring me any Uptowns if you lose!)

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16 years ago

Let’s see, there are several ways at this, but here’s one way. Alcindor (as Kareem Abdul Jabbar) retired with the Los Angeles Lakers, who used to be the Minneapolis Lakers, who played the New York Rens in the last game of the 1948 World Pro Basketball Tournament, while those Rens were owned by Robert Douglas, who signed Frank Forbes as a member of his original Rens team in 1923.

Lawrence
16 years ago

Lou Alcindor: This one may sound easy; but is it?

16 years ago

We can go at Ali from several different angles.

The easiest is that Frank Forbes, as a member of the New York State Boxing Commission, was a ring judge at the Cassius Clay-Doug Jones bout on March 13, 1963. (By the way this was two fights before the first Clay-Liston fight, after which Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali.)

A roundabout way would be like this. The Ali-Foreman “Rumble in the Jungle” fight was refereed by Zach Clayton. (It was Clayton who counted Foreman out with a controversial quick count.)

Clayton previously played professional basketball for the New York Rens under Bob Douglas. So did Forbes.

Gotchu!

Randy Miller
16 years ago

How about the Greatest, Muhammad Ali?

16 years ago

Yancey probably attended Central with Forbes; I’ll check. In any case, Yancey played for the Philadelphia Panthers around the time Tarzan Cooper joined. They both played for Douglas.

I just sent an email to Mr. Cosby looking to figure out what’s going through his head and if any of our thoughts intersect. I’ll let you know if there are. Maybe this will help, since we are all connected through Mr. Forbes!!! :-)

16 years ago

Yep- Yancey attended the h.s. later known for a basketball player named Bill Cosby (talk about degrees).

16 years ago

Nice one, Bijan! Did Yancey attend Central High in Philly?

16 years ago

Rip played f/ Frank Robinson. Robby teamed with Al Downing as a Dodger. Downing was scouted for the Yankees by former Ren Bill Yancey, who was close to Forbes.

Black Fives
16 years ago

Hmm. I’ll have to think about that one! Does it have to do with Baltimore or Philly?

Jackie
16 years ago

Claude,

These are very cool connections. I thought of a way to connect Forbes with Cal Ripken in three degrees. Can you beat that?