During the 1910s, a Lower East Side basketball coach brought Jewish Americans and African Americans together in the sport for the first time. Who was he? What did he do? Was he Jewish?
The Original Nexus of Blacks and Jews in Basketball (Parts 3-5 of 9)
During the 1910s, a Lower East Side basketball coach brought African Americans and Jewish Americans together in the sport for the first time. Who was he? What did he do? Was he Jewish?
This article by Sonja Steptoe is from the Sports Illustrated archives (the “SI Vault”), and originally appeared in print in the magazine’s December 24, 1990 issue. We felt it would be appropriate to re-publish the article here now, in honor of John “Boy Wonder” Isaacs, the former basketball star with the New York Rens (of Harlem) who passed away Monday morning at the age of 93. It’s easy to see why Mr. Isaacs was such a hero and friend to so many.
Mr. Obama stopped at Ben’s Chili Bowl in D.C. this weekend, across the street from a historic black basketball site once known as True Reformer’s Hall.
Have you ever wondered why the basket is 10 feet above the floor of a basketball court?
The building’s gymnasium was the site of many early games between African American basketball teams, including the Washington 12 Streeters led by Edwin B. Henderson.