John McLendon
Encyclopedia
John B. McLendon, Jr. was a pioneering American basketball
coach who is recognized as the first African American basketball coach at a predominantly white university. He was a major contributor to the development of modern basketball and coached on both the college and professional levels during his career. He is enshrined in both the Basketball Hall of Fame
and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
.
, McLendon was part African American
and part Delaware Indian. He soon became an all-around athlete who chose basketball as his favorite sport. He studied in the 1930s at the University of Kansas
, where he learned the intricacies of basketball from the sport's inventor, Dr. James Naismith
, who was the athletic director at the school. However, McLendon was not permitted to actually play college basketball, as the KU varsity team was segregated
and would not suit up its first black player until 1951.
, the Hampton Institute
, Tennessee State A&I University
, Kentucky State College
and Cleveland State University
. In his early years, his teams were restricted to playing only against other all-black teams. However, while coaching at North Carolina College, McLendon participated in "The Secret Game", a match against a team from Duke University
, which was the first collegiate basketball contest where blacks and whites competed on the same floor. McLendon's teams were credited with increasing the pace of the game of basketball from the slow tempo of its early years to the faster tempo that prevails today.
He was a three-time winner of the NAIA
Coach of the Year award and won three consecutive NAIA championships at Tennessee State, making him the first college basketball coach ever to have won three consecutive national titles. When he was hired at Cleveland State in 1966, he became the first African American basketball coach ever at a predominantly white university.
McLendon also coached professionally on two occasions. Cleveland Pipers
General Manager Mike Cleary hired him in 1962 to be the head coach of the American Basketball League team which was owned by George Steinbrenner
. McLendon's hiring made history, as he became the first African American
head coach in professional sports. In his, and the Pipers', only season in the ABL, partway through the season he quit or was fired (sources differ). McLendon was replaced as coach by Bill Sharman
of the recently-defunct Los Angeles Jets
of the ABL; under Sharman, the team completed the season and won the league championship. McLendon went on to coach the American Basketball Association
's Denver Rockets (which later became the Denver Nuggets
of the NBA
) in 1969, although he was fired after the team started the season 9-19. Despite the fact that he was only 54 when dismissed, this was the last college or professional head coaching job in his career.
in 1979 as a "contributor", but not as a coach. He was, however, selected in 2007 for the second entering class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
for his coaching achievements. He was also inducted into the Cleveland State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007, where his wife Joanna accepted the award on his behalf.
A biography of John B. McLendon, Breaking Through: John B. McLendon, Basketball Legend and Civil Rights Pioneer, by Milton S. Katz, was published in 2007. McLendon's coaching legacy is also chronicled in the documentary Black Magic, which originally aired as a two-part series on ESPN in March 2008.
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
coach who is recognized as the first African American basketball coach at a predominantly white university. He was a major contributor to the development of modern basketball and coached on both the college and professional levels during his career. He is enshrined in both the Basketball Hall of Fame
Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, honors exceptional basketball players, coaches, referees, executives, and other major contributors to the game of basketball worldwide...
and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the National Association of Basketball Coaches , located at the Sprint...
.
Background
Born in Hiawatha, KansasHiawatha, Kansas
Hiawatha is the largest city and county seat of Brown County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,172. It is the largest city on U.S. Route 36 between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Denver, Colorado.Hiawatha is named after a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow...
, McLendon was part African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
and part Delaware Indian. He soon became an all-around athlete who chose basketball as his favorite sport. He studied in the 1930s at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
, where he learned the intricacies of basketball from the sport's inventor, Dr. James Naismith
James Naismith
The first game of "Basket Ball" was played in December 1891. In a handwritten report, Naismith described the circumstances of the inaugural match; in contrast to modern basketball, the players played nine versus nine, handled a soccer ball, not a basketball, and instead of shooting at two hoops,...
, who was the athletic director at the school. However, McLendon was not permitted to actually play college basketball, as the KU varsity team was segregated
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
and would not suit up its first black player until 1951.
Career
He went onto to become a successful high school and college coach, at schools such as North Carolina College for NegroesNorth Carolina Central University
North Carolina Central University is a public historically black university in the University of North Carolina system, located in Durham, North Carolina, offering programs at the baccalaureate, master’s, professional and doctoral levels....
, the Hampton Institute
Hampton University
Hampton University is a historically black university located in Hampton, Virginia, United States. It was founded by black and white leaders of the American Missionary Association after the American Civil War to provide education to freedmen.-History:...
, Tennessee State A&I University
Tennessee State University
Tennessee State University is a land-grant university located in Nashville, Tennessee. TSU is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennessee.-History:...
, Kentucky State College
Kentucky State University
Kentucky State University is a four-year institution of higher learning, located in Frankfort, Kentucky, United States, the Commonwealth's capital. The school is an historically black university, which desegregated in 1954...
and Cleveland State University
Cleveland State University
Cleveland State University is a public university located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 when the state of Ohio assumed control of Fenn College, and it absorbed the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1969...
. In his early years, his teams were restricted to playing only against other all-black teams. However, while coaching at North Carolina College, McLendon participated in "The Secret Game", a match against a team from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, which was the first collegiate basketball contest where blacks and whites competed on the same floor. McLendon's teams were credited with increasing the pace of the game of basketball from the slow tempo of its early years to the faster tempo that prevails today.
He was a three-time winner of the NAIA
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
Coach of the Year award and won three consecutive NAIA championships at Tennessee State, making him the first college basketball coach ever to have won three consecutive national titles. When he was hired at Cleveland State in 1966, he became the first African American basketball coach ever at a predominantly white university.
McLendon also coached professionally on two occasions. Cleveland Pipers
Cleveland Pipers
The Cleveland Pipers was an American basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio that played in the short-lived American Basketball League from 1961-62. General Manager, Mike Cleary hired John McLendon, the first African American head coach in professional basketball to lead the squad. Playing under...
General Manager Mike Cleary hired him in 1962 to be the head coach of the American Basketball League team which was owned by George Steinbrenner
George Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership from 1973 to his death in July 2010, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned seven World Series...
. McLendon's hiring made history, as he became the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
head coach in professional sports. In his, and the Pipers', only season in the ABL, partway through the season he quit or was fired (sources differ). McLendon was replaced as coach by Bill Sharman
Bill Sharman
William Walton "Bill" Sharman is a former professional basketball player and coach. Sharman completed high school in the rural city of Porterville, California and is mostly known for his time with the Boston Celtics in the 1950s, partnering with Bob Cousy in what some consider the greatest...
of the recently-defunct Los Angeles Jets
Los Angeles Jets
The Los Angeles Jets were an American basketball team based in Los Angeles, California that was a member of the American Basketball League in the league's 1961-62 season. The team's only coach was Bill Sharman....
of the ABL; under Sharman, the team completed the season and won the league championship. McLendon went on to coach the American Basketball Association
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.-League history:...
's Denver Rockets (which later became the Denver Nuggets
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...
of the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
) in 1969, although he was fired after the team started the season 9-19. Despite the fact that he was only 54 when dismissed, this was the last college or professional head coaching job in his career.
Recognition
Like Naismith, McLendon was inducted into the Basketball Hall of FameBasketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, honors exceptional basketball players, coaches, referees, executives, and other major contributors to the game of basketball worldwide...
in 1979 as a "contributor", but not as a coach. He was, however, selected in 2007 for the second entering class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the National Association of Basketball Coaches , located at the Sprint...
for his coaching achievements. He was also inducted into the Cleveland State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007, where his wife Joanna accepted the award on his behalf.
A biography of John B. McLendon, Breaking Through: John B. McLendon, Basketball Legend and Civil Rights Pioneer, by Milton S. Katz, was published in 2007. McLendon's coaching legacy is also chronicled in the documentary Black Magic, which originally aired as a two-part series on ESPN in March 2008.