 | This article needs additional citations for
verification. (May 2009) |
William Watson was one of the first African-American basketball players to lead an integrated team to a championship. [1] In 1924 Watson's Lane Tech High School met Wendell Phillips High School to dispute the championship of the Chicago Public High School League. [1] Watson's quintet won 18-4, and he was hailed by the black Chicago Defender newspaper as a hero, despite the newspaper's preference for the all-black Wendell Phillips club. [2]
Remaining in Chicago after high school, Watson went on to become a founding member of the Giles Post Legion squad and the Savoy Big Five, both direct precursors of today's Harlem Globetrotters. Legendary GlobeTrotters owner Abe Saperstein created a 'mirror' Globetrotters club patterned after the team founded by Watson's friend and old Wendell Phillips rival, Tommy Brookins. [2]
- ^ a b Nelson, George (1999). Elevating the Game: Black Men and Basketball. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-7085-2.
- ^ a b Green, Ben (2006). Spinning the Globe. Amistad. ISBN 0-06-055550-5.
 | This biographical article relating to a United States basketball figure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
| This article needs additional citations for
verification. (May 2009) |
William Watson was one of the first African-American basketball players to lead an integrated team to a championship. [1] In 1924 Watson's Lane Tech High School met Wendell Phillips High School to dispute the championship of the Chicago Public High School League. [1] Watson's quintet won 18-4, and he was hailed by the black Chicago Defender newspaper as a hero, despite the newspaper's preference for the all-black Wendell Phillips club. [2]
Remaining in Chicago after high school, Watson went on to become a founding member of the Giles Post Legion squad and the Savoy Big Five, both direct precursors of today's Harlem Globetrotters. Legendary GlobeTrotters owner Abe Saperstein created a 'mirror' Globetrotters club patterned after the team founded by Watson's friend and old Wendell Phillips rival, Tommy Brookins. [2]
- ^ a b Nelson, George (1999). Elevating the Game: Black Men and Basketball. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-7085-2.
- ^ a b Green, Ben (2006). Spinning the Globe. Amistad. ISBN 0-06-055550-5.
|
| This biographical article relating to a United States basketball figure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |