1920's Sports | The Negro in Sports

Reference work

By: Edwin Bancroft Henderson

Date: 1939

Source: Henderson, Edwin Bancroft. The Negro in Sports. Washington, D.C.: Associated Publishers, 1939. Revised edition, 1949, 154, 156–157.

About the Author: Edwin Bancroft Henderson (1883–1977), a native of Washington, D.C., headed the Department of Physical Education in Washington's segregated school system from 1925 until 1951. He is often credited with being the "father" both of African American basketball and of African American sports history. In the early 1900s he introduced basketball to the African American youth of Washington, D.C., and was a player, referee, and teacher of the game for many years. He also chronicled the contributions of African Americans to sport in his book, The Negro in Sports.

Introduction

Basketball was invented in 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts. It spread...