Sign-In
Cart
Sweetwater: A Biography of Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton
Paperback
AthletesBlack American HistoryBasketball
Publisher Price: $9.99
ISBN13: 9781629173276
Publisher: Golgotha Press
Published: May 17 2016
Pages: 84
Weight: 0.26
Height: 0.20 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
When Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey decided to break the color line and integrate major league baseball in the 1940s, he spent years doing exhaustive background research and interviewing players. This role could not just go to an extraordinary athlete, but one of immense character as well
Things went down with integration in the National Basketball Association a bit differently. The NBA had only formed in 1946, and was still sorting out franchises and struggling for recognition on April 25, 1950 when the basketball owners sat down for the annual player draft. When the second round began, Boston Celtics owner Walter Brown selected an African-American All-American guard out of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh named Chuck Cooper.
A few weeks after the draft, the New York Knickerbockers made a deal to purchase the contract of Nathaniel Sweetwater Clifton from the Harlem Globetrotters; he became the second African-American to sign an NBA contract on May 24. So, the 1950-51 National Basketball Association season tipped off with three African-Americans on active rosters.
While Robinson became one of America's greatest heroes, the stories of the black pioneers who broke down the NBA color barrier went untold. Jackie Robinson was recognized by his sport by being elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame the first year he was eligible to appear on the ballot in 1962. Not so for Clifton. He was not inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame until the Class of 2014, more than 50 years after he converted his last NBA hook shot and a quarter century after his death.
Clifton's incredible journey and story is told in this biography.
Also in
Athletes
The Badger: The Life of Bernard Hinault and the Legacy of French Cycling
Fotheringham, William
Paperback
Dick Bremer: Game Used: My Life in Stitches with the Minnesota Twins
Bremer, Dick
Bruton, Jim
Hardcover
Heartland: A Forgotten Place, an Impossible Dream, and the Miracle of Larry Bird
O'Brien, Keith
Hardcover
The Messi Effect: How the Global Legend Changed the Future of American Soccer
Tenorio, Paul
Hardcover
We Are the World (Cup): A Personal History of the World's Greatest Sporting Event
Bennett, Roger
Hardcover
Fight Through It: The Battles, Breakthroughs, and Beauty of Becoming Resilient Enough to Never Give Up
Hall, Roy, Jr.
Paperback
The Long Run: Steve Prefontaine, Frank Shorter, Joan Benoit, Grete Waitz, and the Decade That Made the Marathon Cool
Dugard, Martin
Hardcover
The Bosses of the Bronx: The Endless Drama of the Yankees Under the House of Steinbrenner
Vaccaro, Mike
Hardcover
When We Were Young and Fearless: Kevin, Russell, James, and the Making of the Modern NBA
Abrams, Jonathan
Hardcover
The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership
Walsh, Bill
Jamison, Steve
Walsh, Craig
Paperback
Duct Tape and Determination: A True Story of Turning Devastation Into Grit
Hunt-Broersma, Jacky
Hardcover
Masters of the Game: A Conversational History of the NBA in 75 Legendary Players
Smith, Sam
Jackson, Phil
Hardcover
Another Life: Discovering the Healing Power of Purpose on My Long Journey from Player to Preacher
Strawberry, Darryl
Hardcover
Moses and the Doctor: Two Men, One Championship, and the Birth of Modern Basketball
Epplin, Luke
Hardcover
Earned: The True Cost of Greatness from One of Hockey's Fiercest Competitors
Pronger, Chris
Hardcover
Running for My Life: One Lost Boy's Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games
Lomong, Lopez
Paperback
How to Build a Car: The Autobiography of the World's Greatest Formula 1 Designer
Newey, Adrian
Hardcover
The Long Run: A New York City Firefighter's Triumphant Comeback from Crash Victim to Elite Athlete
Long, Matt
Butler, Charles
Paperback
The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball
Miller, John W.
Hardcover
The Spurrier Effect: How One Coach Transformed Gamecock Football
Silvia, Brent
Miller, Kevin
Hardcover
October Men: Reggie Jackson, George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin, and the Yankees' Miraculous Finish in 1978
Kahn, Roger
Paperback
Royal Treatment: Jackie Robinson, Montreal, and the Breaking of Baseball's Color Barrier
McLaughlin, Sean J.
Hardcover
Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board
Bundschuh, Rick
Hamilton, Bethany
Paperback
In the Name of Freedom: A Political Dissident's Fight for Human Rights in the NBA and Around the World
Freedom, Enes Kanter
Hardcover
Bam!: John Madden, the NFL Explosion, and the Video Game That Changed Sports
Howard-Cooper, Scott
Hardcover
Checkmate: Genius, Lies, Ambition, and the Biggest Scandal in Chess (Large Print Edition)
Mezrich, Ben
Paperback
Just Give Me a Chance to Fail: The Life of NFL Hall of Fame Linebacker Sam Mills
Domowitch, Paul
Hardcover
The Bookie: How I Bet It All on Sports Gambling and Watched an Industry Explode
Manteris, Art
Birkbeck, Matt
Hardcover
Cinderella Man: James J. Braddock, Max Baer, and the Greatest Upset in Boxing History
Schaap, Jeremy
Paperback
Following Atticus: Forty-Eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an Extraordinary Friendship
Ryan, Tom
Paperback
Bart's Heart: A Journey of Family, Friendship, Football and Faith
Burrell, Bart
Lee, David T.
Paperback
A Life's Calling: The Voice Behind the World's Greatest Horse Races
Volponi, Paul
Shulman, Lenny
Durkin, Tom
Hardcover
Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball
O'Brien, Keith
Paperback
The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team
Coffey, Wayne
Paperback
Fight Through It: The Battles, Breakthroughs, and Beauty of Becoming Resilient Enough to Never Give Up
Hall, Roy, Jr.
Hardcover
Ashes to Endzone: The Fight for Identity, Faith, and a Future Bigger Than the Game
Jones, Perris
Hardcover
Tommy's Honor: The Story of Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris, Golf's Founding Father and Son
Cook, Kevin
Paperback
12 as One: Mike Macdonald, the Seattle Seahawks and the Making of a Super Bowl Champion
Dugar, Michael-Shawn
Hardcover
Dixieland Delight: A Football Season on the Road in the Southeastern Conference
Travis, Clay
Paperback
The Rocket That Fell to Earth: Roger Clemens and the Rage for Baseball Immortality
Pearlman, Jeff
Paperback
The Making of a Miracle: The Untold Story of the Captain of the 1980 Gold Medal-Winning U.S. Olympic Hockey Team
Eruzione, Mike
Boudette, Neal
Paperback
Heartland: A Forgotten Place, an Impossible Dream, and the Miracle of Larry Bird (Large Print Edition)
O'Brien, Keith
Hardcover