The Grandfather of Black Basketball

The first contemporary biography of Dr. Edwin Bancroft Henderson, a civil rights activist who, as a coach, athlete, administrator, and author, is credited with introducing the game of basketball to Black players, coaches, and the media.

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The first contemporary biography of the man credited with introducing basketball to African Americans on a wide-scale, organized basis.

Dr. Edwin Bancroft Henderson was the son of working-class parents born in slavery. A driven, intelligent, and charismatic young man, Henderson attended Harvard University’s Dudley Sargent School of Physical Training. There he met the leaders in the new field of physical education and recognized athletics—and basketball, especially—as a public health initiative and a way that Black youth could gain college scholarships and debunk the idea of racial inferiority.

In The Grandfather of Black Basketball: The Life and Times of Dr. E. B. Henderson, Edwin Bancroft Henderson II, Dr. Henderson’s grandson, provides unprecedented detail and fascinating insight into this influential figure in Black history. While setting in place the infrastructure for Blacks to participate in organized athletics, Henderson organized the first athletic league for Blacks, introduced basketball to Black players on a wide-scale and organized basis, and founded associations to train and organize Black officials and referees. He also wrote and co-edited the first Spalding publication that highlighted the exploits of African American participation in sports, was the first African American male to be certified to teach physical education in the United States, was instrumental in founding the first rural branch of the NAACP, advocated for inter-racial athletic competitions and school desegregation, held executive board positions with multiple NAACP branches, and authored The Negro in Sports.

Overlooked for decades, Henderson was finally enshrined in the National Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 as a contributor to the game. The Grandfather of Black Basketball gives long-overdue recognition to a sports pioneer, civil rights activist, author, educator, and pragmatic humanitarian who fought his entire life to improve opportunities for African American youth through athletics.