Integrating Pittsburgh Sports

Steel City Sports as a Catalyst for Change Though Pittsburgh athletics had many of the same barriers to equality and racial discrimination as the rest of the nation for far too long, the city has celebrated some of the most important moments in the integration of sports in the country. Pittsburgh was the only city with two Negro League teams, fielding such future Hall of Famers as Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston and Satchel Paige. Local high school basketball stars Chuck Cooper, Bill Nunn, Jr., Dick Ricketts, Maurice Stokes, and Jack Twyman held integrated pick-up games at local parks such as Mellon Park in Shadyside in the 1950s. In college football, Connellsville native Jimmy Joe Robinson became the first African American player on Pitt's football team in 1945 as the school continued to integrate its squad ahead of federal desegregation. The Association of Gentleman Pittsburgh Journalists present the compelling, heartbreaking and courageous history of how Pittsburgh's integration of sport helped lead the nation.

Author: David Finoli
Publisher: History Press
Published: 01/02/2023
Pages: 192
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.70h x 6.20w x 0.90d
ISBN13: 9781467152594
ISBN10: 1467152595
BISAC Categories:
- History | United States | State & Local | Middle Atlantic (DC, DE, MD,
- Sports & Recreation | Basketball
- Sports & Recreation | Football