This Day in Black Sports History: February 15, 2011

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This Day in Black Sports History: February 23, 1986 Throughout his 20-year career in the National Basketball Association, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s trademark sky hook was virtually untouchable, much like the records he held upon his retirement in 1989. But since his early years growing up in New York City, Abdul-Jabbar was destined to secure his place among basketball royalty. In...

This Day in Black Sports History: February 9, 1992 Figuratively speaking, November 7, 1991 was the day the magic died in the National Basketball Association. Named by ESPN as the seventh most memorable moment in the past 25 years, Earvin Johnson, Jr., more affectionately known as “Magic”, held a press conference to announce his retirement after testing positive for...

This Day in Black Sports History: February 7, 1991 In an era dominated by big men such as Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a 6’1” point guard from New York, proved there would always be room in the National Basketball Association for creative, intelligent and quick small men. Born and raised in the South Bronx’s Patterson housing...

This Day in Black Sports History: February 19, 1996 Seemingly lost among his colorful and controversial comments both during and after he retired from the game was the fact that Charles Wade Barkley was one of the greatest players in the National Basketball Association’s 64-year history. Born and raised in Leeds, Alabama, Barkley stood at 5’10” and weighed 220...

This Day in Black Sports History: February 21, 2003 Although in the twilight of his career, with nothing left to prove, Michael Jeffrey Jordan continued his assault on the National Basketball Association’s record books. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Wilmington, N.C., Jordan was motivated to prove his worth since he failed to make his high school’s varsity basketball...

This Day in Black Sports History: February 28, 2003 Although he excelled at cricket and soccer growing up in Kingston, Jamaica, Patrick Aloysius Ewing rose from poor beginnings to become one of the 50 greatest players in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After his parents immigrated to the United States, settling in Cambridge, Mass., Ewing, his...

This Day in Black Sports History: February 22, 2007 This day in black sports history marks the fourth anniversary of the sudden and tragic passing of a man Larry Bird called “best I ever played with” and whom Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson lauded as “the best backcourt defender of all-time.” These poignant words represent a mere microcosm of how respected...

This Day in Black Sports History: February 5, 1934 On today’s edition of This Day in Black Sports History, the 77th birthday of the man who is still widely recognized as Major League Baseball’s home run king is celebrated. Born in Mobile, AL on Feb. 5, 1934, Henry Louis Aaron grew up in relatively poor surroundings, picking cotton on...

This Day in Black Sports History: February 24, 1998 Although she suffered a season-ending injury in the penultimate game of her college basketball career, Nykesha Simone Sales left the University of Connecticut (UConn) as the Huskies’ all-time leading scorer. In her first three seasons, Sales helped lead UConn to a NCAA Championship and two Elite Eight appearances, while winning...

This Day in Black Sports History: February 10, 1989 In the mid-1990s, as he inched closer to becoming the National Basketball Association’s all-time leader in coaching victories, Leonard Randolph Wilkens exhibited the same type of quiet resolve that began to develop during his childhood in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. Born on October 28, 1937 to an African-American father and an...