John McLendon facts for kids

John B. McLendon Jr. (born April 5, 1915 – died October 8, 1999) was a famous American basketball coach. He made history as the first African American basketball coach at a mostly white university. He was also the first African American head coach in any professional sport.

McLendon helped create modern basketball. He coached teams at both college and professional levels. He has been honored many times for his work. He is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame three times. He is also in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

John McLendon's Early Life

John McLendon Jr. was born in Hiawatha, Kansas. His father, John Blanche McLendon Sr., was a college teacher. His mother, Effie Katherine McLendon, was part Delaware Indian.

When John was young, his mother died in the 1918 flu pandemic. This sad event temporarily split up his family. John and his younger brother Arthur went to live with their Delaware Indian grandparents. They lived on a ranch near Trinidad, Colorado. His older sister, Anita, went to an aunt in Omaha, Nebraska. His youngest sister, Elsie, went to live with other relatives. She ended up with a foster family in Idaho. John did not see Elsie again for 45 years. The rest of the family reunited in 1921. His father remarried a school teacher named Minnie E. Jackson.

The family settled in Kansas City, Kansas. John went to Dunbar Elementary School and then Sumner High School.

Discovering Basketball

John fell in love with basketball during a school trip. He saw his first official basketball court at Northeast Junior High School. He became a great athlete at Sumner High School. Basketball was his favorite sport. However, he did not make the school's basketball team. Instead, he was the team manager and excelled in gymnastics.

After high school, he went to Kansas City Kansas Junior College. There, he finally made the basketball team. His team had a perfect season. John played a little, but not much.

He then transferred to the University of Kansas. There, he learned a lot about basketball from its inventor, Dr. James Naismith. Dr. Naismith was the athletic director at the school. However, John could not play college basketball. The University of Kansas team was not open to black players at that time. They did not have their first black player until 1951.

John McLendon's Coaching Career

John McLendon became a very successful coach. He coached at high schools and colleges. Some of these schools include North Carolina College for Negroes (now North Carolina Central University) and Tennessee State University.

In his early years, his teams could only play against other all-black teams. But while coaching at North Carolina College for Negroes, he was part of "The Secret Game." This was a game against a team from Duke University. It was the first college basketball game where black and white players competed together.

Changing the Game

McLendon's teams were known for playing a faster style of basketball. Before him, the game was much slower. He helped speed up the game to how it is played today. He led his team to win eight championships in the CIAA.

At Cleveland State University, he made history again. He became the first African American head coach at a university where most students were white. He also won the NAIA Coach of the Year award three times. His Tennessee State team won three NAIA championships in a row. This made him the first college basketball coach to win three national titles in a row.

Coaching in Professional Sports

McLendon also coached professionally. In 1962, he became the head coach of the Cleveland Pipers. This made him the first African American head coach in any professional sport. He later coached the American Basketball Association's Denver Rockets in 1969. Even though he was only 54, this was his last head coaching job.

John McLendon also invented important basketball strategies. These include the fast break, the full-court press, and the four corners offense. These moves are still used in basketball today.

Honors and Legacy

John McLendon has received many honors for his contributions to basketball.

He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979. He was recognized as a "contributor" to the sport. In 2007, he was also inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame for his coaching success. His wife, Joanna, accepted an award for him at the Cleveland State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007.

On April 4, 2016, McLendon was announced as a Hall of Fame inductee again. This time, it was specifically for his coaching achievements. He was formally inducted on September 9, 2016.

A book about his life, Breaking Through: John B. McLendon, Basketball Legend and Civil Rights Pioneer, was published in 2007. His coaching story is also told in the documentary Black Magic. This film aired on ESPN in 2008.

The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics supports the John McLendon Minority Scholarship Foundation. This foundation gives scholarships to minority students. These students study how to manage sports programs.

Since 2016, a basketball game in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament is called the Coach John McLendon Classic. This game involves a team from a HBCU. In 2021, he received the NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Award.

See also

In Spanish: John McLendon para niños