Nera White facts for kids
White in 1965
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| Personal information | |||||||||||
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| Born | November 15, 1935 Macon County, Tennessee, U.S. |
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| Nationality | American | ||||||||||
| Died | April 13, 2016 (aged 80) Gallatin, Tennessee, U.S. |
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| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in | ||||||||||
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Medals
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Nera D. White (born November 15, 1935 – died April 13, 2016) was an amazing American basketball player. She played for the Nashville Business College team in the AAU national tournaments. Even though she went to George Peabody College for Teachers, that school did not have its own women's basketball team.
Nera White led the United States national women's basketball team to victory. They won the 1957 FIBA World Championship. She received many awards during her career. She was even put into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. At that time, there were no big professional women's basketball leagues in the U.S. Still, Nera White was known as one of the greatest female players ever. She was also very good at other sports. She was named an All-World player by the Amateur Softball Association.
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Early life and school
Nera White was born in Macon County, Tennessee. Her father, Horace White, was a teacher, coach, and farmer. Her mother was Lois Birdean.
Nera went to George Peabody College for Teachers. This school is now part of Vanderbilt University. Other future US national team players, Sue Gunter and Doris Rogers, also went there. Since George Peabody did not have a women's basketball team, Nera played for a team in Nashville. This team was sponsored by Nashville Business College and played in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU).
Basketball career and achievements
Nera White was named an AAU All-American for 15 years in a row. This was from 1955 to 1969. She helped the Nashville Business College team win ten AAU national championships. Nera was also named the MVP of the AAU National Tournament nine times.
While she played for Nashville Business College, her team won 91 out of 92 games. People widely agreed that Nera White was "the greatest woman ever to play the game." In 1966, Harley Redin, a famous coach, called her "the greatest woman basketball player in history."
I've coached two Olympic teams and I've seen the best players in the world. Nera White is the best of them all.
Sue Gunter, a Hall of Fame player and coach, said that Nera White was the very best player she had ever seen.
Softball skills
Besides being a basketball star, Nera White was also a great softball player. She was honored as All-World in 1959 and 1965. This was for the ASA Fast Pitch softball team. She played different positions like centerfield, shortstop, and pitcher. Nera White was the first woman to run around all the bases in just ten seconds.
Playing for the US national team
In 1957, Nera White led the US national team to win the World Championship. The final game was against the USSR team. This was the first time the USA had played against the USSR in such a big competition.
The USA team was behind by three points at halftime. But they came back strong in the second half. They won the championship game 51–48. Nera White was the top scorer for the USA team. She scored an average of 14.1 points per game. She was named the MVP of the tournament. She was also voted the Best Woman Player in the World that year.
Legacy and honors
Nera White was honored in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992. She was also put into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. Nera White is one of only two players in the Naismith Hall of Fame mainly for her AAU achievements. The other player is Joan Crawford.
Around the year 2000, Sports Illustrated for Women listed the greatest sportswomen of the century. Nera White was named 51st on this list for all sports. She was the sixth highest basketball player on the list.
The high school gym in her hometown, Lafayette, Tennessee, is named after Nera White. Also, a local highway (State Route 10 North) is now called the Nera White Highway.
Death
Nera White passed away on April 13, 2016. She was 80 years old. She died at a hospital in Gallatin, Tennessee, due to problems from pneumonia.
See also
In Spanish: Nera White para niños
