BOOKS BY DOUGLAS STARK

Today, it is nearly impossible to talk about the best basketball players in America without acknowledging the accomplishments of incredibly talented black athletes like Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant. A little more than a century ago, however, the game was completely dominated by white players playing on segregated courts and teams.

In Breaking Barriers: A History of Integration in Professional Basketball, Douglas Stark details the major moments that led to the sport opening its doors to black players. He charts the progress of integration from Bucky Lew—the first black professional basketball player in 1902—to the modern game played by athletes like Stephen Curry and LeBron James. Although Stark focuses on the official integration of basketball in the late 1940s, the story does not end there. Over the past 60-plus years, black athletes have continued to change the game of basketball in terms of style, social progress, and marketability. 

Spanning the early 1900s to the present day, no other book features such a comprehensive examination of the key events and figures that led to the integration of professional basketball. In Breaking Barriers, these crucial steps in the history of the sport are placed within the larger context of American history, making this book an essential addition to the literature on sports and race in America.

Praise for Breaking Barriers

https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442277533/Breaking-Barriers-A-History-of-Integration-in-Professional-Basketball

Celebrating pioneering black athletes, Stark offers a succinct history of the professional basketball, beginning in 1902 with Bucky Lew’s entry in the pro leagues up through the golden era of the 1940s and ’50s. He examines the life of professional black athletes in the Jim Crow South, where they were excluded from white hotels and often forced to sleep on buses and change uniforms in rest rooms rather than locker rooms. The writing is detailed as Stark discusses the rivalry between the New York Rens (short for Renaissance) and the Harlem Globetrotters (“The Globetrotters were entertainers, not basketball purists like the Rens”) or the formation of the integrated National Basketball League in 1937. Throughout, Stark revisits long-forgotten players such as Zack Clayton, who played for the New York Rens in the 1940s; William “Dolly” King who played in the NBL’s Rochester Royals in 1946; and Chuck Cooper, who in 1950 became the first black player to be drafted into the NBA. He shows how much basketball has evolved, closing with such NBA stars as the L.A. Lakers’ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who “retired with the most points in NBA history”; Bill Russell, who, with the Boston Celtics, revolutionized how defenses “could alter the game”; and the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan, “regarded as the game’s greatest player.” This is an excellent survey of the breaking of pro basketball’s color line. , 

-- Publishers Weekly

Even the most ardent basketball fan may not know who originally integrated the sport. In contrast to the story of baseball’s Jackie Robinson, the question of who broke basketball’s color barrier is not a simple one, as there were numerous professional leagues in the US before WW II, and most of them garnered little attention. Yet Stark tells an intriguing story here, starting with the first person of color who was paid to play with whites, Bucky Lew. Other noteworthy figures are the first well-known black college player, Dolly King, and Earl Lloyd, the first black NBA player. Credit is given not just to the courage of such players, who often faced stark discrimination if not unapologetic racism, but also to their white teammates and coaches, many of whom championed integration and civil rights at their side. This entertaining book goes on to trace the explosive growth and evolution of the African American influence in basketball. The last chapter is devoted to Michael Jordan and his unparalleled impact on basketball and popular culture. Overall, this is a much-needed, careful look at the integration of one of the world’s most popular sports. Recommended.”

-- CHOICE

In Breaking Barriers, Stark has taken on an important chapter in American Sport and in the history of desegregation in America. The book spans the history of professional basketball from its early years near the opening of the 20th century and concludes with two chapters containing mini-biographies of the major NBA stars of the past half-century. Although the desegregation of professional basket is a central focus of Breaking Barriers, there is a second focus on African American basketball and its players, both before and after segregation. 

-- New York Journal of Books

Douglas Stark’s Breaking Barriers: A History of Integration in Professional Basketball is an integral addition to the sporting library, as the first volumes about Black baseball were to chronicling Negro League play and ownership. Copiously researched, the text is a comprehensive, entertaining account of the pioneering teams and figures who toiled long before the days of television deals and shoe contracts. Readers and fans seeking to gain a perspective on today's game should familiarize themselves through this narrative, with the exciting oral history of Black contribution to integrated touring teams, organized leagues, collegiate ball, and the style of play now accepted as standard. -- Bijan C. Bayne, author, Sky Kings: Black Pioneers of Professional Basketball and Elgin Baylor: The Man Who Changed Basketball

In this oral history collection, Douglas Stark chronicles Jewish basketball throughout the twentieth century in the words of those who played it. From the early days with Nat Holman and Moe Spahn to post World War II with Dolph Schayes and Max Zaslofsky, When Basketball Was Jewish  focuses on the role of Jews in basketball as no previous book has, illuminating their contributions to American Jewish history as well as basketball history. 

In the 2015–16 NBA season, the Jewish presence in the league was largely confined to Adam Silver, the commissioner; David Blatt, the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers; and Omri Casspi, a player on the Sacramento Kings. Basketball, however, was once referred to as a Jewish sport. Shortly after the game was invented at the end of the nineteenth century, it spread throughout the country and became particularly popular among Jewish immigrant children in northeastern cities because it could easily be played in an urban setting. Many of the early stars were Jewish, including Shikey Gotthoffer, Sonny Hertzberg, Nat Holman, Red Klotz, Dolph Schayes, Moe Spahn, and Max Zaslofsky.

In this oral history collection, Douglas Stark chronicles Jewish basketball throughout the twentieth century, focusing on 1900 to 1960. As told by the prominent voices of twenty people who played, coached, and refereed it, these conversations shed light on what it means to be a Jew and on how the game evolved from its humble origins to the sport enjoyed worldwide by billions of fans today. The game’s development, changes in style, rise in popularity, and national emergence after World War II are narrated by these players reliving their youth, when basketball was a game they played for the love of it. 

When Basketball Was Jewish reveals, as no previous book has, the evolving role of Jews in basketball, illuminating their contributions to American Jewish history as well as basketball history.

Praise for When Basketball Was Jewish:

When Basketball Was Jewish : Nebraska Press (unl.edu)

“A terrific first person account of basketball life. As I read the stories of people I knew like Nat Holman and of course my dad, Dolph Schayes, I found myself living the stories of their time in the game. Their accounts are so real and dynamic that the game comes to life as you feel like you are experiencing it with them. A terrific read!”
— Danny Schayes, eighteen-year NBA player and son of Hall of Fame and NBA top fifty player Dolph Schayes

“The players and coaches chronicled in this book are not only important figures in Jewish basketball history; they played an important part in the history of the game. As a student of the game, a basketball lifer, and someone who is extremely proud of his Jewish heritage, I can appreciate the doors that they opened and I’m glad that their stories are being told.”
— Ernie Grunfeld, president of the Washington Wizards

[When Basketball Was Jewish elevates] the voices of twenty distinguished Jewish basketball players, men who played the city game with passion, precision, and pride."—AETHLON

― AETHLON Published On: 2018-08-09

"Douglas Stark provides an intimate look into the lives of young Jews whose athletic skills gave them an edge in society."—Fred Isaac, Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews

"When Basketball was Jewish is more than a sports record. . . . Both Jewish history and basketball enthusiasts will enjoy this fascinating record of American Jewish life and its impact on American sport."-- Jonathan Fass ― Jewish Book Council

"When Basketball Was Jewish reveals, as no previous book has, the evolving role of Jews in basketball and illuminates their contributions to American Jewish history as well as basketball history."—Phil Jacobs, Jewish Link NJ

During the 1930, the Philadelphia SPHAs (South Philadelphia Hebrew Association) was a dominant professional team. Shikey Gotthoffer emerged as the team's best player. In his ten years with the team, he won five championships and two Most Valuable Player awards.

Shaky Gotthoffer, a story by Douglas Stark and Lance Gotthoffer, is a children's picture book with illustrations by Thomas Block.