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Obituaries: Wat Misaka, who broke pro basketball's color barrier, dies at 95
Obituaries
Wat Misaka, who broke pro basketball’s color barrier, dies at 95
Wat Misaka, far left, scrambles for the ball during the 1947 NIT championship game between Utah and Kentucky. He became the first nonwhite player in the modern history of pro basketball. (Matty Zimmerman/AP)
By Harrison Smith
November 24, 2019 at 10:12 p.m. EST
Seven months after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in professional baseball, Wat Misaka came off the bench in Madison Square Garden, scoring two points for the New York Knicks in an 80-65 win over the Washington Capitols.
The son of Japanese immigrants, Mr. Misaka had become a fan favorite in college after helping lead the University of Utah to two unexpected titles at the Garden. And while his Nov. 13, 1947, debut with the Knicks made few headlines outside New York, it nonetheless marked another barrier-breaking moment in sports, as Mr. Misaka became the first nonwhite player in the modern history of professional basketball.
Standing just 5-foot-7, Mr. Misaka was a foot shorter than his team’s tallest player, center Lee Knorek, but had distinguished himself in college with his defensive prowess, up-tempo style and high-arcing hook shot, which quieted some of the racist taunts from crowds. Drafted by the Knicks, he was cut after three games but paved the way for the success of other nonwhite players, even as he played down his achievements and turned from basketball to engineering.
“I don’t think anyone, especially me, even compared [my being drafted] with what Robinson had done,” Mr. Misaka told NPR in 2012. “I never did think of myself as being a pioneer of any sort.”
Mr. Misaka in 1944, when he played for the University of Utah. (University of Utah)
Mr. Misaka was 95 when he died Nov. 21 at an assisted-living center in Salt Lake City. His son, Hank Misaka, confirmed the death but did not give a precise cause, saying his father died in his sleep.
....
Harrison Smith is a reporter on The Washington Post's obituaries desk. Since joining the obituaries section in 2015, he has profiled big-game hunters, fallen dictators and Olympic champions. He sometimes covers the living as well, and previously co-founded the South Side Weekly, a community newspaper in Chicago. Follow https://twitter.com/harrisondsmith
Wat Misaka, who broke pro basketball’s color barrier, dies at 95
Wat Misaka, far left, scrambles for the ball during the 1947 NIT championship game between Utah and Kentucky. He became the first nonwhite player in the modern history of pro basketball. (Matty Zimmerman/AP)
By Harrison Smith
November 24, 2019 at 10:12 p.m. EST
Seven months after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in professional baseball, Wat Misaka came off the bench in Madison Square Garden, scoring two points for the New York Knicks in an 80-65 win over the Washington Capitols.
The son of Japanese immigrants, Mr. Misaka had become a fan favorite in college after helping lead the University of Utah to two unexpected titles at the Garden. And while his Nov. 13, 1947, debut with the Knicks made few headlines outside New York, it nonetheless marked another barrier-breaking moment in sports, as Mr. Misaka became the first nonwhite player in the modern history of professional basketball.
Standing just 5-foot-7, Mr. Misaka was a foot shorter than his team’s tallest player, center Lee Knorek, but had distinguished himself in college with his defensive prowess, up-tempo style and high-arcing hook shot, which quieted some of the racist taunts from crowds. Drafted by the Knicks, he was cut after three games but paved the way for the success of other nonwhite players, even as he played down his achievements and turned from basketball to engineering.
“I don’t think anyone, especially me, even compared [my being drafted] with what Robinson had done,” Mr. Misaka told NPR in 2012. “I never did think of myself as being a pioneer of any sort.”
Mr. Misaka in 1944, when he played for the University of Utah. (University of Utah)
Mr. Misaka was 95 when he died Nov. 21 at an assisted-living center in Salt Lake City. His son, Hank Misaka, confirmed the death but did not give a precise cause, saying his father died in his sleep.
....
Harrison Smith is a reporter on The Washington Post's obituaries desk. Since joining the obituaries section in 2015, he has profiled big-game hunters, fallen dictators and Olympic champions. He sometimes covers the living as well, and previously co-founded the South Side Weekly, a community newspaper in Chicago. Follow https://twitter.com/harrisondsmith
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