The influence of Naismith is readily seen with the man responsible for it all, Holcombe Rucker, who was born in Harlem in and grew up poor. In high school, he became a star basketball player before he dropped out to join the Army during World War II.
He returned to the city in a serious man, and found work as a playground supervisor with the City Parks Department. Rucker also coached basketball at St. Phillips, an Episcopal church in Harlem. When he noticed that a lot of kids had nothing to do in the summer, he started an outdoor basketball tournament in His goals were straightforward: He thought that through basketball he could provide structure, instill discipline and keep kids off the streets.
The tournament was held in its early years at a playground at th Street and Seventh Avenue. Rucker arrived early in the morning, took a seat on a park bench and oversaw the games for the next 15 hours.
In the meantime, he mentored kids, checking their homework and exhorting them to do well in school. Over the years he helped hundreds get college scholarships. At the time, Harlem was poor, segregated and shut out of the post-war economic boom that the rest of the country was enjoying.
Even for people who followed all the rules, the route to advancement was narrow and difficult. He wrestles with his feelings towards his brother, Sonny, a musician who attains temporary release through heroin use and jazz improvisation.
So while Rucker preached patience, hard work and discipline, the games themselves were momentary chances to transcend and soar far above the streets of Harlem.
This is where the idea that discipline learned on the court will translate to life off of it gets complicated. This flash and guile was apparent in Holcombe Rucker as well. Rucker expanded the tournament up until his early death from cancer at age 38 in , and it has lived on after him. Over the years, the tournament has seen appearances from greats such as Dr. They represent the other side of the equation, that of those with unprecedented talent who were not able to leverage it as a springboard out.
Though only 6'1", Manigault had a inch vertical leap, and was known to pluck quarters off the top of the backboard. He claimed credit for inventing the Tomahawk Dunk, cranking the ball back behind his head with two hands and then slamming it home.
As they jump to box him in from both sides, the Goat leaps and simply keeps elevating up and up until he soars over both of them to jam it in two-handed. The crowd erupts so loud that the game has to be stopped for five minutes. As a kid, Manigault practiced on the playgrounds with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Some of the greatest talents in pro basketball--Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar and Erving were the biggest names--would play alongside incredible streetball talents out of Harlem. Those local players never received mainstream recognition as NBA talents, but they are still talked about in New York today. Holcombe Rucker died of cancer in at the age of His legacy was in place, though, and it was cemented when the city of New York renamed P.
These days, Rucker Park is best known as the site of the famous Entertainers Basketball Classic summer league, which features the top streetball talents in New York along with occasional celebrity cameos.
The EBC has a men's division which headlines the league, but it also has a high school league, and U15, U12 and U10 divisions. Along with being home of a more flashy game of streetball, Rucker Park is also charmed by fast-talking MCs who call the action, make fun of bad play, and come up with nicknames for great players that often stick around forever. Hammond, the Harlem legend, was known as "The Destroyer" for his game-changing scoring outbursts.
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