They Cleared the Lane: The NBA's Black Pioneers

They Cleared the Lane: The NBA's Black Pioneers
by Ron Thomas

They Cleared the Lane: The NBA's Black Pioneers
List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $10.24
You Save: $4.71 (32%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.69 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Ron Thomas
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-03-01
ISBN: 0803294549
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Bison Books

Book Reviews of They Cleared the Lane: The NBA's Black Pioneers

Book Review: Wonderful read!
Summary: 5 Stars

Ron Thomas' They Cleared the Lane is a wonderful read about the history of basketball and its racial integration. Most people don't know that the now prominent NBA struggled through several decades before finding firm financial footing. Also hidden in the history of the sport is its early segregation and the challenges faced by the first black players who integrated the league. The stories are engrossing and emotionally charged and reveal a great deal about the changing fabric of American society.

The book works well as a supplementary text for the course the Sociology of Sport (where I've used it). It would also serve equally well as a supplementary text for courses in race and ethnicity. It is a must read for those who believe themselves to be students of the NBA. We should all thank Ron Thomas for chronicling this very important history.

Summary of They Cleared the Lane: The NBA's Black Pioneers

Today, black players compose more than eighty percent of the National Basketball Association?s rosters, providing a strong and valued contribution to professional basketball. In the first half of the twentieth century, however, pro basketball was tainted by racism, as gifted African Americans were denied the opportunity to display their talents.
 
Through in-depth interviews with players, their families, coaches, teammates, and league officials, Ron Thomas tells the largely untold story of what basketball was really like for the first black NBA players, including recent Hall of Fame inductee Earl Lloyd, early superstars such as Maurice Stokes and Bill Russell, and the league?s first black coaches. They Cleared the Lane is both informative and entertaining, full of anecdotes and little-known history. Not all the stories have happy endings, but this unfortunate truth only emphasizes how much we have gained from the accomplishments of these pioneer athletes.
(20110908)

Basketball Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Basketball Books
VENABLES. ImageVENABLES.
by Terry & Neil Hanson. Venables
P/B; Published: 1995; Paperback; Book
Power Pattern Offenses for Winning Basketball ImagePower Pattern Offenses for Winning Basketball
by Jack Nagle
Parker; Published: 1986-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops: $27.95
Coaching Basketball's Zone Offenses ImageCoaching Basketball's Zone Offenses
by Delmer Harris
Prentice Hall; Published: 1976-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $314.10
Great Basketball Drills: A Baffled Parent's Guide ImageGreat Basketball Drills: A Baffled Parent's Guide
by Jim Garland
International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press; Published: 2001-10-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.33
Price in other shops: $15.95
Coaching Basketball: Ten Winning Concepts ImageCoaching Basketball: Ten Winning Concepts
by Maryalyce Jeremiah
John Wiley & Sons Inc; Published: 1979-02; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops: $33.40
Jaap Stam: Head to Head ImageJaap Stam: Head to Head
by Jaap Stam
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2002-03-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $49.98
Jaap Stam: Head to Head ImageJaap Stam: Head to Head
by Jaap Stam, Jeremy Butler
Harpercollins Pub Ltd; Published: 2001-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $86.24
European Football Whos Who 2000/01 Hb ImageEuropean Football Whos Who 2000/ 01 Hb
by Gavin Hamilton
Willow; Published: 2000-09-04; Paperback; Book
Play Their Hearts Out: A Coach, His Star Recruit, and the Youth Basketball Machine ImagePlay Their Hearts Out: A Coach, His Star Recruit, and the Youth Basketball Machine
by George Dohrmann
Ballantine Books; Published: 2010-10-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.51
Price in other shops: $26.00
The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul ImageThe Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul
by Phil Jackson, Michael Arkush
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2005-10-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops: $16.00
Similar Books and other products
24 Seconds to Shoot: The Birth and Improbable Rise of the NBA Image24 Seconds to Shoot: The Birth and Improbable Rise of the NBA
by Leonard Koppett
Sport Media Publishing; Published: 2003-02-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.95
Elevating the Game: Black Men and Basketball ImageElevating the Game: Black Men and Basketball
by Nelson George
University of Nebraska Press; Published: 1999-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $100.00
Only the Ball Was White: A History of Legendary Black Players and All-Black Professional Teams ImageOnly the Ball Was White: A History of Legendary Black Players and All-Black Professional Teams
by Robert Peterson
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1992-04-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.28
Price in other shops: $19.99
Tricksters in the Madhouse: Lakers vs. Globetrotters, 1948 ImageTricksters in the Madhouse: Lakers vs. Globetrotters, 1948
by John Christgau
Bison Books; Published: 2007-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.02
Price in other shops: $15.95
Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete ImageForty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete
by William C. Rhoden
Broadway; Published: 2007-07-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.52
Price in other shops: $14.99
Black Magic ImageBlack Magic
ESPN; Release date: 2008-10-28; DVD
Best price: $6.59
Price in other shops: $19.95
Hot Potato: How Washington and New York Gave Birth to Black Basketball and Changed America's Game Forever ImageHot Potato: How Washington and New York Gave Birth to Black Basketball and Changed America's Game Forever
by Bob Kuska
University of Virginia Press; Published: 2006-02-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.95
Rollergirl: Totally True Tales from the Track ImageRollergirl: Totally True Tales from the Track
by Melissa Joulwan
Touchstone; Published: 2007-02-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.90
Price in other shops: $15.00
Moonfixer: The Basketball Journey of Earl Lloyd (Sports and Entertainment) ImageMoonfixer: The Basketball Journey of Earl Lloyd (Sports and Entertainment)
by Sean Kirst, Earl Lloyd
Syracuse University Press; Published: 2010-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.65
Price in other shops: $29.95
Cages to Jump Shots: Pro Basketball's Early Years ImageCages to Jump Shots: Pro Basketball's Early Years
by Robert W. Peterson
Bison Books; Published: 2002-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops: $16.95
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories