It is satisfying and encouraging to see a young man or woman take an interest in some aspect of Arkansas' neglected past and then pursue the topic to the point of becoming the authority on the subject. Musician Stephen Koch did this with Brinkley-born entertainer Louis Jordan; Jill Curran has become the go-to authority on tourist courts in Arkansas. In this same vein, Evin Demirel has made it his mission to tell the story of black athletics in Arkansas before integration. This is a big story, and it is full of surprises for modern readers, in part because the mainstream media usually did not cover black high school and college sports during the era of Jim Crow.
Demirel's new book African American Athletes in Arkansas, Muhammad Ali's Tour, Black Razorbacks, & Other Forgotten Stories (ED Productions, 199 pages, $24.99 softbound), is mostly a compilation of freelance articles Demirel did for local magazines and online journals over the past few years. Joined together, Demirel's work is a powerful opening salvo in his long-term goal of documenting the sports heritage of black Arkansans prior to desegregation.
Black athletic events probably go back to the arrival in Arkansas of enslaved workers in the late 1600s, brought here by the French during the colonial era. But organized athletics among blacks had to await the coming of the public school system after the Civil War. Alas, most of the rural black schools had no athletic facilities until well into the 20th century, in part because most country schools--both white and black--did not go beyond the eighth grade.
As a former archivist, I was pleased to see that Demirel begins his narrative with a call to "integrate the record books." In 1966 the two racially separate public school athletic associations in Arkansas were combined, but as Demirel notes: "The merger ... was not accompanied by the integration of the state record book." This was more or less true throughout the South.
The author is encouraged by the willingness of the Arkansas Activities Association to add new statistical data if it can be documented. For example, the Association recently accepted documentation on Eddie Miles who, in the 1950s, "led North Little Rock's all-black Scipio [A.] Jones High School to four straight state titles." He averaged 30.3 points during his junior year.
Demirel introduced me to a host of remarkable black Arkansas athletes whose stories have been overlooked. Chester Lane, a former basketball star at Philander Smith College in Little Rock who was impressed with the Harlem Globetrotters professional team, established the Hilarious Jesters in the early 1960s. Several white players, such as Lane's friend David McPherson, played on the team. Demirel believes the Jesters were likely the first integrated semi-professional team in Arkansas. The team struggled and folded after only a couple of seasons.
The author gives considerable attention to the athletic history of Scipio A. Jones High School in North Little Rock. Founded in 1928, Jones High School gradually became a real force in black high school athletics until it was closed in 1970. During the years 1948-1952, Jones High School won four state titles, which was repeated in the late 1950s. In 1959, Jones finished second in the national high school championships.
Leading the Jones team during the late 1950s was Eddie Miles. During his freshman year Miles averaged 21 points per game, and he deserves much credit for Jones' defeat of Merrill High School of Pine Bluff for the state title. Clifton Roaf, who played for Merrill High, was in retrospect amazed by Miles' playing: "He could drop 50 [points] on you whenever he wanted. Sidney Moncrief was good, but he was no Eddie Miles."
One of the most interesting chapters in this book chronicles the visit to Arkansas in March 1969 of Muhammad Ali, the famed former heavyweight champion boxer and outspoken member of the Black Muslims. During his protracted visit to the state, Ali gave presentations at various black institutions, including Arkansas AM&N College in Pine Bluff, as well as to the heavily white student body at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
Political and business leaders opposed Ali's appearance at the University of Arkansas, most notably the reliably reactionary Sen. Milt Earnhart of Fort Smith who introduced a resolution in the Legislature condemning Ali's visit on the campus, referring to the boxer as a "draft dodger." Ali's tour of the state resulted in a great deal of media coverage but fortunately no bloodshed.
On Nov. 30, Demirel will chair a public discussion in Little Rock on the history of black athletics before integration. In addition to Demirel, speakers will include Joe Hale of Prescott and Wadie Moore Jr. Hale led the all-black Oak Grove basketball team to the state championship in 1945 and later served as a coach and school principal. Wadie Moore Jr. was the first black sportswriter at the Arkansas Gazette. The program, which is free of charge, begins at 6 p.m. at Hearn Fine Arts Gallery, 1001 Wright Ave. in Little Rock.
Tom Dillard is a historian and retired archivist living near Glen Rose in rural Hot Spring County. Email him at Arktopia.td@gmail.com.
Editorial on 11/26/2017