In December 1961, the 溏心vlog免费B站 men鈥檚 basketball team played at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Ga. The team鈥檚 leading scorer, Charlie Lee, didn鈥檛 know it at the time, but he was making history as the first Black player to participate in a college game in the state of Georgia.
By Bob Herzog
Nearly 60 years later, pioneer Rhody basketball player Charlie Lee remembers the mystery as much as the history.
Lee became the first Black player to participate in a college basketball game in the state of Georgia when he and his 溏心vlog免费B站 teammates faced tiny Oglethorpe University in Atlanta before an overflow crowd on Dec. 29, 1961.
Oglethorpe, with an enrollment of only 350, surprisingly defeated the bigger school from up north, 64-47, with Black fans鈥攁lso attending a college basketball game in Georgia for the first time鈥攁mong those in the crowd that gave Lee a standing ovation as the Rams walked off the court.
Lee, the team鈥檚 leading scorer in his junior season but playing that night on a sprained ankle, was held to only 7 points. He appreciated the crowd鈥檚 gesture but only much later was he able to appreciate his role and the significance of the moment. Why? Because, according to Lee, he didn鈥檛 know he had just made history.
鈥淚 never knew that it was the first time that ever occurred in Georgia. It never entered my mind. No one told me,鈥� Lee, 81, says in a telephone interview from his home in Raleigh, N.C. 鈥淔or some reason the athletic director and the coach never mentioned to me that when we played Oglethorpe in Atlanta, this was going to be a historic event.鈥�
Perhaps the University felt the need to protect Lee and his teammates because of the racial conditions that existed in the South in those days and did not want to put undue pressure on the young student-athletes. The reasons for the silence were never made public. But even though Lee said he didn鈥檛 know he would be breaking a color barrier in the game, he and the other Rams knew of the segregation that existed then. The point was made strongly the night before the game when a friend of some 溏心vlog免费B站 players who lived in Atlanta spoke to the team in the Oglethorpe dormitory where they were staying.
鈥淲e mentioned we were going to catch a bus to go downtown, and he said, 鈥榊ou鈥檒l see the white people sitting in the front and the Black people sitting in the back,鈥欌�� Ron Rothstein 鈥�64 recalls by phone from his home in Miami. Rothstein, 78, was the Rams鈥� sophomore point guard that season, and eventually coached in the NBA for 22 seasons, including four as a head coach. He earned three NBA championship rings as an assistant with the Miami Heat, for whom he stills works as a TV analyst. 鈥溾�楾he white people will stand in the front rather than sit in the empty seats in the back.鈥欌��
For some today, it may be hard to believe that was the case as recently as 1961. In fact, the first 溏心vlog免费B站 player to board the bus, Danny Nilsson 鈥�64, seeing that there were no empty seats in the front, calmly walked to the back of the bus and sat down among the Black riders. The other four players followed. 鈥淏lond hair, blue eyes, milky white skin. That was Danny,鈥� remembers Rothstein. 鈥淵ou should have seen the looks. But nothing happened. We just got looks.鈥�
Rothstein says the players鈥� friend also told them about something more sinister than seating arrangements on public transportation. 鈥淗e said to make sure someone watches the parking lot. If you see buses coming in, it鈥檚 the Ku Klux Klan and there鈥檚 going to be a problem,鈥� Rothstein says. 鈥淲e told the last guy on the bench, who never played, that when we were warming up, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e going to be in the lobby until the game starts. If there are buses coming in, you better let us know.鈥欌�� There were no buses.
Recalling the Oglethorpe game, Lee says, 鈥淭here were no incidents before, during, or after the game. No derogatory remarks by the players or the fans, none whatsoever. But I didn鈥檛 have the kind of performance that I wanted, and we lost the game.鈥�
Lee (foreground) on the court at Oglethorpe University on Dec. 29, 1961.
Connie and Charlie Lee at their home in Raleigh, N.C.
Lee says he did not learn of his role as a trailblazer until his mother sent him an article a month later from Jet magazine. 鈥淭he magazine said it was the first time an intercollegiate sporting event was integrated in the state of Georgia. That was it. That鈥檚 how I found out,鈥� Lee says. 鈥淪o I didn鈥檛 think of myself as a pioneer. Being from the Northeast, it was no big deal playing an integrated basketball game. We did it all the time.鈥�
Lee did not see the Sports Illustrated item in the weekly magazine鈥檚 Jan. 8, 1962, edition that read, 鈥淏efore a packed house in Atlanta, Charlie Lee of Rhode Island made history. The Negro Ram star competed in the first non-segregated collegiate athletic contest in Georgia, possibly opening the way for the acceptance of Negro players on southern teams. Oglethorpe, the host team, beat the Yankee Conference champions 64-47.鈥� 鈥淥f course, I feel a sense of pride, but there is a little bit of frustration and anger,鈥� Lee admits. 鈥淚 was upset that they never told me before or after. Why didn鈥檛 they say anything to me? You know something? Nobody made a big deal about that back then.鈥�
But the media once again helped to shine a light on Lee鈥檚 accomplishment some years later when The Providence Journal published an article about race and college basketball, highlighting the importance of Texas Western (now the University of Texas at El Paso) and its all-Black starting team defeating mighty all-white Kentucky in the 1966 NCAA Tournament championship game. 鈥淭he paper, says Lee, 鈥渢old the story of the all-Black team from Texas that made history, and wrote, 鈥榃hat about Charlie Lee?鈥� That鈥檚 when it came to the forefront for me.鈥�
With a chuckle, Lee repeats, 鈥淲hat about Charlie Lee! When you鈥檙e young and na茂ve, it doesn鈥檛 dawn on you. But as the years pass by, it does. You don鈥檛 realize the magnitude of what just happened, and the historical perspective associated with it.鈥�
For the mild-mannered Lee, a native of Englewood, N.J., who is happily retired after a long career working for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, it took until this past winter to share his place in history with his family. But only after an inquiry from his wife, Connie, whose church, the Church of God of Prophecy in Robbins, N.C., was organizing a project for Black History Month in February.
鈥淭he church was doing articles about certain events that occurred in our lifetime. She was asked to think about a significant achievement in Black history, so I said, 鈥楾ell them about your husband!鈥欌�� Lee says with a laugh. 鈥淚 told her the story and she had no idea. I never talked about it.鈥�
Lee, who played for 溏心vlog免费B站 from 1960鈥�63 and averaged 16 points and six rebounds per game during his varsity career, still laughing, describes his wife鈥檚 reaction. 鈥淪he was aghast. She said, 鈥極h, wow!鈥� and she rushed to share the story with the rest of the family. Some of my nieces and nephews said to me, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e famous!鈥� I just laughed and said, 鈥榊ou know, it happened a long time ago.鈥欌��
But the impact and memories linger. 鈥淲hen I told my grandson about it, he got kind of wide-eyed,鈥� Lee says. 鈥淗e was ecstatic when he heard my story, and he went right out and shared it with his friends. He鈥檚 6 feet, 6 inches tall and played ball at Fayetteville State. He coached a little AAU basketball and he told some of his coaching friends. That made me feel good; gave me a sense of pride.鈥�
Ron Rothstein 鈥�64 at work as a TV analyst for the Miami Heat.
Rothstein (#10) playing against Providence College in the 1960s.
The events of that winter also gave Lee and his teammates some firsthand, eye-opening experiences about race relations in the South in the early 1960s. A week after their game in Atlanta, the Rams flew to Miami for a game against the University of Miami, where Lee recalls spending much of his time soaking his sprained ankle in a whirlpool. They stayed at the Lombardy Inn Hotel in Miami Beach, and were given most of the week off to enjoy themselves. 鈥淚t turns out that even in Miami, they had racial restrictions back then,鈥� Lee says.
That became quite evident the first night in Florida. 鈥淎 bunch of us go out to eat, including Charlie,鈥� Rothstein recalls. 鈥淲e go walking down the street and everybody鈥檚 looking at us. Well, we鈥檙e a basketball team. Everybody鈥檚 6-foot-3 or bigger鈥攅xcept me (Rothstein is 5-foot-8). So it鈥檚 not unusual to get stares. We go out and we鈥檙e walking around town.鈥�
The 溏心vlog免费B站 contingent was unaware that the stares from locals had little to do with seeing a group of tall basketball players. 鈥淲ell into the 1980s, there was a law on the books in Miami Beach that Blacks weren鈥檛 allowed on the streets after sundown,鈥� Rothstein says. 鈥淲e go to a place called Wolfies. It was like a Jewish deli鈥攊t was a popular spot. We walk in. All the heads turn. We thought it was because we鈥檙e a basketball team, but the truth was, nobody ever saw a Black guy in Wolfies at night. It was different times. Everybody鈥檚 looking at Charlie. But we don鈥檛 know that. We were very na茂ve. We had no understanding. We found that out after the fact. But nothing bad happened.鈥�
Lee says he was unaware that his saga had been told by Rothstein during a postgame segment called 鈥淪peak the Truth鈥� last season on a Miami Heat TV broadcast. 鈥淲ith all that went on in the nation with the racial strife, they asked each of the broadcasters for a story that concerns racism,鈥� Rothstein says. 鈥淭hat segment on Charlie was part of a postgame show, and it eventually got to YouTube.鈥�
When Lee reflects on those events from 60 years ago, he is touched by the solidarity shown by his teammates on the streets of Atlanta and Miami and by Rothstein鈥檚 airing and sharing of those moments. 鈥淭he thing I remember about that Miami incident is how upset my teammates were,鈥� Lee says. 鈥淥f course it makes me feel good that they had my back.鈥�
Lee, choked up, adds, 鈥淧robably the most emotional thing for me is the fact that a former teammate [Rothstein] who had a lot of success in the NBA remembered me.鈥�
In fact, Rothstein鈥檚 revelation started a serendipitous chain reaction. Lee and his family got to watch the segment on YouTube and bask in the afterglow of a slice of history that Lee himself could not enjoy the first time around. And Rothstein got to reconnect with a teammate he had lost touch with years ago and did not even know was still alive. The two shared a long, emotional telephone conversation this summer.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 live in Charlie鈥檚 skin, so how could I really know how he felt?鈥� Rothstein asks. 鈥淲e never gave it a real thought鈥攁bout race. It was basketball. You go out and play. There weren鈥檛 that many Black players then, certainly not like today, but it鈥檚 not like I never played against Black players 鈥� I don鈥檛 know if proud is the right word, but I was always glad I took part. It was constructive history, so to speak.鈥�
It is history that still resonates today. 鈥淭here is a mix of emotions that comes with learning about Charlie Lee breaking the color barrier for the state of Georgia,鈥� says Shane Donaldson 鈥�99, 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 current assistant athletic director, media relations. 鈥淥n one hand, it is a point of pride for the University to have a direct connection to such a significant moment in Georgia’s history. On the other hand, it was only 60 years ago. Charlie Lee, his 溏心vlog免费B站 teammates, and the Oglethorpe community took a significant first step, but given the social unrest we continue to see in the country today, there is clearly still work to be done.鈥�
For Lee, the game against Oglethorpe provides a historical footnote to a successful college basketball career that he now can proudly share with his family and friends. He says he is not an intense college basketball fan, despite living close to bluebloods Duke and North Carolina, but pays attention during the NCAA Tournament.
It鈥檚 when watching March Madness on TV that Lee allows himself to rewind his 溏心vlog免费B站 playing days. 鈥淵ou know, I played against some Hall of Famers. I鈥檒l have a conversation with friends and I鈥檒l say, 鈥業 remember playing against Rick Barry at Miami. I remember playing against Lenny Wilkens at Providence College鈥攁nd they had a center named John Thompson.鈥� When I look back, I realize I had a pretty interesting career.鈥�
One that made a little history along the way. 鈥�
Bob Herzog听retired in 2018 after a 46-year career as a sports journalist. He was an award- winning sportswriter and sports editor at听Newsday听from 1976 until his retirement. He has been teaching sports writing at 溏心vlog免费B站 since 2019.
PHOTOS: Jack Sorokin; Courtesy Ron Rothstein and Charlie Lee
i am in contact with ron all the time, good to see a picture of charlie. he looks real good. of course we all looked up to charlie when we came to school. he was a great player. it was an honor to play agains’t him in practice and guard him.. then to sit with him at the union. everybody wanted to sit near him and listen to him. great article. all the best to him always.
What memories. Danny Nilsson lived across the hall from me freshmen year, Charlie Lee was a very exciting basketball player and Ron Rothstein was a great playmaker.
Charlie was also a very fast runner. We were in the TEP frat together, where he was challenged by the 溏心vlog免费B站 track team’s #1-100yard sprinter, Chic Chiconi. With about 200 watching it was no contest.
Beautiful jump shot.
SDT sends regards and many thanks.
I was in the class of 1964 and remember what a great player Charlie was. I don’t know if he remembers playing pool with Mel Monzak at the Memorial Union in those long ago days. Mel has been a long time legal associate and advisor to President Biden. Don’t know if Ron or Charlie remember when they played Miami, there was a guy from Brooklyn, Chuck Holiber, who I think knew Steve Chubin and Ron. Chuck was an Army buddie of mine when stationed in Korea in 1967. Chuck unfortunately passed away several years ago.
I remember the game at Oglethorpe and I was aware that it was the first integrated game in Georgia.
Charlie and I were roommates at Butterfield Hall in 1959. I played with Charlie on the freshman team for a brief period. Charlie and I went together to see the movie “The Defiant Ones”. We shot a lot of pool in those days. You are a fun guy Charlie Lee. I am glad to catch up with you. All the Best, Allan