Inman Jackson
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 7, 1907 Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | April 6, 1973 (aged 66) Chicago, Illinois |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Wendell Phillips Academy High School (Chicago, Illinois) |
| College | City College of New York |
| Playing career | 1925–1945 |
| Position | Center |
| Career history | |
| 1925–1927 | Chicago Giles American Legion Post |
| 1926–1930 | Savoy Big Five |
| 1930–1945 | Harlem Globetrotters |
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Inman William Jackson (March 7, 1907 – April 6, 1973) was an American professional basketball player. He was a long-time member of the Harlem Globetrotters and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.
Early life
Jackson was born on March 7, 1907, and grew up in Chicago, Illinois.[1] He attended Wendell Phillips Academy High School in Chicago and later attended the City College of New York.[2][3]
Playing career
Jackson said that he began playing basketball "in grammar school" and "played quite a lot" growing up.[4] He was a top player for Wendell Phillips Academy High School and also played in his freshman season at the City College of New York, although he dropped out before his second year.[5][6]
A 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), 205 pounds (93 kg) center, Jackson played independent basketball starting in 1925 with the Chicago Giles American Legion Post team.[7] Midway through his second season there, he joined the Chicago Savoy Big Five, a predecessor to the Harlem Globetrotters.[8] He played through 1930 with the Big Five before signing with the Globetrotters.[9][10] He was described as "a late bloomer, but by the time he signed with the Trotters, he was strong, fundamentally-sound, and intimidating."[11]
Jackson was a top player for the Globetrotters, being noted by Jet magazine as "basketball's first outstanding 'big man'".[12] He was renowned for his handling abilities, being described by one newspaper as "one of the greatest ball handlers in the nation today" and by another as playing "as though he were born with a basketball in each hand".[13][14] He was also known as having introduced comedy and showmanship to the Globetrotters, previously a regular team: Abe Saperstein named Jackson the most important Globetrotter of all time and Charley Eckman credited him with having been "the guy who transformed the Trotters from a bunch traveling around playing basketball like everybody else to the great show they are."[15][16]
Later career and death
References
- ^ "Inman Jackson". Pro Basketball Encyclopedia.
- ^ "Jackson, Inman (1974)". Basketball Museum of Illinois.
- ^ "Trotter Great". Livingston Enterprise. February 25, 1940. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Harlem Captain Plays 148th Game of Season". The Winnipeg Tribune. April 25, 1934. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Jackson, Inman (1974)". Basketball Museum of Illinois.
- ^ "Harlem Captain Plays 148th Game of Season". The Winnipeg Tribune. April 25, 1934. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Inman Jackson". Pro Basketball Encyclopedia.
- ^ "Inman Jackson". Pro Basketball Encyclopedia.
- ^ "Inman Jackson". Pro Basketball Encyclopedia.
- ^ "Harlem Globetrotters". Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
- ^ "Inman Jackson". Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
- ^ "Famed Harlem Globetrotter Inman Jackson Dies At 66". Jet. Vol. 44, no. 5. Johnson Publishing Company. April 26, 1973. p. 32.
- ^ "Barnstorming Basketeer". The Montana Standard. March 20, 1934. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Harlem 'Trotters In Town Tonight". The Minneapolis Journal. February 3, 1932. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Announces Three Early African American Pioneer Additions to the Class of 2022". Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. June 29, 2022.
- ^ Jackman, Phil (April 13, 1973). "Inman Jackson Was More Than A Player". The Evening Sun. p. 39 – via Newspapers.com.
External links