4
The Sports Front
With Smoky
PRO COURT TEAMS ROLLING
AGAIN
a Professional basketball teams
were practically anchored during
the war due to travel restrictions.
Now that the big guns are silenc
ed, leaving the final decision as
to who won and who lost to the
diplomats of the world, the play
for-pay cagers are once again
roaming the highways and by
ways of the nation. They’re show
ing their wares in the hamlets,
villages and towns across the na
tion, playing as many as two and
three games a day.
The famous Harlem Globe
trotters are leading the mileage
parade once again, showing up
one day in California and a few
|[ays later in Iowa, Illinois, Mich
igan or Pennsylvania. Up to and
including Feb. 15, the ’Trotters
had bagged 97 wins against two
losses. Paced by such court greats
as Ted Strong, Bernie Price and
Babe Pressley, the Harlem quin
tet—which actually hails from
Chicago—is probably the most
colorful team in professional bas
ketball. As a result they are in
constant demand and travel far
ther and play more games than
any team in the world. Here is
an example of their far-flung
schedule: On Feb. 25, 26, and 27
they compete in the international
invitational cup tournament in
Havanna, Cuba. Approximately
j^hirty days later they leave San
^Francisco by Clipper plane for
Honolulu where on March 27
they start a three weeks tour of
the islands.
That’s a lot of traveling and a
lot of basketball, especially when
you consider the fact that they’ve
been playing practically every
night since Thanksgiving. But
the ’Trotters are used to such life
and continue packing ’em in and
winning more than 95 per cent of
their games. They move about
via bus, train and plane. It’s
the most unique setup in profes
sional basketball and maybe in
the entire sports world. For no
sports aggregation we know of
travels so many great distances
-in quest of victories. They’re the
^vagabonds of sportdom
*****
Last Friday night found plenty
of good fast action at the Urban
League ns the Lincoln, Omaha.
and Belmont Center leather push
ers went all out to give fans a
good evening’s entertainment.
In the Heavy Class, Nolan Davis
hurt his hand and lost to Sam
Williams. . Butch Buttgenbach
lost to Clifford Triggs of Omaha
by a decision. Cecil Hatcher lost
by a decision to James Gregory
of Omaha. Beaman lost by a
decision to Herbert Gray of Om
aha.
In the lightweights, Arnold
‘Mouse’ Tarpley lost a close de
cision to Bobby Battles of Omaha.
Gwen Lyburger of Belmont Cen
ter decisioned Sonny Cook of
Omaha.
A trophy which was given by
referee Frank Selders to the best
fighter was won by Clifford Triggs
of Omaha. Another fine point
not to be omitted was the excel
lent sportsmanship shown by all
the fighters.
HOUSING OUTLOOK FOR
NEGROES WORSE. URBAN
LEAGUE REPORTS
New York—New housing for
Negro occupancy reached a fur
ther low in 1946 as an already
intolerable housing situation as
sumed crisis proportions, Reginald
| A. Johnson, Director of Field Ser
! vices and housing coordinator of
j the National Urban League re
ported this week.
Pointing out that then end of
temporary war housing construc
tion had seriously reduced build
ing of new units for the entire
population, Mr. Johnson stated
that recent reallocation of gov
ernment housing for emergency
use in certain cities has had the
effect of cutting Negro unit
occupancy even below the level
of the war years.
Of the total of 254.000 re-use
temporary housing accomoda
dations provided for veterans
during 1946, only 5,000 or less
than two per cent, were specified
for Negroes and, as late as Octo
ber, only 1,600 were available for
actual use, the Urban League
spokesman charged. In contrast,
it was pointed out, 15,000 special
war housing units for Negro oc
cupancy were constructed be
tween 1940 and 1945, and during
the federal housing program
129,000 units, or nineteen per cent
of the total, were earmarked for
Negro occupancy.
“The sharp decline in avail
ability of new public housing for
Negroes has not been matched in
any degree by increase in private
construction for lower or middle
income families,” Mr. Johnson re
vealed. “Only a negligible amount
of private money ever has gone
into construction of housing for
Negroes. As an example, from
1939 to June, 1946, only 23,000
FHA insured units had been con
structed for Negroes throughout
the country. While some private
ly financed housing construction
for Negroes now is under way in
twenty or more cities, the amount
is negligible, since private build
ers are concentrating on construc
tion for higher income families.”
The Urban League’s report
places much of the blame for the
situation on failure of Congress
to enact the Wagner-Ellender
Taft Housing Bill. Charging that
public apathy and confusion un
dermined the work of the sup
porters of public housing in Con
gress and among the interested
agencies, Mr. Johnson stated, “If
all those in America who were
themselves in need of housing
had expressed themselves to their
respective Congressmen the Wag
ner-Ellender-Taft Bill would to
day be in effect and low-rent
construction a reality. Active
pressure groups with a special
interest in the end of housing
controls and the resultant sky
rocketing dwelling and rent costs
to the consumer far outnumbered
those consumer-interest groups
which filed in support of the bill.”
A recent National Urban Lea
gue spot-check showed a 175 per
cent average price increase in
property purchased by Negroes
in Baltimore, with specific sales
showing increases as high as 433
per cent; conversion of a group
of new houses constructed for
Negro occupancy in Lincoln, Ne
braska, to exclusive white oc
cupancy; a Negro vacancy rate
in Cincinnati of .6 per cent as
against 2.4 per cent for whites,
with 27 per cent of the Negro
population hemmed into 16 per
cent of the space; a nearly doubl
ed Negro population in Washing
ton with no new space for Negro
occupancy and most of the new
governmental construction eating
up land formerly the site of low
income Negro housing; and in
Buffalo the development of racial
ghettos in a locality where there
was little or no housing segrega
tion 10 years ago.
“In enactment during 1947 of a
federal housing legislation such
as the Wagner-Ellender-Taft Bill
lies the only hope for even a par
tial solution of the problem of
America’s many thousands of
homeless and crowded Negro
families,” Mr. Johnson stated.
“Under present circumstances,
we face the reactivation of re
strictive covenants, the further
mushrooming of white neighbor
hoods to the exclusion of Negroes,
rapid encroachment of industrial
and other non-dwelling construc
tion on the dwindling space avail
able for Negro occupation and
intensification of racial ghettos ’’
UNION MEET
Interdenominational Union Ser
vices will be held at Newman
Methodist Church, Sunday, Feb
ruary 23, at 2:30 p.m. Rev. James
Hull, Associate Minister at Christ
Temple (Holiness) will be speak
er. Rev. G. W. Harper,is presi
dent and Rev. R. L. Moody, Sec
retary of the Negro Ministerial
Alliance which sponsored the
meeting.
NYLON
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