{"id":7230,"date":"2022-02-21T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-21T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/?p=7230"},"modified":"2026-07-08T16:57:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T20:57:49","slug":"black-history-month-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/black-history-month-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Black History Month 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"we-join-the-library-of-congress-national-archives-and-records-administration-national-endowment-for-the-humanities-national-gallery-of-art-national-park-service-smithsonian-institution-and-united-states-holocaust-memorial-museum-to-celebrate-african-american-history-month-documenting-black-history-using-notre-dame-s-joyce-sports-research-collection\"><em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/blackhistorymonth.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\">We join with<\/a> The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"we-join-the-library-of-congress-national-archives-and-records-administration-national-endowment-for-the-humanities-national-gallery-of-art-national-park-service-smithsonian-institution-and-united-states-holocaust-memorial-museum-to-celebrate-african-american-history-month-documenting-black-history-using-notre-dame-s-joyce-sports-research-collection\">Searching for Claude Monroe Paris, Unheralded African American Basketball Pioneer: Documenting Black History Using Notre Dame\u2019s Joyce Sports Research Collection<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">by <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/directory.library.nd.edu\/directory\/employees\/gbond2\" target=\"_blank\">Greg Bond, <em>Sports Archivist and Curator, Joyce Sports Research Collection <\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For several years, I\u2019ve been on the hunt for Claude Monroe Paris, a largely unheralded African American basketball pioneer from the early twentieth century whose name does not appear in the standard books about the history of African Americans in basketball. A native of Waupaca, Wisconsin, Paris excelled on the court and was one of the few African Americans to compete on high-level integrated basketball teams in the early 1900s. Usually playing at forward or center, he received wide praise for his abilities, and his teams competed in national amateur basketball tournaments in Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Basketball was in its infancy and\u2014compared to sports like baseball or college football\u2014often received less coverage. So, it has sometimes been difficult to uncover information about early basketball players like Claude Paris. Fortunately, in my new position as the Sports Archivist at Notre Dame\u2019s Hesburgh Library, I can use the incomparable resources of the <a href=\"https:\/\/rarebooks.library.nd.edu\/collections\/sports\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Joyce Sports Research Collection<\/a> to better document Claude Paris\u2019s trailblazing athletic career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After starring at Waupaca High School, Paris joined the region\u2019s top amateur team sponsored by the nearby Stevens Point Athletic Club in 1901. He quickly gained local fame, with one reporter describing him as \u201ca well known colored basket ball player.\u201d The state press routinely praised him as a \u201ccrack forward,\u201d and one sportswriter said simply that Paris \u201cis said by players of experience to have been the best forward in the state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Stevens Point Athletics were one of the top teams in Wisconsin, and in 1901, they were invited to Chicago to compete in an eight-team basketball tournament billed as the \u201cNational Amateur Championship.\u201d Other teams in the field included Kenton, Ohio; Chicago\u2019s West Side YMCA; the University of Nebraska, and the Silent Five of Brooklyn, New York, a team composed of deaf players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before the tournament, the <em>Chicago Chronicle<\/em>, wrote that Stevens Point \u201chas this year made a very enviable reputation and has an undisputed right to be classed among the best teams in the country.\u201d The <em>Chronicle<\/em> singled out Paris for \u201cthe star playing of the team\u201d and noted that \u201cParis, who is an unusually small man for the position he fills, is an excellent player and is looked upon as one of the strongest of the team.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paris played well in Chicago, but the tournament ended without a clear champion as Stevens Point and Kenton, Ohio, both finished with records of 3-1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2167\" height=\"2400\" data-id=\"7239\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1901_1902-0001.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7239\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1901_1902-0001.jpg 2167w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1901_1902-0001-271x300.jpg 271w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1901_1902-0001-925x1024.jpg 925w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1901_1902-0001-768x851.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1901_1902-0001-1387x1536.jpg 1387w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1901_1902-0001-1849x2048.jpg 1849w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2167px) 100vw, 2167px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">1901-02 Spalding&#8217;s Official Basket Ball Guide <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2150\" height=\"2400\" data-id=\"7242\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1905_1906-0001.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7242\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1905_1906-0001.jpg 2150w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1905_1906-0001-269x300.jpg 269w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1905_1906-0001-917x1024.jpg 917w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1905_1906-0001-768x857.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1905_1906-0001-1376x1536.jpg 1376w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1905_1906-0001-1835x2048.jpg 1835w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2150px) 100vw, 2150px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">1905-06 Spalding&#8217;s Official Basket Ball Guide <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the years, I have tracked Claude Paris and the Stevens Point Athletics \u201cchampionship\u201d team through newspaper stories, but the Joyce Sports Research Collection\u2014namely, its nearly complete run of <a href=\"https:\/\/findit.library.nd.edu\/Record\/002103774\"><em>Spalding\u2019s Official Basket Ball Guide<\/em><\/a>\u2014has now let me put a picture to these words. Spalding Guides routinely featured hundreds of team photographs from every level of competition, and these images are a fantastic resource for researchers to study and to document the development of sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Joyce Collection\u2019s <em>1901\u201302 Spalding\u2019s Official Basket Ball Guide<\/em> includes on page 60 a team photograph of the \u201cStevens Point A.C. Basket Ball Team.\u201d Claude Paris (identified as number 7) sits on the left side of the first row, providing a visual record\u2014seen around the country in the popular Spalding Guide\u2014of this early integrated basketball team and graphically documenting Claude Paris\u2019s participation at the highest levels of amateur basketball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1901_1902-0062.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1901_1902-0062-detail-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1901_1902-0062-detail-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1901_1902-0062-detail-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1901_1902-0062-detail-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1901_1902-0062-detail-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1901_1902-0062-detail-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After Stevens Point, <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.lawrence.edu\/library-archives\/2015\/02\/early-african-american-students.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Paris attended and continued his basketball career at Lawrence University<\/a> in Appleton, Wisconsin, for two years. But his career after Lawrence is not well documented. Further investigation in the Joyce Collection, though, has led to more information. I discovered that the <em><a href=\"https:\/\/findit.library.nd.edu\/Record\/002103774\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1905\u00ad\u201306 Spalding\u2019s Official Basket Ball Guide<\/a><\/em> pictured Claude Paris (identified as number 6) with the 1905 Menasha (Wisconsin) Young Men\u2019s Social Club Basketball team\u2014providing additional evidence of Paris\u2019s trailblazing career as an African American basketball player on predominantly white teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1905_1906-0159.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"523\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1905_1906-0159-detail-1024x523.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7244\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1905_1906-0159-detail-1024x523.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1905_1906-0159-detail-300x153.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1905_1906-0159-detail-768x392.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1905_1906-0159-detail-1536x784.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/files\/2022\/02\/BOO_002103774-1905_1906-0159-detail-2048x1045.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unfortunately, little information has survived about the specifics of Claude Paris\u2019s experiences against white competitors, but visual evidence of his participation on integrated teams is an important addition to our knowledge about the history of African American athletes in this era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some contemporary observers also noticed the significance of Claude Paris. In April 1903, the <em>Milwaukee Sentinel<\/em> published a lengthy article about Paris, then a student at Lawrence. The Sentinel described him as \u201cstudious and industrious\u201d and \u201cof quiet manner and engaging personality.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The article also noted that \u201cParis finds time to devote considerable attention to athletics\u2026 [and] he has an excellent record. Before he came to Lawrence he played on the Stevens Point basket ball team which tied the team of Kenton, O., for the national championship in 1901.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <em>Milwaukee Sentinel<\/em> ultimately used Claude Paris to make an overtly political point. In an era that witnessed increasing legal segregation and racial violence and growing restrictions on African American rights, the <em>Sentinel<\/em> held up Paris\u2019s example as a direct refutation of the racist philosophy of segregationists exemplified by notorious South Carolina Senator \u201cPitchfork\u201d Ben Tillman:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cClaude M. Paris of Waupaca\u2026 in every detail of his personality and every incident of his career gives the lie to Senator Ben Tillman\u2019s dictum that the negro is and must always remain\u2026 inferior.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I am grateful that the Joyce Sports Research Collection has helped me to further document and honor the life of Claude Monroe Paris, an unsung African American athletic pioneer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We join with The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society. Searching for Claude &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/black-history-month-2022\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Black History Month 2022<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1936,"featured_media":7243,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[75063,75052],"tags":[455963,77948,77929,77931,77941],"class_list":["post-7230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports-research","category-us-history-culture","tag-african-american-history","tag-otd-holidays","tag-periodicals","tag-printed-ephemera","tag-rbsc-scholars"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1936"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7230"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12239,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7230\/revisions\/12239"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}