The Secret Game: A Wartime Story of Courage, Change, and Basketball's Lost Triumph

by Scott Ellsworth

Overview

Winner of the 2016 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing: The true story of the game that never should have happened -- and of a nation on the brink of monumental change.

In the fall of 1943, at the little-known North Carolina College for Negroes, Coach John McLendon was on the verge of changing basketball forever. A protégé of James Naismith, the game's inventor, McLendon taught his team to play the full-court press and run a fast break that no one could catch. His Eagles would become the highest-scoring college team in America -- a basketball juggernaut that shattered its opponents by as many as sixty points per game.

Yet his players faced danger whenever they traveled backcountry roads. Across town, at Duke University, the best basketball squad on campus wasn't the Blue Devils, but an all-white military team from the Duke medical school. Composed of former college stars from across the country, the team dismantled everyone they faced, including the Duke varsity. They were prepared to take on anyone -- until an audacious invitation arrived, one that was years ahead of anything the South had ever seen before. What happened next wasn't on anyone's schedule.

Based on years of research, The Secret Game is a story of courage and determination, and of an incredible, long-buried moment in the nation's sporting past. The riveting, true account of a remarkable season, it is the story of how a group of forgotten college basketball players, aided by a pair of refugees from Nazi Germany and a group of daring student activists, not only blazed a trail for a new kind of America, but helped create one of the most meaningful moments in basketball history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316244633
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	03/10/2015
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	644,725
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Scott Ellsworth is the New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Game, which was the winner of the 2016 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing. He has written about American history for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times.

Formerly a historian at the Smithsonian Institution, he is the author of Death in a Promised Land, his groundbreaking account of the 1921 Tulsa race riot. He lives with his wife and twin sons in Ann Arbor, where he teaches at the University of Michigan.

Table of Contents

A Note to the Reader ix

Prologue Spring 1944 3

Part 1

Chapter 1 Aubrey 9

Chapter 2 Negroes with LaSalles 22

Chapter 3 Big Dog 41

Chapter 4 "Nobody Wanted to Mess with Him" 54

Chapter 5 Fathers and Sons 70

Chapter 6 Lawrence 89

Chapter 7 "That's How You Do It!" 100

Chapter 8 Berlin, 1936 115

Chapter 9 Racehorse Basketball 125

Chapter 10 Hoosiers 141

Part 2

Chapter 11 City of Stone 153

Chapter 12 Blue Devil 166

Chapter 13 Medicine Ball 178

Chapter 14 "He Can't Sit There" 193

Chapter 15 Burgess 206

Chapter 16 A Knock at the Door 222

Chapter 17 "You Could See It in Their Eyes" 234

Chapter 18 New York 242

Chapter 19 The Secret Game 255

Chapter 20 "Did You Hear About…" 277

Chapter 21 Look Away 289

Epilogue 304

Afterword: The Ghosts of Jim Crow 307

Acknowledgments 313

Notes 319

Index 377

What People are Saying About This

Bob Ryan

There is a basketball on the cover, but this is much more than a story about basketball. Yes, there was a ground-breaking basketball game played in Durham, N.C seven decades ago, and it is recounted in great detail by Scott Ellsworth. But what we really have here is indispensable social history. White people need to read this book. People of color need to read this book. Whoever you are, you need to read this book. --Bob Ryan, Boston Globe, ESPN, Author of "Scribe, My Life in Sports”

Mike Krzyzewski

As a member of the Duke community, I have long been aware and proud of the secret game. Now Scott Ellsworth has brought it to light. The true story behind this extraordinary, long-buried game goes beyond any one school or any one state. The Secret Game is a triumphant look at how basketball has broken down barriers, and helped create a new kind of America. Every citizen needs to know this story--and to know it now. --Mike Krzyzewski, head coach, Duke men's basketball

Editorial Reviews

"As a member of the Duke community, I have long been aware and proud of the secret game. Now Scott Ellsworth has brought it to light. The true story behind this extraordinary, long-buried game goes beyond any one school or any one state. The Secret Game is a triumphant look at how basketball has broken down barriers, and helped create a new kind of America. Every citizen needs to know this story—and to know it now."—Mike Krzyzewski, head coach of Duke Men's Basketball

"There is a basketball on the cover, but this is much more than a story about basketball. Yes, there was a ground-breaking basketball game played in Durham, N.C., seven decades ago, and it is recounted in great detail by Scott Ellsworth. But what we really have here is indispensable social history. White people need to read this book. People of color need to read this book. Whoever you are, you need to read this book."—Bob Ryan, Boston Globe, ESPN, author of Scribe: My Life in Sports

"A powerful book that is a page-turner from start to finish.... Ellsworth has written an important book that should appeal to people of all colors."—Bob D'Angelo, Tampa Tribune

"A fascinating new work of cultural and sports history.... Through a mixture of oral history and archival research, Ellsworth captures the rich human details of a whole generation of largely forgotten basketball players."—Nick Romeo, Boston Globe

"It would be difficult, if not impossible, for me to overstate my admiration for Scott Ellsworth's magnificent The Secret Game. It's a book about race, a book about the South, a book about America, a book about the '40s, a book about change as well as how things remain the same. This is one of the smartest and most eloquent books I've come across in a long time. A masterpiece."—Steve Yarbrough, author of The Realm of Last Chances

"A historian with the soul of a poet, Ellsworth offers a remarkably nuanced, vibrant, and eloquent account of life in the South during WWII, and his portraits of the principal players in this secret drama are multitextured and complex."—Wes Lukowsky, Booklist (starred review)

"Ellsworth has unearthed a brave moment in basketball, forgotten to history, which resonates far beyond the court."—Billy Heller, New York Post

"Scott Ellsworth has unearthed the facts of this little-known but hugely important moment. His research is as overwhelming as his story-telling style is accessible and engaging. If you love basketball, truly love the game and all that it means in terms of this country and its civil rights history, you'll want to read and reread The Secret Game."—Roland Lazenby, author of Michael Jordan: The Life

"Ellsworth skillfully puts this story in the context of World War II, which forced this country to face — albeit slowly — its unjust treatment of those who also spilled blood to protect American democracy. He lets us know what happened to each of the players after the secret game — their lives and their triumph no longer lost or forgotten."—Cliff Bellamy, The Herald Sun

"Riveting."—Kevin Nance, Chicago Tribune

"Amazing."—Robert Gray, Shelf Awareness

"Beautifully paced, its eloquence cloaked within a common touch."—Jeff Calder, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"A compelling story about basketball, race and transformation...."—D.G. Martin, Winston-Salem Journal

"[The Secret Game] should be read by anyone with an interest in basketball history, or American sports history. Or maybe even American history for that matter."—Bill Reynolds, Providence Journal

"Ellsworth tells their story in the vein of Seabiscuit and The Boys in the Boat.... He reminds us who heroes are and what they can be."—Daniel Solzman, The Kentucky Democrat

"Ellsworth chronicles a groundbreaking matchup....He weaves 50 years of story lines...[and] the takeaway is the unimaginable bravery of both teams."—Lisa Sorg, Indy Week

"Mesmerizing.... An elegant, deeply talented writer."—Jennifer Conlin, frequent contributor to the New York Times

"Engrossing..."—Chris Skaugset, The Daily News

"A riveting, little-known story reminding readers of a rising generation of risk-takers who fought against Jim Crow laws and ushered in the Civil Rights Movement."—Genesis Jackson, Duke Today

From the Publisher

03/01/2015
Duke history professor Ellsworth's first book in more than 30 years (Death in a Promised Land) tells the story behind the first racially integrated college basketball game in the American South, a secretly planned and played 1944 contest pitting the high-scoring, fast-breaking Eagles from the North Carolina College for Negroes (NCCN; now North Carolina Central University) against an all-white, geographically diverse military recruit squad from Duke School of Medicine. Ellsworth focuses on each of the various coaches, players, professors, and college administrators involved in this covert, dangerous, and historically significant matchup while framing their consistently fascinating profiles within the contexts of Southern racial prejudice in the World War II, pre-Civil Rights era and the rising popularity of basketball in gymnasiums across America. Innovative NCCN coach John McLendon and Duke's influential team leader David Hubbell feature prominently, but there are many other participants whose intertwined and impressively detailed biographies are woven into a compelling tale that is told in the author's impeccably clear prose. The first book-length story of the participants in this momentous event is similar in theme and tone to Peter McDaniel's Uneven Lies. VERDICT This thoroughly researched but accessible book is recommended to both sports fans and American history buffs. [See Prepub Alert, 9/29/14.]—Douglas King, Univ. of South Carolina Lib., Columbia

Library Journal

Basketball wasn’t always the fast-paced, flashy game it is today, with slam dunks and long-ranging three-pointers. It was a simple game that came of age during the days of Jim Crow. Author Scott Ellsworth’s steady narration has just the right inflections of emotion. His well-researched stories and solid writing carry this book, a series of biographical portraits that culminate in the story of an unpublicized game between all-white Duke University and a little-known black college. Ellsworth’s voice gently shapes the stories of obscure players, and his research into the sport’s well-known vanguards—James Naismith, Phog Allen, John McClendon—is truly fascinating. Ellsworth’s reverence for basketball comes through in his narration as much as it does in his writing. M.B. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2015 - AudioFile

Basketball wasn’t always the fast-paced, flashy game it is today, with slam dunks and long-ranging three-pointers. It was a simple game that came of age during the days of Jim Crow. Author Scott Ellsworth’s steady narration has just the right inflections of emotion. His well-researched stories and solid writing carry this book, a series of biographical portraits that culminate in the story of an unpublicized game between all-white Duke University and a little-known black college. Ellsworth’s voice gently shapes the stories of obscure players, and his research into the sport’s well-known vanguards—James Naismith, Phog Allen, John McClendon—is truly fascinating. Ellsworth’s reverence for basketball comes through in his narration as much as it does in his writing. M.B. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2015 - AudioFile

2015-01-04
An account of a little-known basketball game in which the opponents played as much against Jim Crow as each other.One morning in March 1944 in the segregated South, an all-white team from the Duke University Medical School played an exhibition against the Eagles of the North Carolina College for Negroes. The game occurred in a mostly empty gym behind locked doors; even key school officials were left unawares. Most other facts about the game are less than clear, as no known documents survive. From the kindling of surviving participants' memories, Ellsworth (African-American History and African Studies/Univ. of Michigan; Death in a Promised Land: The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, 1982) constructs a book heavy in historical context and biographical sketches but noticeably short on the particulars of the game referred to in the title. It's not the author's fault that the only reporter to witness the game tore up his notes or that the game registers and score sheets of Eagles coach John McLendon were lost by a former player. However, the brevity of the game account, which comes deep into a detail-laden narrative, would have benefited by greater disclosure of sources (it's not always enough to tuck a note at the back). In order to get to the game, readers must travel distant byways (overseas with James Naismith, for instance), as the author gives significant space to an assemblage of characters that aren't easily understood as significant. Many sports books bog down in play-by-play detail, but that's not the problem here. Even so, like many sports books, the prose contains heightened language—e.g., "a juggernaut of speed and finesse that left opponents demolished, referees exhausted, and fans in awe"—and mentions of "revolution" and a "new kind of basketball." Given the game's clandestine nature, there's little evidence that it changed societal perceptions. Again, no foul there. An intriguing sports tale more suited to a magazine piece than a book.

Kirkus Reviews