SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – Join us at the Springfield Town Library on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 11 a.m., for a discussion on Springfield’s role in the integration of professional sports with author Chris Boucher.
Harry “Bucky” Lew was basketball’s first Black professional. In a career that spanned a quarter century, Lew was the first Black player, coach, manager, referee, and franchise owner in integrated professional basketball. One of the highlights of his career was his season with Vermont’s Springfield Athletic Club, with whom he won a state championship in 1907.
Springfield in particular, and Vermont as a whole, were part of a silent majority of sports fans throughout New England who supported everyone’s right to play. Their support wasn’t limited to Lew alone; other pioneers who played in the state included Black baseball Hall-of-Famer Bud Fowler, who played in Vermont in the 1880s, and William Clarence Matthews, who played in Vermont in the early 1900s. The state also hosted baseball’s first Indian, Louis Sockalexis, as a college player with Holy Cross in the 1890s, and likely as a professional after his major league career with Cleveland ended.
Learn more about how these pioneering players and fans ultimately influenced the full integration of major league sports that came later.
Boucher has written two books about Bucky Lew. A lifelong basketball fan, Boucher hadn’t heard of Lew until he started researching early basketball in his backyard. He was shocked to learn of all his hometown hero accomplished, and now hopes to get Lew his proper due.
To sign up for a reminder, visit www.springfieldtownlibrary.org/calendar.