A state historical marker commemorating IU’s first African-American basketball player will be dedicated April 8 outside the Ora L. Wildermuth Intramural Center, according to a release from the Indiana Historical Bureau.
Bill Garrett was not only IU’s first African-American basketball player, but also the Big Ten’s first. Despite the unwritten rule or “gentleman’s agreement” among Big Ten schools, then-president Herman B Wells asked Coach Branch McCracken to grant Garrett a spot on the team in 1948.
Garrett gained attention after leading Shelbyville High School’s basketball team to a state title and being named Indiana’s “Mr. Basketball.” In his time at IU, he gained an All-America selection in 1951.
The public dedication will take place at 11 a.m. outside the fieldhouse that once housed IU basketball. Later in the afternoon the Garrett family and the School of Education will sponsor a panel, “The Role of the School, Basketball and the Black Athlete — Then and Now.”
The historical marker is one of more than 600 placed throughout the state by the IHB. A new state marker dedicated to McCracken will be installed in Monrovia, Indiana, this spring.
Jamie Zega
