McLendon, John B. Jr.
Basketball
b. April 4, 1915, Hiawatha, KS
d. Oct.8, 1999
At Kansas City Junior College and the University of Kansas, McLendon couldn't play basketball because he was black. While a student at the university, he coached a nearby high school, and he also served as an advisor to James Naismith, the sport's inventor.
After receiving a master's degree from the University of Iowa, McLendon became basketball coach at North Carolina College, winning four conference championships in a dozen seasons. He spent two seasons at Hampton Institute, 1952/53-1953/54, then went to Tennessee A & I, where he had his greatest success. His teams won three straight NAIA (small college) championships from 1957 through 1959. Among his players were Sam Jones and Dick Barnett, both of whom became NBA stars.
In 1959, McLendon took over the Cleveland Pipers of the National Industrial Basketball League. The Pipers won the 1961 NIBL and AAU national championships and then joined the professional American Basketball League, making McLendon the first black coach of a major professional team. The ABL soon folded, however. McLendon then coached three seasons each at Kentucky State and Cleveland State before going to the Denver Rockets of the ABA in 1969. He resigned after winning just 9 of 28 games.
The NAIA coach of the year in 1958, McLendon had a college record of 523 victories and 165 losses. His .760 winning percentage is one of the highest in collegiate history.