The Hong Wah Kues () were a San Francisco-based all

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...

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team that participated in the barnstorming circuits during the late 1930s. They were also the first Chinese professional team. Started in 1939 with six players, the Hong Wah Kues became known for their speed and quick passing. Contemporaries of the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of i ...

, the Hong Wah Kues made inroads into the world of basketball before disbanding with the start of World War II. Playing only two season due to the disruption of war, the Hong Wah Kues drew players and fans from the

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community. Other barnstormers included the New York Renaissance, Toledo Brown Bombers, Cleveland-Rosenbloom Celtics, Missouri-based Olson’s Terrible Swedes,

South Philadelphia Hebrew Association The Philadelphia Sphas, also stylized SPHAs or SPHAS, were an American basketball franchise that existed in professional, semi-professional, and exhibition forms. They played their home games in the ballroom of Philadelphia's Broadwood Hotel. The ...

, and Indianapolis Kautskys. The characters representing Hong Wah Kue, which according to several accounts means "Brave (Great) Chinese Warriors" in Cantonese. In the transliteration, the 僑 suggests "compatriots" more so than "warriors." Consistency in use of "kue" also indicates direction towards the same character, as opposed to others like 過, which mean passing over.

Genesis

With the growing popularity of sports in America during the 1920s, basketball spread quickly to major urban centers like SF. The

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a decade later further cemented sport's role in American society because, at the time, few had significant disposable income. Sports were a cheap form of entertainment and further contributed to their expansion in American society. Occupying much of the

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n consciousness at the time, sports helped provide opportunities for liberation as well as social reproduction. The idea to form an all-Chinese men's team came from accountant James W. Porter. Porter held tryouts at the

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for the first ever Chinese professional team. The first team consisted of Fred Ming Gok, Fred Hong Wong, Albert Lee, George Lee, Robert "Doggie" Lum and Chauncey Yip. Members of the second season were Albert Lee, George Lee, Lum, Faye Lee, Douglas Quan and Arnold Lim. Partly out of a desire to find more favorable conditions, the players joined up and left to see the world outside Chinatown after high school. During high school, it's likely they played pick up games with or knew members of the

Mei Wahs Mei Wahs (美華) refers to two separate Chinese-American girls' basketball teams dating from the 1930s. One team was in Los Angeles and the other existed in San Francisco. Both were located in their respective Chinatowns and attempted to use the ...

through the shared site of the

Playing style

At their tallest, the Hong Wah Kues stood at 5'11". The shortest was only 5'3". Mostly single, working class and second-generation immigrants, the players faced dead end jobs because of the prevalent discrimination in those days. However, the basketball court became an arena where there was opportunity to find an equalizer. While facing limited socio-economic possibilities, each of the Hong Wah Kues had extensive experience in basketball; many had won awards on their Chinese club teams and high school teams. For example, Gok, who stood 5'11", participated in several sports, was among the first Chinese lettermen at Galileo High School and earned all-city honors. Another, Fred Hong Wong, was a three sport letterman in basketball,

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

and

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. Wong later went on to win the 1948 SF Golden Gloves for lightweight division. With their athletic background, the Hong Wah Kues came together and utilized a fast up-tempo game with quick passes to their advantage. In the context of the Hong Wah Kues, basketball provided a means to get out and see America. From the audience's perspective, the "Oriental invaders" who spoke perfect English could be seen as a

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On the road

Players traveled November through March. Games took place once every night and twice on Sundays. Out of 80 games in 100 days of their first season, the Hong Wah Kues amassed a winning percentage of 70 percent. Life on the road was hard; players were known to pile into a car immediately following a game because they had get to the next town. Seven crammed into one car; three in the front, three in the back and one riding hassock. Players earned $135 each month but had to cover room, board, food and shoes. The team provided a car, a ball and one uniform. At this time,

Abe Saperstein Abraham Michael Saperstein (; July 4, 1902 – March 15, 1966) was the founder, owner and earliest coach of the Harlem Globetrotters. Saperstein was a leading figure in black basketball and baseball from the 1920s through the 1950s, primarily bef ...

, owner of the Harlem Globetrotters, served as agent for the Hong Wah Kues. He would arrange their games and make sure the ticket fees were paid.

Media portrayals

In 1998, KPIX-TV reporter Rick Quan earned an

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and a Radio-Television News Directors Association award for his documentary on the Hong Wah Kues. They have also been featured in museum exhibits. During their active years, the Hong Wah Kues' experience with racism varied. In some towns, they found African Americans received the brunt of the abuse. Fans were known to cheer on the team with phrases like "Go, Chinky!" Usage of the racial slur took on different meanings. Whereas typically used in a derogatory manner, cheering fans seemed to just use the term as a way of caricaturing the Asian athletes. This was in no small part due to the fact ad campaigns for the Hong Wah Kues tended to focus on messages like "invaders," "Oriental rug cutters," "sing song language" and similar constructions of their identity and masculinity; the players were required to speak Cantonese on the court. Under the theory of a matrix of domination, being of lower class origins and Chinese played a role in placing these athletes in positions of subjugation and objectification. At the same time, a serious free agency formed as the team co-opted heretofore harmful language into slogans for mass entertainment, thereby creating a contested terrain. Readers should keep in mind that scholars regard race as a social construction."The Story We Tell" in ''RACE—the Power of Illusion'' Vol 2. Prod. Larry Adelman. Writer. Jean Cheng & Innbo Shim. California Newsreel. PBS. 2003 https://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm

Sources

External links

* *http://www.nasss.org/2004/index.php * *http://us_asians.tripod.com/timeline-1930.html *http://www.thefreelibrary.com/CHINESE-AMERICAN+HOOPSTERS+HAD+A+BALL+TOURING+IN+'39-'40+:+BAY+AREA...-a083966414 *http://gustavus.edu/athletics/mbb/records/gamebygame/1930s.cfm * {{cite news , last1=Nolte , first1=Carl , title=VOICES / The War Was Over And It Was Time to Go to Work , url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/VOICES-The-War-Was-Over-And-It-Was-Time-to-Go-3307834.php , work=SFGATE , date=16 May 1999 American sportspeople of Chinese descent Chinese-American history Basketball teams in the United States