John William Isaacs (September 15, 1915 – January 26, 2009) was a Panamanian-American professional basketball player. Born in Panama but raised in New York City,Claude Johnson.
Harlem When
. '' SLAM Magazine Online''. January 26, 2009. Retrieved on January 28, 2009. he was a member of the New York Renaissance, the

Washington Bears The Washington Bears were an all-black professional basketball team of the 1940s. Sponsored by movie theater owner Abe Lichtman, the Bears played their home games at Turner's Arena in Washington, DC.Claude Johnson.Forget Patriots: Check Out This ...

, and various other teams.

Life and career

Isaacs was born in 1915 in Panama to a Jamaican father and a Panamanian mother. He grew up bilingual in Harlem, speaking English. Isaacs was a 6'3", 190 lbs.

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who led the basketball team at Textile High School (later

Charles Evans Hughes High School The Bayard Rustin Educational Complex – also known as the Humanities Educational Complex – at West 18th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, is a "vertical campus" of the N ...

) to a title in the 1935 New York City High School Basketball championship with all-City honors for himself. Offered a professional contract by

Bob Douglas Robert L. Douglas (b. (St. Kitts) November 4, 1882 – d. (unknown) July 16, 1979) was the founder of the New York Renaissance basketball team, the first fully all-black professional black-owned basketball team. Career Nicknamed the "Father ...

, owner of the Harlem-based, all- African American New York Renaissance basketball team, he accepted the offer, but only after getting approval from his mother. With the Rens, Isaacs led the team to season records of 122–19, 121–19, and 127–15. The team won the first World Professional Basketball Tournament, held in 1939 at Chicago Stadium and sponsored by the ''

Chicago Herald American The ''Chicago American'' was an afternoon newspaper published in Chicago, under various names until its dissolution in 1974. History The paper's first edition came out on July 4, 1900, as '' Hearst's Chicago American''. It became the ''Morning ...

'', with the team making it to the finals by beating 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 ...

of Chicago 27–23, to face the Oshkosh All-Stars, who lost to the Rens 34–25 in the tournament final. Isaacs won a second title in 1943 with the

, again defeating Oshkosh. Isaacs scored a game-high 11 points to lead the Bears to a 43–31 win and their first title.Mallozzi, Vincent M
"A Living Wonder of the Harlem Renaissance Five"
'' The New York Times'', March 9, 1997. Accessed January 29, 2009. Paid $175 per month, plus expenses, to play basketball. Isaacs supplemented his professional salary with jobs on the assembly line at Grumman Aircraft and at

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during the off season. Isaacs played with several other all-black professional basketball teams after his time with the Rens and Bears, including the Manhattan Nationals, Hazleton Mountaineers of the

Eastern Professional Basketball League The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball mi ...

, and

Utica Olympics The Utica Olympics, known also as Mohawk Valley Thunderbirds, were an American professional basketball team based in Utica, New York that were members of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1978 to 1980. The team was previously kno ...

of the

New York State Professional Basketball League The New York State Professional Basketball League (NYSPL) was a professional basketball circuit based in New York. The league was founded in 1946 and dissolved after three seasons in 1949. History The league formed in 1946 as an eight-team circuit. ...

), and in the American Basketball League with Brooklyn and Saratoga. He became a coach and mentor after he retired. Chris Mullin admitted that he was one of his disciples. Long after retiring from professional sports, Isaacs won medals at the New York State Senior Games in tennis, Frisbee, softball throwing, as well as in basketball.Steptoe, Sonja
"Meet An Ageless Wonder: John Isaacs, 75, is a hero on and off the court"
'' Sports Illustrated'', December 24, 1990. Accessed January 29, 2009. On February 14, 2015, Isaacs was announced as a member of that year's induction class of the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

. He formally entered the Hall on September 11.

References

External links

"John Isaacs, Star for Rens Basketball, Dies at 93," New York Times, February 4, 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaacs, John 1915 births 2009 deaths American Basketball League (1925–1955) players American men's basketball players American people of Jamaican descent American sportspeople of Panamanian descent Dayton Rens players Harlem Globetrotters players New York Renaissance players Panamanian emigrants to the United States Panamanian men's basketball players Panamanian people of Jamaican descent People from Harlem Basketball players from Manhattan Guards (basketball) 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople