"Jumpin" Jackie Jackson (January 25, 1940 – May 4, 2019) was an American professional basketball player. Jackson was one of the first

streetball Streetball (or street basketball) is a variation of basketball, typically played on outdoor courts and featuring significantly less formal structure and enforcement of the game's rules. As such, its format is more conducive to allowing players ...

legends in the Rucker Playground Basketball Tournaments in New York City in the early 1960s. He went on to a 20-year career with 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 ...

, earning his nickname by allegedly snatching a quarter from the top of a basketball backboard on a bet.

Early life

Jackson was born in

New Bern, North Carolina New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and t ...

, and his family relocated to Brooklyn, New York when he was a child. He played for the Boys High School basketball team alongside baseball player Tommy Davis and future

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 pre ...

rs Lenny Wilkens and Connie Hawkins. It was while playing for the Virginia Union University basketball team, however, that Jackson's leaping ability took off. He averaged over 20 rebounds per game and was known for jumping over the defender's head on fast breaks. He was the CIAA freshman of the year in 1958. During the summertime, he played on the Brooklyn All Star team in the Rucker Park Tournaments, along with his childhood friend Connie Hawkins and New York Knick Walt Bellamy. He built his playground status by dunking over Wilt Chamberlain and also blocking his finger roll in the same game.

Professional career

Jackson was selected number 41 in the

1962 NBA draft The 1962 NBA draft was the 16th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 26, 1962, before the 1962–63 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball playe ...

, but was personally recruited by

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, to play for his team. He played with the Globetrotters for 20 years with Marques Haynes, Meadowlark Lemon, and

Fred "Curly" Neal Frederick "Curly" Neal (May 19, 1942 – March 26, 2020) was an American basketball player who played with the Harlem Globetrotters, instantly recognizable with his shaved bald head. Following in the footsteps of Marques Haynes, Neal became the T ...

Recognition

Jackson was a member of

Boys High Hall of Fame A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is " ...

Virginia Union Hall of Fame Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

CIAA Hall of Fame CIAA may refer to: * Cayman Islands Athletic Association, the governing body for the sport of athletics in the Cayman Islands * Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, an NCAA Division II collegiate athletic conference * Confederation of th ...

Rucker Tournament Hall of Fame Rucker may refer to: People * Rucker (surname) Places United States * Rucker Park, street basketball court in Manhattan, New York City, New York * Rucker, California, an historic district in unincorporated Santa Clara County, California * Rucker, ...

, and Harlem Globetrotters Hall of Fame. Virginia Union also retired his number.

References

Sources

* Batchelor, Bob. Basketball in America: from the playgrounds to Jordan's game and beyond. NY Halworth. 2005 * Mallozzi, Vincent. Asphalt Gods An Oral History of the Rucker Tournament. USA Doubleday. 2003 * The Original Harlem Globetrotters. Jackie Jackson. 2010 * Virginia Union Panthers Official Athletic Website. Hall of Fame Jackie Jackson Class of 1961. December 19, 2010 * Wolf, David. Foul The Connie Hawkins Story. NY. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 1972

External links

Harlem Globetrotters profile of Jackson

Virginia Union University Hall of Fame entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Jumpin Jackie 1940 births 2019 deaths Sportspeople from Brooklyn African-American basketball players Harlem Globetrotters players Basketball players from New York City Basketball players from North Carolina Virginia Union Panthers men's basketball players San Francisco Warriors draft picks Sportspeople from New Bern, North Carolina Boys High School (Brooklyn) alumni American men's basketball players 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people