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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Basketball in Boston is not over by a long shot! Learn about the earliest integrator of the game, Bucky Lew, who led teams in and around the city over 100 years ago, at the MAAH this Saturday, June 6. Lew's granddaughter Wendy Johnson will be on hand for the Q&A! www.eventbrite.com/e/book-talk-...

eventbrite.com

BOOK TALK: Reclaiming a Legacy: Bucky Lew and the Integration of Basketball

Learn more about the life and legacy of Bucky Lew!

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

I’m doing a talk in the shadow of the Garden at the West End Museum today before what should be another classic Boston-Philly game 7: www.eventbrite.com/e/harry-buck...

eventbrite.com

Harry “Bucky” Lew: An Early Black History of Basketball

Learn about one of the mostly-forgotten pioneers of basketball in this exciting book talk on Harry "Bucky" Lew!

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Clearly preceded by an offensive foul! 😉

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Gerry Finn, a Springfield Union reporter, asked way back in 1958: “When they’re handing out memberships in the Basketball Hall of Fame, how about a vote for Bucky Lew? Is there anyone in the hall who can say he doesn’t deserve it?”

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Crieghton isn’t the only pioneer to be dissed by his sport’s hall of fame. Just as Gilbert says the man who proposed baseball’s hall cited him as someone who deserved to be honored, a writer “nominated” the man who integrated both college and pro basketball before the opening of that game’s hall.

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

He should have taken another sabbatical instead!

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

A great read! Really opened my eyes about a player who doesn't get much credit for helping the NBA level up in the 80s...

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Bucky Lew's lasting legacy is the assist he gave the Dodgers in integrating their organization (and prompting other major leagues to soon follow) and I was happy to discuss with Mike Klinzing on a recent Hoop Heads podcast: player.captivate.fm/episode/f5c0... @mcfarland.bsky.social

player.captivate.fm

Chris Boucher - Author of the Book, Harry “Bucky” Lew: A Biography of Basketball’s First Black Professional - Episode 1211

Quickly and easily listen to Hoop Heads for free!

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

The NBA deserves credit for overcoming their past and honoring Cooper, Clifton, and Lloyd for integrating the league. Hopefully future classics include pre-NBA pioneers like “The Original Bucky Lew,” who integrated the pro game as a player in 1902 and the college game as a coach in 1903!

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

You could add Derrick White to that list…

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

shocked that I don't remember that playoff beard!

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

That said, the fans may have been less interested in fairness and more interested in taking advantage of inside knowledge, they likely saw Lew as an “ace up their sleeve” the opposition didn’t know about. Either way, it’s interesting history!

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Oddly, gambling may also have influenced the integration of hoops. Bucky Lew, its 1st Black pro, said he got into the game in 1902 after fans, who likely had $ on the line, pressured his coach: “the fans got real mad and almost started a riot, screaming to let me play. That did it, I went in there…”

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Awesome pic and it looks like a rare time Russell left his feet too early!

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

that hand served him well in his famous left-handed game in Portland in 1986 too. 47 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists in a one-point win!

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

If Jim Thorpe is football’s GOAT, then basketball’s Bucky Lew should go from ignored to enshrined. An athlete in an age dominated by bruisers, the game’s first Black pro was literally nicknamed “The Original.” If anyone from basketball's dead ball era is an archetype for today's player, it's him.

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Kudos to the baseball HOF for its recognition of the Negro Leagues. Hopefully it continues and other HOFs follow the lead. That said, the Naismith Hall’s cancellation of its Early African American Pioneers Direct Elect Committee was a step in the wrong direction and it should reverse pivot ASAP!

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Reposted by Chris Boucher

McFarland @mcfarland.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

New on our bookshelf: Harry “Bucky” Lew: A Biography of Basketball’s First Black Professional By Chris Boucher mcfarlandbooks.com/product/Harr...

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Reposted by Chris Boucher

Paul Knepper @paulknepper.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

Check out my latest podcast with Chris Boucher about his new book Harry "Bucky" Lew: A Biography of the First Black Professional Basketball Player newbooksnetwork.com/harry-bucky-...

newbooksnetwork.com

Chris Boucher, "Harry "Bucky" Lew: A Biography of the First Black Professional Basketball Player" (McFarland, 2026) - New Books Network

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

And props to Daniel Troccoli for his bravery in the face of a very real physical threat. No surprise that Minnesota knows how to handle ICE!

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Referees are another loser here. In basketball’s earliest days, many a ref was chased by a mob for allegedly fixing a game. With everything going online, the threat from disgruntled fans may not be as immediate, but the move from the physical to the digital could lead to even more permanent harm.

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

sad to say, it's still not enough to get that block

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

Bucky Lew, who integrated both college and pro hoops, wasn't the first rebel in his family. His great-great-grandfather, Barzillai, was a fifer and fighter in the Revolutionary War, as far back as Bunker Hill. Fittingly, he is set to be honored in Lowell, MA, next month. @revolution250.bsky.social

insidelowell.com

The Barzillai Lew Project: A Concert of Modern Revolutionary Music - InsideLowell

Barzillai Lew (1743–1822) was an African American soldier, fifer, and drummer who served with great distinction during the American Revolutionary War. On Friday, February 20, a concert celebrating mus...

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

One early visionary who saw the link b/w sports stadiums and media was Pat Sullivan, whose family founded the Patriots. His roles with the team included stadium manager and GM. When he left, he started Game Creek Video, which owns a fleet of production trucks that help televise major sports events.

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

Bucky Lew integrated both college and pro basketball by 1903 and I was happy to provide the receipts from my new biography of the man with Paul Knepper on the latest New Books in Sports podcast! newbooksnetwork.com/harry-bucky-... @mcfarland.bsky.social @paulknepper.bsky.social

newbooksnetwork.com

Chris Boucher, "Harry "Bucky" Lew: A Biography of the First Black Professional Basketball Player" (McFarland, 2026) - New Books Network

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

And he didn’t stop there. He continued in pro basketball another 25 years, and by the time he retired, he had integrated every important role in the game, including franchise owner at a time when the KKK was making a comeback. He is far more than a footnote, which is why the HOF snub is so shocking!

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

Today is the birthday of basketball pioneer Bucky Lew. Born 1/4/1884, he broke the color barrier in 1902, spent a full 25 years in the game, and integrated its every conceivable role. So thanks to Lew, hi-level ball has been close to continuously integrated since he got things rolling so long ago!

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

Consider: Dido Wilson, New York State League in 1907 Abraham Tischinsky & Irving Rose, Black Fives teams in the 1910s Howard Ross, Central Basketball League in 1926 Hank Williams, Midwest Basketball Conference in 1935 Chicago's World Professional Basketball Tournament, mixed teams from 1939 to 1949

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

The American Basketball Hall of Fame has moved its upcoming induction to April 12, 2026. Despite the delay, it's still the first Hall to enshrine Harry “Bucky” Lew, who integrated both college and pro basketball by 1903. So it’ll be worth the wait!

Harry "Bucky" Lew in New England Basketball League uniform.

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 27/05/2025

As he wrote in an Around the Town column after Lew’s death in 1963: “Bucky was a Negro and in those days they didn’t like to see Negroes playing on white teams and many is the time the fans refused to let him play — not in this city though … He was a great favorite.”

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 27/05/2025

Fred Dobens, who went on to become the Nashua Dodgers’ president, assured them Black players would be welcome in the city. He knew because he played at halftime of Bucky Lew’s games there in early 1920s.

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 27/05/2025

It’s a little-known fact that basketball’s 1st Black pro assisted the Dodgers in reintegrating major league baseball. After Robinson had so much trouble in Florida, they struggled to find a city to host their 1st integrated farm team in the US until they reached a newspaperman in Nashua, NH.

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

Interesting shot - there are literally 6 people within 5 feet of the hoop!

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

Gerry Finn, the Springfield Union reporter who interviewed Lew just before it opened its doors, asked way back in 1958: “When they’re handing out memberships in the Basketball Hall of Fame, how about a vote for Bucky Lew? Is there anyone in the hall who can say he doesn’t deserve it?”

Harry "Bucky" Lew and his 1902-3 Pawtucketville Athletic Club teammates. That winter, he also coached college at what as now UMass Lowell.

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

When the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced its class of 2025 earlier this month, the man who integrated both college and pro hoops—well over a hundred years ago—was once again left off the list. Never mind that Bucky Lew may have been the first player ever “nominated” for the Hall.

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

If the NBA recognized 1949 as their actual first year, they could say they were an integrated league from the start, since as Elias points out, Leroy Chollet played for Syracuse then. But starting in 1946 makes them a segregated league, one that rebuilt the color wall Bucky Lew tore down in 1902!

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

Looking forward to these sessions on the integration of sports in Boston featuring basketball's Bucky Lew, BC football's Lou Montgomery, and boxing's Marvin Hagler. And happy to know host Boston College isn't upset about Lew sweeping them 2-0 when he coached what is now UMass Lowell in 1922!

Flier for April 11 sessions on race and sports at Boston College

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Harry “Bucky” Lew made #hoopshistory this month by integrating both professional and college basketball way back in 1903. Lew finished his rookie season as a player with a Lowell, MA, entry in the New England League and his rookie season as a coach at what is now D1 UMass Lowell.

Image of Harry "Bucky" Lew from 1903 Lowell Sun.

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

#LarryBird was inducted into the American Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024. Will any players with Boston ties join Larry this year ... perhaps Bucky Lew?

Larry Bird with his Hall of Fame trophy and jacket. Image courtesy American Basketball Hall of Fame.

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Albert Spalding was involved in what is likely the first instance of a corporation receiving naming rights to a stadium. The Lowell Tigers’ Fred Lake called his new baseball field “Spalding Park” after the sporting goods company. The price? Two dozen baseballs, roughly $30 at the time.

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

This recognition is well deserved! And even more may be coming. Before Lew finished his rookie year, he also coached at what is now UMass Lowell. So he integrated both the college and pro games by 1903. Due to that and much more, the American Basketball Hall of Fame is inducting him this August!

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

the American Basketball Hall of Fame based in Detroit may have an announcement on Lew soon :)

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Chris Boucher @chrisboucher.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

He was also the first to integrate pro basketball as a coach, manager, referee, franchise owner, and... magnate!

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