Robertson, Oscar

Oscar Robertson

1938-

American basketball player

Oscar Robertson is known as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. A standout at the University of Cincinnati, he went on to become a star National Basketball Association (NBA) player for the Cincinnati Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) and the Milwaukee Bucks, and a co-captain of an Olympic team considered by some to be the greatest group of amateurs ever assembled for the games. Known for his versatility, Robertson is the only professional player to ever accomplish an entire season of triple-doubles—double digits in scoring, rebounds and assists. In addition to his on-court challenges, Robertson, an African American, faced many obstacles his white teammates could have never imagined. Rather than turn his back, however, Robertson became an outspoken advocate for civil rights. He was also active in securing fair treatment of players, serving as president of the NBA players' union for a decade.

Defying the Odds

Growing up in Indianapolis, where his family moved when Robertson was four years old, Robertson learned the game of basketball at a run-down neighborhood court known as the "dust bowl." Robertson's father worked for the city sanitation department and his mother worked as a maid. Their salaries were small and they could not afford a basketball for their son, so he threw tin cans and old tennis balls through the hoop at the dust bowl. When he was eleven his mother gave him a basketball that one of her employers had planned to throw away, and his career began in earnest.

Robertson joined the basketball team at Crispus Attucks High School and found he still had to improvise—the all-African American school had no gym. His self-taught skills and ability to adapt, coupled with sound lessons in the basics from coach Ray Crowe, set Robertson up as a team leader early on. In his junior and senior years, he led the team through a 45-game winning streak and two state championships, making Crispus Attucks the first African American high school to capture that honor. In 1956 Robertson was named Indiana's "Mr. Basketball" and he was recruited by more than thirty colleges.

Chronology

1938	Born November 24 in Charlotte, Tennessee
1942	Family moves to Indianapolis
1952	Enters Crispus Attucks High School and joins basketball team
1955-56	Leads Crispus Attucks Tigers to 45-game winning streak and two Indiana state championships
1956	Named Indiana's Mr. Basketball
1956	Enters University of Cincinnati as recruit for the Bearcats
1959-60	Leads team to NCAA Final Four
1960	Co-captains U.S. Olympic basketball team and wins gold medal
1960	Signs with Cincinnati Royals
1960	Marries Yvonne Crittenden on June 25
1961	Named NBA's Rookie of the Year
1961-62	Averages triple-double for entire season
1964	Named league MVP
1964	Becomes president of NBA players' union
1970	Traded to Milwaukee Bucks
1971	With Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), leads Bucks to NBA championship
1974	Leads Bucks to NBA Finals
1974	Retires amidst pressure from team management
1976	Settles union lawsuit with league, resulting in "Oscar Robertson Rule" regarding free agency
1979	Named to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
1997	Again makes national headlines after donating kidney to daughter Tia

On to Cincinnati

Robertson elected to stay close to home and attend the University of Cincinnati. He took the team by storm, leading them to the NCAA Final Four during his junior and senior years, although each time the team lost to the University of California. Still, Robertson, who came to be known as "The Big O," set fourteen NCAA records during this time and averaged nearly thirty-four points per game. He was the NCAA's top scorer three years straight, and was named both an All-American and College Player of the Year in his last three seasons. He was the first player to ever win the latter award three times in a row and in 1998 it was renamed the Oscar Robertson Trophy.

All was not smooth for Robertson, however. As the first African American to play for Cincinnati, he was subject to intense racism, especially when the team traveled in the south. As a matter of fact, he had originally wanted to attend Indiana University, but after meeting with coach Branch McCracken, suspected he was not welcome because of his color. He often was not permitted to stay with the team at their hotel during away games, and instead had to stay alone in dorm rooms at nearby black colleges. At a game at North Texas State, the crowd threw programs at him. Back in Cincinnati, he was often barred from theaters and restaurants. Robertson felt his teammates and coach, George Smith, were unsupportive as well and, at one point, he considered leaving Cincinnati and joining the Harlem Globetrotters. Instead, he decided to stay and graduated with a degree in business in 1960.

Olympic and NBA Star

After graduation Robertson joined the U.S. Olympic basketball team as a co-captain with University of West Virgina's Jerry West . Many regard this team as the best group of amateur men's basketball players ever assembled. The team captured a gold medal and Robertson emerged as a standout. Following the victory, he was offered a $100,000 three-year contract with the Cincinnati Royals.

Robertson proved equally valuable to the Royals' organization. He was named Rookie of the Year for the 1960-61 season and received Most Valuable Player honors for his first of twelve consecutive appearances at the NBA All-Star game. The following season Robertson achieved his legendary season tripledouble when he averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists per game. This feat has yet to be matched by another professional player. He fell just shy of repeating his accomplishment the next four years. Other players marveled at the ease with which Robertson appeared to accomplish such feats. "It took me five or six years to become an accomplished player," West told Sports Illustrated. "But from the first game Oscar played, he looked as if he had been in the league for 10 years. There was nobody like him."

In 1964 Robertson was named league MVP and he won MVP honors at the All-Star game as well. That same year he became president of the NBA players' union, a post he held until he retired a decade later.

Moves to Milwaukee

When Bob Cousy took over the Royals during the 1969-70 season, he wanted to trade Robertson to the Baltimore Bullets. Robertson staged a two-week hold out and was instead sent to the Milwaukee Bucks. There, he joined teammate Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, to lead the Bucks to an NBA championship in 1971. The pair also spearheaded the team's second visit to the Finals in 1974, where they eventually lost to the Boston Celtics in a seven-game series. Robertson retired at the end of that season, giving into what he saw as pressure from team officials. The "Oscar Robertson Night" staged by the team appeared to be a request for him to say farewell, Robertson claimed.

Active Retirement

Even off-court, Robertson continued to make his mark on the NBA. In 1976, a lawsuit he had filed against the NBA when he was still union president was settled. The lawsuit sought, among other things, removal of a clause that essentially prevented free agency. The ruling in Robertson's favor is today known as the Oscar Robertson Rule. Robertson also became president of the retired players' union.

Awards and Accomplishments

1958-60	Sporting News College Player of the Year
1958-60	Sporting News All-Star First Team
1960	Gold medal, U.S. Olympic basketball team
1961	NBA Rookie of the Year
1961-69	All-NBA First Team
1961, 1964, 1969	NBA All-Star Game MVP
1964	NBA MVP
1979	Named to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
1980	NBA 35th Anniversary All-Star Team
1984	Named to Olympic Hall of Fame
1994	Oscar Robertson statue erected at University of Cincinnati
1998	College Player of the Year award renamed Oscar Robertson Trophy
1999	Named one of Sports Illustrated 's Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century
1999	Named Indiana Living Legend
1999	Named one of ESPN's 50 Greatest Athletes of the Century
1999	Ohio Governor's Award

Where Is He Now?

When Oscar Robertson returned to the Cincinnati area following his retirement from basketball in 1974, he applied the same drive he had displayed on the court in the business world. Today, he is principal owner of three successful companies: ORCHEM, which sells chemical used for industrial cleaning; ORPACK, a corrugated box manufacturer; and ORDMS, a firm that helps companies reduce their paper flow. He also serves on the boards of community groups and is active in charity events. Often quoted on matters related to both basketball and civil rights, Robertson made headlines again in 1997 when he donated a kidney to his daughter Tia, who suffered from lupus. While Robertson and his daughter attempted to keep the medical procedure quiet, they faced a media onslaught when they left Cincinnati's University Hospital following the successful transplant. Robertson broke down as he spoke to the press. "I'm no hero," he told them, as quoted in People. "I'm just a father."

Returning to Cincinnati, Robertson became a successful businessman and became involved with several community and charity organizations. He also remains an outspoken champion of civil rights—both in word and in practice. In 1999 he refused an endorsement offer from Converse, reasoning "Converse was there for a lot of white athletes when I was playing, but they never came to Oscar Robertson." He also told Sports Illustrated that he believes his race and his involvement with the players' union precluded careers in broadcasting or coaching. While Robertson provided color commentary for CBS after retirement, he was fired after one year.

In 1997 Robertson lamented the fact that his off-court legacy to contemporary players seems to have been diminished. "The players today don't know anything about racism," he told People. "So few of today's players have any idea what he fought for, what he stood for," Robertson's wife, Yvonne, told Sports Illustrated.

As for his contributions on the court, though, Robertson still remains a legend. As the year 2000 approached, numerous sports writers named him among their greatest athletes of the 20th century. "He was so smart on the court that whatever he told you to do you just did it," former teammate Adrian Smith recalled for Sports Illustrated. "It always seemed to be the right thing. I guess he made mistakes from time to time, but I don't remember any."

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: c/o Orchem Corp, 4293 Mulhauser Rd., Fairfield, OH 45014-5450. Online: www.thebigo.com.

Career Statistics

Yr	Team	GP	Pts	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PF
CIN: Cincinnati Royals; MIL: Milwaukee Bucks.
1960-61	CIN	71	2165	.473	.822	10.1	9.7	219
1961-62	CIN	79	2432	.478	.803	12.5	11.4	258
1962-63	CIN	80	2264	.518	.810	10.4	9.5	293
1963-64	CIN	79	2480	.483	.853	9.9	11.0	280
1964-65	CIN	75	2279	.480	.839	9.0	11.5	205
1965-66	CIN	76	2378	.475	.842	7.7	11.1	227
1966-67	CIN	79	2412	.493	.873	6.2	10.7	226
1967-68	CIN	65	1896	.500	.873	6.0	9.7	199
1968-69	CIN	79	1955	.486	.838	6.4	9.8	231
1969-70	MIL	69	1748	.511	.809	6.1	8.1	175
1970-71	MIL	81	1569	.496	.850	5.7	8.2	203
1971-72	MIL	64	1114	.472	.836	5.0	7.7	116
1972-73	MIL	73	1130	.454	.847	4.9	7.5	167
1973-74	MIL	70	888	.438	.835	4.0	6.4	132
TOTAL		1040	26710	.485	.838	7.5	9.5	2931

SELECTED WRITINGS BY ROBERTSON:

The Art of Basketball, Oscar Robertson Media Ventures, 1999.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

"Oscar Robertson." Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 26. Edited by David G. Oblender. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000.

Periodicals

Jerome, Richard. "A Father's Gift." People (May 26, 1997): 52.

McCallum, Jack. "King Without A Castle." Sports Illustrated (July 15, 2002): 78.

Sketch by Kristin Palm