Temple University Athletics
John Chaney, Tina Sloan-Green Among 10 Honorees to Receive Sam Lacy Pioneer Awards
8.5.11 | General, Men's Basketball, Women's Lacrosse
PHILADELPHIA - Former Temple University Hall of Fame coaches John Chaney and Tina Sloan Green are among this year's recipients of the Sam Lacy Pioneer Award presented by the Sports Task Force of the National Association of Black Journalists on Friday, August 5 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier, Philadelphia basketball icon Sonny Hill are also among the 10 honorees.
The awards ceremony is part of the annual NABJ Convention & Career Fair, held from Aug. 3-7 in the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia with more than 2,000 journalists expected. The Sports Task Force, which is comprised of black print and broadcast sports journalists, annually is represented at the NABJ Convention by about 100 sports journalists.
Each year, the task force honors black sports legends who are connected with the convention's host city. Other 2011 honorees will be Philadelphia Tribune sports reporter Donald Hunt, pioneering race car driver Wendell Scott (posthumously) and four members of the Philadelphia Stars Negro Leagues team: Bill “Ready” Cash, Mahlon Duckett, Harold Gould and the late Stanley “Doc” Glenn.
ESPN.com columnist J.A. Adande and Ron Thomas, director of the Morehouse College Journalism and Sports Program, will co-host the awards ceremony.
This year's Sports Task Force sponsors include Major League Baseball, the NFL, the NBA, Disney Sports, NASCAR, HBO, Turner Sports and Fox Sports. In-kind sponsors include Nike, EA Sports, The Sporting News and the
PGA.
“The recipients of our award are very deserving for the contributions to their respective careers, but more importantly, their direct impact on the communities they have served,” said Gregory Lee Jr., senior assistant sports editor of the Boston Globe and NABJ Sports Task Force chairman. “It is very important to this body to recognize those individuals at every convention city we touch annually.
“But we could not bring the pioneers' achievements to light without the generosity of our sponsors. They appreciate the fact that their success today is partly due to the talents and sacrifices of these ground breakers in sports.”
The Pioneer Awards are named for the great sports columnist Sam Lacy, who was still writing for the Baltimore Afro-American when he died at 99 in 2003. Lacy's highest achievement was helping arrange tryouts for Jackie Robinson before the Brooklyn Dodgers signed him to integrate major-league baseball.
Here are additional details about this year's Pioneer Award winners:
• John Chaney – The former Philadelphia prep star led Temple to a 516-253 record and 17 NCAA Tournament appearances and five trips to Elite 8 from 1982-2006. Before that, Chaney's record was 232-56 at Cheyney State, including winning one NCAA Division II championship.
• “Smokin' Joe” Frazier – He compiled a 32-4-1 record with 27 KOs, holding the heavyweight title from 1970-73. His battles with Muhammad Ali were wars within the ring, ending with a 2-1 edge for Ali. Although he retained his title in their famous “Thrilla in Manila,” Ali said that bout brought him “as close to dying as I've ever come” because Frazier hit so hard.
• Tina Sloan Green – After becoming the first African-American female intercollegiate lacrosse coach in 1973, Green amassed a 207-62-4 record while leading Temple to three national championships and an undefeated season in 1988. She is president and co-founder of the Black Women in Sport Foundation and Professor Emeritus in the College of Education at Temple.
• Sonny Hill – Philadelphia's “Mr. Basketball” founded the Baker League in 1960, where pros like Earl” The Pearl' Monroe and Bill Bradley sharpened their skills during the summer. In 1968, Hill founded the ongoing Sonny Hill Community Involvement League, which was designed to combat gangs and violence, and provides amateur players with tutoring and career guidance. Hill also is a popular talk show host on WIP-AM and starred in the semipro Eastern League for 10 years.
• Wendell Scott – It's been 48 years since Scott won at Jacksonville Speedway, yet no black driver has equaled his feat of winning a NASCAR event. Scott's heroic races in the segregated South against often hostile white drivers were chronicled this year in ESPN's documentary film “Wendell Scott: A Race Story.” He died in 1990.
• Mahlon Duckett, Harold Gould, Bill “Ready” Cash and Stanley “Doc” Glenn all distinguished themselves as members of the Philadelphia Stars team in the Negro Leagues. Glenn authored the book “Don't Let Anyone Take Your Joy Away: An Inside Look at Negro League Baseball and Its Legacy.” He died on April 16 of this year.
• Donald Hunt – He has informed and entertained Philadelphia Tribune readers for more than 20 years by writing about great athletes such as Julius Erving, Randall Cunningham and Charles Barkley. Hunt also co-authored “Chaney: Playing for a Legend” and is leading the campaign to have a postage stamp issued in honor of Philadelphia basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain.
