Oscar Robertson
Oscar Robertson was born on this date in 1938. He was a Black basketball player and administrator.
Born on a farm in Charlotte, TN, his family moved to Indianapolis when he was four. Nicknamed "The Big O," Robertson began playing basketball as a child using a tin can instead of a ball. Later, he would dribble it constantly when he had a regular basketball.
He led his Attucks H.S. basketball team to two Indiana state titles in high school. Following high school, Robertson attended the University of Cincinnati. He led the nation in scoring while on the U.C. team from 1957 to 1960. He was a member of the U.S. Olympic Basketball Team in his senior year, which won a gold medal in Rome.
After leaving U.C. in 1960, he joined the NBA’s Cincinnati Royals. For the 1961-1962 season, Robertson achieved a "triple-double" average for points, assists, and rebounds in double figures each game. Since this accomplishment, it has never been matched. Robertson played with the Royals for ten years before being traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. Also, in the late 1960s, he served as the president of the NBA Players Association. He helped lead the Bucks to an NBA championship in Milwaukee in 1971. Robertson retired from the Bucks in 1974.
Robertson remains one of the most significant names in basketball history and has received many honors. He is a National Basketball Hall of Fame member named one of ESPN’s 50 Greatest Athletes of the Century. Robertson currently resides with his family in Cincinnati.
Cincinnati Historical Society Library,
A guide to 20th Century African American Resources
1301 Western Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45203
Phone: 513-287-7030
Fax: 513-287-7095
