William Leon Garrett (April 4, 1929 - August 7, 1974), was the first African American basketball player in the Big Ten athletic conference. Born in Shelbyville, Indiana, he was Indiana Mr. Basketball in 1947, the year he graduated from Shelbyville High School. At Indiana University, he became the first African American to play on the school's varsity men's basketball team and also the first African American to play on any basketball team in the Big Ten. He was All-American when he graduated in 1951. After two years in the U.S. Army, he played with the Harlem Globetrotters, then began teaching and coaching basketball at Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis. He was assistant dean for student services at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis at the time of his death from a heart attack. He is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.

Reference

• Tom Graham and Rachel Cody Graham, Getting Open: The Unknown Story of Bill Garrett and the Integration of College Basketball, New York: Atria Books (2006). ISBN 0743479033

External links

• Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame profile
• Find A Grave profile

1929 births | 1974 deaths | People from Indiana | Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players | Indiana University alumni | Indiana University | American basketball players | African American basketball players | Harlem Globetrotters players | Shelby County, Indiana