Oscar Robertson is one of the most respected players in the NBA and in the NCAA. He was a player for the Milwaukee Bucks for a short period of time but he played for the Cincinnati Royals for 11 years, the same city where he went to the university and his time in college basketball is very well remembered, however his accomplishments go beyond the court.
Robertson was a very popular player during his time in Cincinnati and there is where he had an altercation with the hate group KKK. Racism was a huge issue in those days and during an appearance on the “All the Smoke” podcast, he shared what he had to go through.
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“We were playing the Dixie Classics,” Robertson said, “I get a telegram, says, ‘If you go out and play we’re going to shoot you.’ So I gave it to the coach. Later on that day, I get a knock on the door. Here’s a white kid from Alabama, some Alabama Fraternity, who had to come and get an autograph from me. … I autographed it for him.”
He managed to play through it all
While in college, he led the nation with 35.1 point per game back in 1958, he had 32.6 point a year later and 33.7 in 1960. He was the fist player in history to reach those numbers but dealing with racism was hard.
“I never thought that much about guys who’d threaten me,” Robertson added. “It wasn’t the only time I was threatened, by the way. It didn’t bother me. I just didn’t think anything about being shot.”
It certainly did appeared that way, as he established 14 NCAA records and 16 for the Missouri Valley Conference. He also established 19 Cincinnati University records and because of things like is that he is more than legend.
