Inman Jackson
{{Short description|American basketball player (1907–1973)}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Inman Jackson
| image =
| alt =
| number =
| team =
| position = Center
| league =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1907|3|7}}
| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1973|4|6|1907|3|7}}
| death_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 3
| weight_lb = 205
| high_school = Wendell Phillips
(Chicago, Illinois)
| college = CCNY
| career_start = 1925
| career_end = 1945
| years1 = 1925–1927
| team1 = Chicago Giles American Legion Post
| years2 = 1926–1930
| team2 = Savoy Big Five
| years3 = 1930–1945
| team3 = Harlem Globetrotters
| highlights =
| bbr =
| HOF = inman-jackson/
}}
Inman William "Big Jack" Jackson (March 7, 1907 – April 6, 1973) was an American professional basketball player. He was a long-time member of the Harlem Globetrotters and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.
Early life
Jackson was born on March 7, 1907, and grew up in Chicago, Illinois.{{Cite web|url=https://probasketballencyclopedia.com/player/inman-jackson/|website=Pro Basketball Encyclopedia|title=Inman Jackson}} He attended Wendell Phillips Academy High School in Chicago and later attended the City College of New York.{{Cite web|url=https://basketballmuseumofillinois.com/hall-of-fame/players/19-hof-players/618-inman-jackson/|publisher=Basketball Museum of Illinois|title=Jackson, Inman (1974)}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/livingston-enterprise/145929442/|newspaper=Livingston Enterprise|via=Newspapers.com|date=February 25, 1940|page=4|title=Trotter Great}} {{Open access}}
Playing career
Jackson said that he began playing basketball "in grammar school" and "played quite a lot" growing up.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-winnipeg-tribune/145929870/|newspaper=The Winnipeg Tribune|via=Newspapers.com|date=April 25, 1934|page=14|title=Harlem Captain Plays 148th Game of Season}} {{Open access}} He was a top player for Wendell Phillips Academy High School and also played in his freshman season at the City College of New York, although he dropped out before his second year.
A {{convert|6|ft|3|in}}, {{convert|205|lb|kg}} center, Jackson played independent basketball starting in 1925 with the Chicago Giles American Legion Post team. Midway through his second season there, he joined the Chicago Savoy Big Five, a predecessor to the Harlem Globetrotters. He played through 1930 with the Big Five before signing with the Globetrotters.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/harlem-globetrotters/|publisher=Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame|title=Harlem Globetrotters}} He was described as "a late bloomer, but by the time he signed with the Trotters, he was strong, fundamentally-sound, and intimidating."{{Cite web|url=https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/inman-jackson/|publisher=Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame|title=Inman Jackson}}
Jackson was a top player for the Globetrotters, being noted by Jet magazine as "basketball's first outstanding 'big man'".{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I7EDAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22inman%22+%22big+jack%22+%22jackson%22&pg=PA32|magazine=Jet|title=Famed Harlem Globetrotter Inman Jackson Dies At 66|page=32|date=April 26, 1973|volume=44|number=5|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company}} He was renowned for his handling abilities, being described by The Montana Standard as "one of the greatest ball handlers in the nation today" and by The Minneapolis Journal as playing "as though he were born with a basketball in each hand".{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-montana-standard/145932412/|newspaper=The Montana Standard|via=Newspapers.com|date=March 20, 1934|page=6|title=Barnstorming Basketeer}} {{Open access}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-minneapolis-journal/145932529/|newspaper=The Minneapolis Journal|via=Newspapers.com|date=February 3, 1932|page=20|title=Harlem 'Trotters In Town Tonight}} {{Open access}} He was also known as having introduced comedy and showmanship to the Globetrotters, previously a regular team: team founder Abe Saperstein named Jackson the most important Globetrotter of all time and Charley Eckman credited him with having been "the guy who transformed the Trotters from a bunch traveling around playing basketball like everybody else to the great show they are."{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/south-idaho-press/145934145/|newspaper=South Idaho Press|via=Newspapers.com|date=January 7, 1972|page=7|title=Inman Jackson Started It All}} {{Open access}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.hoophall.com/news/naismith-memorial-basketball-hall-of-fame-announces-three-early-african-american-pioneer-additions-to-the-class-of-2022|publisher=Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame|title=Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Announces Three Early African American Pioneer Additions to the Class of 2022|date=June 29, 2022}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-evening-sun/114355348/|newspaper=The Evening Sun|via=Newspapers.com|date=April 13, 1973|page=39|title=Inman Jackson Was More Than A Player|author=Jackman, Phil}} {{Open access}} The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame noted that Jackson was the first "clown prince" of the Globetrotters and that, "[o]n any given night, he would roll the ball through an unsuspecting defender's legs, dropkick a shot from the free throw line, or lift a teammate onto his shoulders for the final basketball before the horn sounded."
One of the team's best stars and among the most popular players for the Globetrotters, Jackson ultimately played for them for 15 years – from 1930 to 1945.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/kenosha-news/145933502/|newspaper=Kenosha News|via=Newspapers.com|date=March 7, 1944|page=8|title=Inman Jackson, 'Mr. Globetrotter' Himself, Sparks Colored Cagemen}} {{Open access}} He was the team captain for much of his tenure with Harlem and helped them win the second World Professional Basketball Tournament in 1940, towards the end of his career. He retired from playing in 1945.
Later career and death
Jackson stayed in the Globetrotters organization following his playing career until his death. He served as a consultant coach, instructor of new talent, assistant coach, and was named the head coach in 1966.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-pittsburgh-courier/145933992/|newspaper=New Pittsburgh Courier|via=Newspapers.com|date=September 10, 1966|page=15|title=Inman Jackson New Coach Of Globetrotters|author=Smith, Wendell}} {{Open access}} He received four percent of Abe Saperstein's estate at the latter's death in 1966, the only member of the team in Saperstein's will.
Jackson married Loretta Sandridge, and had two stepchildren. He died in Chicago on April 6, 1973, at the age of 66. He was inducted into the Basketball Museum of Illinois Hall of Fame in 1974 and was posthumously selected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Find a Grave|3791}}
{{Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame members}}
{{2022 Basketball HOF}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Inman}}
Category:Basketball players from Chicago
Category:Basketball coaches from Illinois
Category:CCNY Beavers men's basketball players
Category:Harlem Globetrotters players
Category:Harlem Globetrotters coaches
Category:Harlem Globetrotters executives
Category:Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees